Press Release – Cadbury

World’s Largest Chocolate Company Announce World’s Largest Sustainable Cocoa Programme Auckland November 23 2012 – The parent company of Cadbury New Zealand, Mondelēz International (formerly Kraft Foods), has announced plans to invest a minimum …

World’s Largest Chocolate Company Announce World’s Largest Sustainable Cocoa Programme

Auckland November 23 2012 - The parent company of Cadbury New Zealand, Mondelēz International (formerly Kraft Foods), has announced plans to invest a minimum of US$400MM over 10 years in sustainable Cocoa Programmes globally, with a key focus area to be the Asia Pacific region.

One of the most significant announcements made in recent history regarding sustainable agricultural practices, Cocoa Life is set to be a game changer on the global stage.

Simon Talbot, Director Corporate Sustainability, Australia / New Zealand today said Cocoa Life was a bold ambition, but as the world’s biggest chocolate company1 he believes this is a necessary step to take to help transform the livelihoods of cocoa farmers and their communities over the long term.

“What this means for the Australian and New Zealand business, is that we will begin to source the majority of our Cocoa from the Asia Pacific.

“We are currently evaluating opportunities through the Asia Pacific in areas such as Sumatra, Sulawesi, West Papua, Papua New Guinea as well as a number of Pacific Islands, where a significant proportion of the US $400 investment will occur.

“Our Cadbury New Zealand business has a long standing commitment to sustainable sourcing both locally, buying milk from New Zealand famers, and internationally through its support of Fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance, but Cocoa Life talks this commitment to a new level.”

The Cocoa Life approach is to create win-win relationships and benefit farming communities in five key ways: higher incomes from more productive farming, community empowerment, secondary livelihoods, inspiring young people and protecting the environment.

Cocoa Life will reach more than 200,000 farmers across six countries, benefitting more than a million people, and ultimately lead to all our cocoa supply being sourced sustainably, with third-party verification. In the meantime, we will report annually on progress towards our goals.

Talbot continued, “The Mondelēz International ambition is high: to inspire a new generation of cocoa farmers we need to transform the cocoa industry by creating benefits across the value chain.

“We can only achieve this by putting cocoa farmers at the centre of a holistic approach co-created with our partners – farmers, communities, governments, NGOs and suppliers. Cocoa Life embodies community empowerment as an integral component of a long-term sustainable productivity program.”

1 (Source: Euromonitor 2011, Kraft Foods analysis)

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