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Cocoa

According to the International Cocoa organisation, Europeans account for almost half of the world’s chocolate consumption. The UK alone is the fourth largest consumer of chocolate. Serving this demand are millions of cocoa farmers, 74% of which comes from Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana.   

Cocoa is a very important ingredient for M&S. We use about 8,500 tonnes of cocoa bean equivalent each year to make over 1,000 products and are committed to ensuring all our cocoa is sourced responsibly to help secure our access to this vital ingredient in years to come as well as improving the lives of growers.   

The cocoa industry faces significant challenges, one of them being the inequality of pay of the cocoa farmers which can make it difficult for them to invest back into their farms to ensure the soil remains fertile and the cocoa trees keep producing high quality cocoa pods. Therefore M&S is committed to ensure the cocoa beans are sourced responsibly and manufacturers have the technical knowledge to protect their incomes as well as their labour. This also ensures farmers get stronger incomes from their plantations, without the need to expand their farms impacting on surrounding protected forests.  

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Our approach

We want to lead our sector in sustainable production and consumption, offering our customers the good-value, high-quality products and services they expect from M&S, while respecting planetary boundaries and the need for social equity. 

We are also committed to engaging in wider industry efforts to improve the cocoa sector and building resilient supply chain communities by investing in programmes, which build livelihoods, protect the environment and improve wellbeing.  

We are working with our suppliers and growers to help them address the ethical, environmental and economic challenges they face in order to maintain a long-term sustainable and secure supply. Over the last few years we have been developing an approach which is both practical and reflects our size and influence in this industry. 

Our Responsible Cocoa Commitment is as follows: 

  • We source 100% of the cocoa (by volume) we use in M&S branded products from verified sustainable sources  

  •  We are members of ICI, who work to protect the rights of adults and children in cocoa-growing countries in West Africa, working with partners to improve livelihood.  

  • We invest in programmes which enhance the lives of people in cocoa growing communities. For example, we were the first UK retailer to invest in Fairtrade’s Child Labour Prevention and Remediation programme earlier this year.  

  • We will engage in industry efforts to improve the sustainability of the cocoa sector through our membership of the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF)  

  • In 2018 we also signed up to the WCF Cocoa & Forest Initiative (ongoing) which aims to protect forest of Ghana and Ivory Coast, through replanting non cocoa trees, working with local governments and leading international companies in chocolate industry. In 2019, all members of the CFI were asked to develop an action plan to show how they will work on the following:  

  • Forest protection and restoration.  

  • Responsible cocoa production and farmers’ livelihoods.  

  • Community engagement and social inclusion.  

  • We will help encourage the engagement and action of cocoa traders through our work with the Retailer Cocoa Coalition, which aims to work closely with other retailers and adopt the same approach Our approach has been to form the Retailer Cocoa Collaboration, a group of retailers who have come together to hold their cocoa suppliers to account in their work and commitment to the CFI. RCC agreed actions include:   

  1. Public endorsement (where appropriate) of the Cocoa & Forests Initiative. This includes encouraging our traders and suppliers to commit to the eight CFI principles as well as company- specific communications.  

  1. An ambition to map our collective supply chains so we know what percentage of our cocoa supply is from each trader.  

  1. A commitment to assess cocoa traders’ performance against key sustainability indicators. This approach replicates that of the Palm Oil Transparency Coalition and acknowledges that the key lever for change within the cocoa supply chain for retailers is at the trading level.  

  1. Following the assessment, understand how our current work on cocoa sustainability is supporting CFI. Where there are gaps, we will explore opportunities to support further.  

  1. A commitment to bi-annual meetings as part of the Retailer Cocoa Collaboration.  

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M&S Cocoa & Forests Annual Progress Report PDF