The European Union and its partners have announced they’re raising 450 million euros ($442 million) to support Cote d’Ivoire’s push to tackle child labour and deforestation linked to cocoa production, while also improving farmer pay.
Mondelēz International has announced the next phase of its Cocoa Life programme will be backed by an additional $600 million - bringing its total investment to $1 billion by end of the decade.
The World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) wrapped up a successful Partnership Meeting, despite the absence of the two main producer countries, with new commitments announced on making cocoa supply chains more sustainable and achieving more impact in helping farmers...
Cocoa supplier olam food ingredients (ofi), has won the Sustainable Supply Chain of the Year Award at the 2022 Global Good Awards, which recognise businesses, NGOs, charities and social enterprises that are driving social and environmental change.
Cocoa farmers, as well as workers in other commodities and crops, experienced a boost in Fairtrade Premium earnings thanks to a recovery in Fairtrade product sales throughout 2021, Fairtrade International’s latest annual report has revealed.
The World Cocoa Foundation’s (WCF) Partnership Meeting in Brussels this week has sold out, event organisers said, despite Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire, the two world’s largest cocoa producers, declining an invitation due to a pricing row with the industry.
Barry Callebaut has announced its main factory in Wieze, Belgium, is back to operating at normal capacit, after a salmonella breakout in June halted production.
With support from the Conseil du Café Cacao (CCC) and Ivoirian Ministry of Agriculture, the the launch took place in in Abidjan. The Livelihoods Ecosystem Advancement Program (LEAP) was co-created by the ECOOKIM cooperative farmers, Mars and Fairtrade...
Environmental finance provider RePurpose Global has launched the Plastic Reality Project, a first of its kind initiative dedicated to ‘upskilling’ corporate leaders with ‘knowledge and experiences’ to help shape their plastic reduction efforts. Hot on...
The International Cocoa Initiative (ICI) 2021 annual report is the first in the organisation's new five-year strategy with the overarching aim to cover 100% of the cocoa supply chain in Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana with systems that prevent and address...
A recent Wall Street Journal article highlighted potential issues with the formulation and usage of gummy supplements with little attention given to the benefits of these products, the Council for Responsible Nutrition says.
The International Cocoa Council (ICCO) has laid out and adopted a new set of amendments relating to the International Cocoa Agreement (ICA) 2010 at a specially convened meeting last month in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire.
Fairtrade America is reminding consumers of the benefits of buying ethically sourced chocolate bars with a national mural campaign to celebrate Fair Trade Month, which runs globally throughout October.
EU-proposed due-diligence legislation has been criticised for triggering unintended consequences across the supply chain, which begs the question: will such a law actually promote climate smart food?
The Ghanaian Government has increased the producer price of Cocoa by 21% for the 2022-2023 crop season – and said it will be ready for new EU rules on cocoa imports.
Mars Wrigley has declared that from 2023, 100% of the cocoa purchased for its direct factory operations in Europe will be verified as ‘responsibly sourced cocoa’.
Nestlé’s ‘innovative income accelerator programme’ to increase cocoa farmer income and achieve full traceability in its cocoa supply chain was the subject of an informative webinar between the Rainforest Alliance and Nestlé on the importance of regenerative...
The Food (Promotion and Placement) (England) Regulations 2021 come into force tomorrow, placing location restrictions on ‘less healthy’ products that are high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) – however, these have once again been knocked as nothing more...
ofi (olam food ingredients), a global leader in naturally good food and beverage ingredients, says it has substantially advanced towards the climate goals stated in its Cocoa Compass sustainability report – but issued a call for the EU to work with other...
Mars Wrigley has claimed significant progress on its Women for Change programme with CARE and key deforestation-free milestones with the release this month of its Cocoa for Generations sustainability report.
The European Commission is facing calls to set legally binding targets to tackle food waste after a new report exposes what it calls a ‘food waste’ scandal.
Luxury ice cream maker has announced plans to upscale its female empowerment programme in its cocoa supply chain after the successful graduation of its first intakes.
The European Cocoa Forum, held recently in Rome, Italy, was marked by frank and open discussions on how best to safeguard and direct the future of the hugely important global of the cocoa sector, said Paul Davis, European Cocoa Association (ECA) president.
The global cocoa and chocolate supplier has held onto its positioned as #1 out of 579 companies in the ‘Food Product’ category by Sustainalytics, a leading ESG research, ratings and data firm.
With 420 million hectares of forest cover lost in the past 30 years, the debate on deforestation and traceability in the cocoa supply chain took up the last day of the ECA Cocoa Forum 2022, held in Rome.
Cocoa and chocolate companies have announced greater cooperation and a willingness willing to share their cocoa farmer data with Ivorian and Ghanaian authorities to further traceability.
Three years since its last gathering in Lisbon, the ECA Cocoa Forum wasted no time in getting back down to business in Rome as part of its wider remit to facilitate dialogue on how to move the industry forward in key areas including food safety, sustainability,...
Barry Callebaut has announced it is extending its Cocoa Horizons programme in Nigeria, pledging to pay an additional amount of 26 million Naira ($40,841) in premiums for deliveries of sustainable cocoa beans in the 2021-2022 season.
Mondelēz International has released its annual Human Rights Due Diligence and Modern Slavery report for 2021, demonstrating, it claims, progress against its 2025 ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) goals.
Early Bird Registration for the World Cocoa Foundation 2022 Partnership Meeting ends on 12 September. The event, the first live gathering of influential industry figures since 2019, takes place in Brussels, Belgium, from 26 to 27 October.
The Government of Belize has launched a new initiative to tackle child labour and reduce its incidence by eliminating the worst forms by 2025 following extended dialogue with national stakeholders, cooperatives, and social justice organizations, including...
Martin Short’s short tenure at the helm of the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) was announced in a brief media statement by the Washington-based organisation.
Magnum ice cream has launched an on-the-ground impact programme developed to socially and economically empower the cocoa farming communities in Cote d'Ivoire.
Oat m!lk chocolate brand, HAPPi, is teaming up with Luker Chocolate to create Kids for Nature, an exciting new project that aims to protect the remarkable wildlife of Colombia by educating the next generation to become guardians of their ecosystem.
Confectionery giant claims to be making progress against its 2025 ESG goals, and confirms progress toward the company’s goals to prevent, identify, and address potential human rights and modern slavery risks in its own operations and supply chains.
Barry Callebaut has announced it is planning to resume production in August at its chocolate factory in Belgium after operations were shutdown due to a salmonella outbreak.
Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana, along with the 35 companies in the Cocoa & Forests Initiative (CFI), have reported progress made towards ending deforestation in the two cocoa-growing countries.
The Cocoa Association of Asia (CAA) has confirmed speakers and the programme for its International Cocoa Conference & Dinner, which takes place on 1 & 2 September 2022 at the Raffles City Convention Centre (RCCC) in Singapore.
A new partnership has been launched by Fairtrade International, Fairtrade Africa, and non-profit organization Earthworm Foundation, pledging to work together to monitor deforestation and assess environmental vulnerability.
Fairtrade America has launched a new campaign that aims to ignite conversation about how little cocoa farmers earn for their crops while they also face pernicious inflation, impacts of Covid-19 and supply chain challenges.
The European Cocoa Association (ECA) has released details of the programme and speakers for its European Cocoa Forum, which takes place from 13 to 15 September 2022 in Rome.
The European Council has backed Commission proposals designed to combat deforestation linked to consumer goods sold in the region – but with some important carve-outs. As environmentalists accuse EU Environment Ministers of ‘significantly watering down’...
UPDATE 4 July 2022: Based on internal investigation, Barry Callebaut said it confirms that no chocolate products affected by the salmonella-positive production entered the retail food chain, after the strain was detected at its factory in Wieze, Belgium,...
At the end of the recent ‘Cocoa Talks’, between EU, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, and the cocoa sector, parties jointly endorsed an ‘Alliance on Sustainable Cocoa’, an ambitious roadmap to improve the economic, social and environmental sustainability of cocoa...
The long-running US child slavery lawsuit involving cocoa supply chains operated by Hershey, Nestle, Cargill in Cote d’Ivoire has been dismissed by a federal judge in Washington DC.
The Chocoa Conference returned to Amsterdam earlier this month with a live-virtual hybrid get-together of important stakeholders from the cocoa sector.
A multi-stakeholder initiative bringing together more than 70 members from cocoa suppliers, chocolate manufacturers, traders, retailers, NGOs, research institutions as well as the Swiss Government, the Platform’s annual meeting was an opportunity to discuss...