A non-profit has levelled a range of accusations at Mondelez International over its cocoa and palm oil sourcing.
Forest loss, untraceable sourcing and “systemic weaknesses” were among the claims lodged against Cadbury chocolate owner Mondelez by Netherlands-based AidEnvironment in a report.
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A so-called compliance checker analysis cited by the organisation “uncovers forest loss potentially linked to Mondelez International’s cocoa and palm oil supply chains, revealing a deep disconnect between the company’s sustainability claims and its actual sourcing practices”, the report read.
“While Mondelez has for years marketed itself as a leader in responsible cocoa and palm oil, the findings gathered in the report demonstrate that forest clearance potentially linked to its supply chains is ongoing, raising serious questions about accountability, traceability, and transparency.”
The report identified six studies in Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Brazil and Indonesia where it said forests have been cleared for cocoa and palm oil cultivation.
“These findings demonstrate not isolated incidents but the symptoms of systemic weaknesses: untraceable sourcing models, opaque supplier networks, and insufficient oversight,” AidEnvironment suggested.
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By GlobalDataIt added that “transparency has declined over time” at Mondelez, which it said had “not publicly disclosed its cocoa supplier list since 2021”.
The company also relies on mass-balance sourcing that makes “vast volumes of products inherently untraceable”, according to the report, referring to a process where verified and certified products are mixed with uncertified products but still labelled with a sustainability certification.
Mondelez had not responded to Just Food’s request for comment on the report’s findings at the time of writing.
Cocoa Life is the sustainable sourcing programme that Mondelez employs, referred to in its latest Snacking Made Right ESG report for 2024.
“Despite immense challenges facing the cocoa sector, in 2024 we continued to advance our leadership in more sustainable sourcing of critical ingredients,” that report states.
“Today, about 91% of the cocoa volume used in our chocolate brands is sourced through Cocoa Life (through a mass-balance approach), our signature cocoa sourcing programme, which aims to help lift up the people and restore landscapes where cocoa grows.”
Mondelez said it has a target to invest $1bn in Cocoa Life from 2012 to 2030.
“Cocoa Life focuses on helping tackle the root causes behind the complex, systemic social, economic, and environmental challenges faced across the cocoa sector,” according to its 2024 report.
“These issues include risk of poverty, farm productivity, farmer livelihoods, gender inequality, lack of basic infrastructure, child labour, deforestation and climate change.”
The company added it aims to source 100% of its cocoa volumes through Cocoa Life by 2025, a programme that is now running in Brazil, Ecuador, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, India and Indonesia.
AidEnvironment said Mondelez was a party supporting the delay in the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) before that became a reality last month, when the European Parliament backed a one-year postponement proposed by the European Council and European Commission.
In July, Mondelez called for a further delay to EUDR, saying it must be “workable” in practice.
Sarah Drost, a senior researcher at AidEnvironment, said: “Mondelez helped build the narrative that traceability and compliance are achievable and then stepped back when accountability approached. If the company is serious about its commitments, it should use its market position to accelerate EUDR readiness – not slow it down.”
Making reference to the other commodity in AidEnvironment’s critique, Mondelez also said in its ESG report: “For cocoa and palm oil, two commodities we source that are considered at-risk when it comes to deforestation, we engage with our key suppliers to supply only deforestation-free cocoa and palm oil to Mondelez International.
“We support an approach in which key players along the value chain work collaboratively to tackle systemic issues at the industry, country and landscape-level.”
Mondelez added its Palm Oil Action Plan (POAP) puts the onus on suppliers to be “responsible for preventing deforestation in their own operations or supply chains”, which would, it said, require them to “map and monitor all plantations and engage with any that fail to comply”.
