Ivory Coast and Ghana are some of the nations that produce the supply for cocoa worldwide and are done with the labour and human rights violations as well as the disproportionate return for what they produce in cocoa globally.
There continues to be tension that resulted in Ivory Cost and Ghana boycotting the World Cocoa Federation in Brussels.
Mondelez (owner of Cadbury and Toberlerone among others) have committed to $600mm in sustainable funding which is a top up of the $400mm investment in the past decade.
For context, cocoa farmers in Ivory Cost and Ghana make $.78 and $1.00 per day respectively. The cocoa industry produced an estimated $18.6 bn in the US alone in 2022. You can see why some African nations have had it.
The issues between the supply chain and the corporation that sources on the majority sit in between social and economic sustainability. It is why at Build Global our niche is social and economic sustainability.
There is a way to do business that sustains, produces for all parties involved and increasingly suppliers expect to see equity. Sustainability has three pillars and while environmental sustainability is the current focus there will be a shift and smart organisations like Mondelez won’t wait until scandal shuts down revenue before doing the what is required to sustain the business.
It’s about time someone understood their responsibility. Read more about this issue here.