Nestle has committed to using only sustainably sourced cocoa to manufacture its KitKat chocolate by 2016.
The company already uses sustainably sourced cocoa, accredited by independent third-party bodies, in products sold in certain markets, but the new announcement extends the practice worldwide, including the US.
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Sandra Martinez, head of confectionery for Nestlé, said: "We’re delighted to be a flag bearer for the industry, as the first global chocolate brand to announce such a move. Sustainable cocoa sourcing helps safeguard the livelihoods of farming communities and delivers higher quality cocoa beans. This announcement will only strengthen consumer trust in KitKat as a responsible brand."
Nestle said KitKat made with only sustainably sourced cocoa would roll out from the first quarter of 2016.
Last August, Nestle claimed by the end of 2015 it would be the the "first major confectionery company" in the UK and Ireland to use only sustainable cocoa. Nestle's UK and Ireland unit said at the time over 60% of the cocoa it purchased came from "certified" farms through the food giant's work with the Fairtrade Foundation and UTZ Certified.
Nestle's first significant move in sustainable cocoa in 2009 when it said it would spend CHF110m (US$114.5m) over the following decade. At the end of that year, four months after Faitrade Cadbury Dairy Milk went on sale in the UK and Ireland, Nestle said it would switch its four-finger KitKats in the markets to Fairtrade cocoa.
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