Mars Accelerates Progress towards 100% Responsibly Sourced and Traceable Cocoa

October 11, 2023—Recently, Mars, with its Cocoa for Generations, released the 2022 progress report. The report emphasized the progress acceleration towards 100% responsibly sourced cocoa traceable from farm to first point of purchase by 2025. It also highlighted Mars’ achievements in working together with more than 350,000 cocoa farmers around the globe who relies on cocoa for their livelihoods, including approximately 60,000 farmers in Indonesia alone.

Cocoa isn't just a key ingredient for some of Mars’ best-loved brands, like DOVE®/GALAXY® and M&Ms®, it is an essential part of our heritage. For over 100 years, Mars has been sourcing cocoa from around the globe. But its commitment goes beyond its own success - it's about the farmers we depend on and that mutual reliance is what drives to continually strive to make a meaningful difference in the cocoa sector.

The ultimate goal is to foster a modern, inclusive, and sustainable cocoa ecosystem. That means the environment is preserved, human rights are respected, and everyone has the opportunity to thrive.

So, how is Mars making this vision a reality? Through its "Cocoa for Generations" strategy. Mars investing one billion dollars over a decade, starting in 2018, to accelerate change. By 2025, Mars committed to have 100% of its cocoa responsibly sourced and traceable from farm to the first point of purchase and 100% deforestation and conversion-free.

The 2022 Annual Cocoa for Generations report highlights the efforts, and Mars is proud of the strides what they have made:

·        In 2022, Mars in partnership with USAID dan I4DI launched the Advancing Cocoa Agroforestry Towards Income, Value, and Environmental Sustainability or ACTIVE in Indonesia. This program is projected to increase income of participating farmers by up to 15% over four years and reduce by 20% the number of participating farmers living below the living income benchmark.

·        In Indonesia we continue our collaboration with Save The Children to address child labor in the cocoa supply chain and that seeks to help keep children out of harmful work, promote their rights, and develop and implement sustainable protection systems in the cocoa growing communities of South Sulawesi.  In the first year, Mars have reached more than 2.000 beneficiaries of farmers’ families with the establishment of Perlindungan Anak Terpadu Berbasis Masyarakat (PATBM/ Community Based Child Protection Committee).

·        With the support from the GIZ Feminist and Fair 2022 funding, Mars together with other consortium partners including Grow Asia, Mars, Save the Children, and Partnership for Indonesia Sustainable Agriculture (PISAgro) runs the GrowHer: Kakao. This program, running from 2023-2025 supporting around 4,000 women in the cacao value chain in South Sulawesi, and aiming to enhance their participation and access to resources.

·        At its UC Davis Mars Greenhouse, Mars is supporting farmers through the development of a new generation of climate-smart cocoa plants that are more drought-resistant and durable to pests and diseases. The ongoing research in UC Davis is also collaboration with the research done in Mars cocoa research facilities in Pangkep and Tarengge, South Sulawesi that focuses on pest & disease management, soil fertility management, and cocoa agroforestry.

·        In Europe 100% of the cocoa Mars purchase for its direct factory operations is verified as Responsibly Sourced, a significant milestone in achieving our ambitious 2025 goals.

Read the progress here.