Mars, Inc. is looking to physically segregate its cocoa supply chain by 2030, as part of a larger goal to fight back against child labor across the industry, and ensure that all of the cocoa it sources comes from environmentally responsible suppliers.
The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that roughly 1.56 million children are engaged in child labor in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana alone, where 60% of the world’s supply of cocoa is produced each year. Mars — which produces chocolate for brands such as M&M’s, Snickers, Dove and more — is planning to invest in new infrastructure and processes over the next five years, to make it so suppliers can purchase exclusively from farms that participate in the company’s “Responsibly Sourced Cocoa Program,” which includes strict environmental and child labor monitoring requirements.
By segregating its supply chain, Mars will have cocoa physically separated from products that come from other unverified sources at every stage in its supply chain, to ensure that the ingredients that end up being used at the company’s factories can be traced back to certified farms and suppliers.
“It will enable us to target interventions providing more focused support for cocoa growing communities in our supply chain,” Mars global vice president of cocoa sustainability Harper McConnell said. “This ambition is part of a holistic, long-term approach by Mars to contribute towards the development of a modern, inclusive and sustainable cocoa ecosystem around the globe.”