Press release
Mondelēz International Doubles Down on Cocoa Life Program with Total Investment of $1 Billion by 2030; Calls for More Sector-Wide Action
Sustainability now a pillar of Company’s long-term growth and acceleration strategyNext phase of Cocoa Life backed by additional $600 million by 2030Goal to
About this update from Mondelez International, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"Sustainability now a pillar of Company’s long-term growth and acceleration strategyNext phase of Cocoa Life backed by additional $600 million by 2030Goal to increase scale and work with ~300,000 farmers by 2030Calling for more sector-wide collaboration and public-private partnership to help address systemic challenges and improve farmer livelihoods CHICAGO, Oct. 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mondelēz International (Nasdaq: MDLZ) today announces the next phase of its Cocoa Life program, backed by an additional $600 million through 2030, for a total $1 billion investment since the start of the program, with the goal to increase cocoa volume at scale and work with about 300,000 farmers in the program by 2030. With this investment, Mondelēz International aims to catalyze ground-breaking sector collaboration to help address systemic environmental and human rights challenges and improve cocoa farmer livelihoods. “As one of the world’s leading snacking companies, it is a priority to continue making our most important ingredients, such as cocoa, right, and Cocoa Life sits at the heart of this strategy,” said Dirk Van de Put, Chairman & CEO, Mondelēz International. “While we are excited about the promise of our investments, we are calling for more sector-wide effort and actions to drive greater impact, including new private-public partnerships, as we aim to catalyze ground-breaking collaboration to help move cocoa forward together.” Mondelēz International introduced Cocoa Life in 2012 to secure supply of more sustainable cocoa and establish an integrated approach striving to tackle the root causes of systemic issues in cocoa including farm productivity, farmer livelihoods, community development, and helping combat child labor and deforestation, together in one program. Ten years on, the program has reached critical scale with over 200,000 farmers in the program, $400 million invested by the end of 2022 and measurable impact results including: Farmer net incomes have increased ~15% in Ghana and ~33% in Cote d’IvoireCocoa yields are higher, with double-digit percentage increases in farmers earning a living income61% of Cocoa Life communities in West Africa covered with Child Labor Monitoring and Remediation Systems, with a goal to reach 100% by 2025 Key lessons from the past 10 years will allow Mondelez International to accelerate the Cocoa...