Which companies have the ‘darkest’ chocolate supply chains? Posted by Juliette Rowsell in Risk, Supply chain, Sustainability
Kellogg’s, Daito Cacao, Glico, Stork, Morinaga, and Lotte have the world’s least ESG-aligned chocolate supply chains, according to new rankings system.
Campaign group Be Slavery Free analysed 56 of the world’s largest cocoa buyers to produce an individual ‘Chocolate Scorecard‘ for each.
Brands and retailers – which account for 95% of global chocolate products, including Easter eggs – were rated according to six factors: perceived level of transparency in their supply chains; whether they pay workers a living income; the use (or not) of child and forced labour; and their impact on deforestation, agroforestry and agrichemical management.
The analysis found less than half of the surveyed companies had a policy in place that set out expectations or improvement plans for suppliers, including the potential to end the working relationship for continued non-compliance.
University of Wollongong senior lecturer and co-author of the report, Stephanie Perkiss, said: “The not-so-sweet truth is that to create space for new cocoa farms, the chocolate industry is fuelling deforestation at an alarming rate, hitting the accelerator on climate change, destroying native habitats and leaving a bitter taste in our mouths.”
Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana have lost around 94% and 80% of their forest cover in the past 60 years, with approximately one third of forest loss attributed to cocoa growing, the report claimed.
Perkiss continued: “Forests are a critical natural resource in the fight against global warming, as they both absorb and store carbon. When forests are destroyed, the carbon that was stored within the forest is released into the atmosphere.
“Every chocolate purchase matters and sends a message to the chocolate producers that consumers value the steps they are taking to implement best practice into their farming, manufacturing and supply chain processes. While awareness about where chocolate comes from is important to keep in mind this Easter, issues of sustainability and slavery are year-round.”
Original Beans, Tony’s Chocolonely and Beyond Good scored the highest for sustainability, while Aldi was the highest-ranked retailer.
The report found nine in ten (91%) of the companies analysed said they have a “no-deforestation” policy, requiring their suppliers to ensure their cocoa is sourced from areas where forest canopy will be destroyed.
However, Mighty Earth senior director Julian Oram said: “The grim reality is that around 40% of cocoa remains untraceable with beans from deforested land still entering global supply chains. Companies are sitting on information that could shed light onto these ‘dark’ chocolate origins.”
He added: “Some of the biggest brands, including Starbucks, Lindt, Godiva and Kellogg’s, have scored badly for tackling deforestation and climate. We know they can do better and we will be encouraging them to do so. But others, including Mondelez, Unilever and Tesco have stayed silent and refused to take part this year.”
Anti-slavery charity Unseen’s CEO, Andrew Wallis, said the issue is important because “child labour and modern slavery are part of the cocoa industry”.
Wallis said he was particularly worried that of the 56 companies analysed, only nine achieved the best rating for addressing child and forced labour in their supply chains.
On the brighter side, the report noted that despite Kellogg’s and Starbucks achieving low scores, “their willingness to engage in the scorecard does at least signify a desire to review and address the pitfalls of their environmental policies”.
This, the report argued, sets them apart from other brands such as Mondelez, Unilever and General Mills, and retailers including Tesco, Walmart, and Whole Foods, which all refused to participate in this year’s survey.
Be Slavery Free’s top 20 ranked chocolate brands and suppliers are:
- Original Beans
- Tony’s Chocolonely
- Beyond Good
- Alter Eco
- Halba
- Ritter Sport
- Ben & Jerry’s
- Cemoi
- Whittaker’s
- Nestle
- Hershey
- Ferrero
- ETG Beyond Beans
- Mars Wrigley
- Ecom
- Barry Callebaut
- Cargill
- Ofi
- Pladis
Lindt
Source: Chips.org/supply-management/news
