Mondelez International is committing $5 million to the reduction of cocoa production emissions, the company announced.
The company has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Forestry Commission of Ghana, Ghana Cocoa Board and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Ghana is both one of the world’s top cocoa suppliers—at around 20%—and home to one of the highest deforestation rates in Africa, at 3.2% per year. Most of this deforestation can be attributed to the expansion of cocoa, along with other agricultural crops.
The money will be disbursed over the course of five years. Through Cocoa Life, Mondelez International's sustainable cocoa sourcing program, “the company will take a leading role in implementing projects to deliver the Ghana Cocoa Forest REDD+ Program (GCFRP) which aims at tackling deforestation and forest degradation.”
GCFRP is dedicated to reducing rates of deforestation and forest degradation, as well as the associated greenhouse carbon emissions.
Along with its partners, Mondelez aims to execute an action plan in five key Hotspot Intervention Areas:
- Mapping all land uses, including cocoa farms
- Implementing climate smart cocoa practices to increase yields and sustainability
- Improving financial access to foster good practices by farmers and communities
- Legislative and policy reform to support program execution
- Coordination and measurement, reporting and verification
"Deforestation makes up the largest part of our carbon footprint, which is why it's so important for us to address this issue head on. Through this collaboration, we can be even more efficient in safeguarding the environment and helping cocoa farmers become resilient against climate change," said Mondelez executive vice president and president, Europe Hubert Weber. "This partnership builds on Cocoa Life's ongoing forest protection efforts. It's an exciting new chapter in our work in Ghana and fits with the commitment we made by signing the Cocoa & Forests Initiative Framework for Action at COP23."
