Talking about the UN Sustainable Development Goals recently, Fairtrade Foundation CEO, Mike Gidney quoted the African proverb “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” At Mars, we agree that business has a big role to play in collaborating to drive sustainable progress; in fact, we aim to grow in a way we can be proud of.
Having taken over as the president of Mars Chocolate UK earlier this year, I couldn’t be prouder that, in its 83rd year, our iconic MARS bar is leading the way in Fairtrade’s new Cocoa Sourcing Programme, and bars bearing the logo will hit the shelves up and down the country this week.
As one of the world’s leading food manufacturers, Mars has a role to play in sustainably sourcing the raw materials that go into the products that our customers and consumers know and love, and ensuring that we share our success with the cocoa farmers in our supply chain. This principle of “mutuality” is part of our DNA as a company and, in 2009, we were the first global chocolate company to commit to sourcing 100% of our cocoa from certified sources. To reach this 2020 goal, it’s vital that we collaborate with partners.
We cannot act alone to face the complex challenges of creating a sustainable cocoa supply chain. Our best work is in collaboration for mutual benefits. In 2010, after two years’ work and $8m (£5.2m) investment, Mars, Inc., IBM and the US Department of Agriculture sequenced the cocoa genome. And then we made our findings public. On the surface, it was a counter-intuitive move in a highly competitive confectionery sector. In reality, however, sharing knowledge enabled scientists and industry players to help cocoa farmers plant better-quality cocoa that is healthier, stronger, more productive and pest resistant and to make these changes quicker than we could have done by working alone.
Now, in partnership with Fairtrade, we are taking an innovative new approach, working hand-in-hand with cocoa cooperatives in Cote d’Ivoire, through which farmers themselves will be empowered both financially and with expert support. Starting with an initial project with one of the cooperative groups supplying the cocoa for MARS bars in the UK and Ireland, we will be supporting the cooperative to invest Fairtrade premiums in their own farmer-led initiatives to improving productivity through a package of agricultural training, effective fertilisers and high yielding, disease resistant crops variants. It will make a lasting difference for cocoa farmers and their local livelihoods and ensure a more secure, sustainable supply of cocoa for our much-loved brand.
I had the privilege to meet cocoa farmers first hand on a recent trip to Cote d’Ivoire and now, more than ever, this partnership between Mars and Fairtrade resonates with me personally - it is rooted in a shared belief in putting farmers first.
As one of our most precious raw materials, cocoa is grown by smallholder farmers, often with less than five hectares of land, in communities with little infrastructure and low incomes. As a business, we have a duty to drive change to create long-lasting sustainable livelihoods, and to drive growth we can all be proud of. We want to go far, and our partnership with Fairtrade to certify sustainable cocoa for MARS bars in the UK and Ireland means we will go together; moving one step closer to sustainable, ethically sourced cocoa becoming the norm in the chocolate industry.
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