Mars' sourcing needs meets its principles in the business case for certification. In 2009, Mars made a public commitment that its entire cocoa supply would be produced in a sustainable manner by 2020. The reason for the commitment was rooted in the five principles that have long guided its business. Mars' Mutuality principle states that "A mutual benefit is a shared benefit; a shared benefit will endure."
Alastair Child, Cocoa Sustainability Director, Mars Global Chocolate, explains: "Our values and deep concern about the lives of cocoa farming families combined with the commercial business case of supply security compelled us to act. We are a family business and what keeps us awake at night is what future cocoa offers both to cocoa farmers and Mars associates (employees)."
The company held a deep seated fear that cocoa production is not sustainable. Cocoa farming practices have not been invested in and a change was needed towards modern sustainable practices driving higher yields and incomes for farmers.
The desire of the Mars family to ensure that the company can be handed on to the next generation was a poignant parallel to the need for cocoa farmers to pass a viable farm on to the next generation. Mars knew it needed to make a serious supply chain commitment that would involve training and incentives to make cocoa an attractive livelihood choice for professional farmers.
Challenge: Without a sustainable, long-term supply of cocoa, there may be no future Mars chocolate business. Without improvements to cocoa farming, there may be no prosperous future for farmers and their families.
Why choose certification?
Alastair Child points out: "The challenge was that we knew what we needed to do with farmers but didn't know how to do it at scale. The only network that reaches every cocoa farmer in the world was the supply chain.
We realised the opportunity of working with certification standards and cocoa supply chain companies. Certification provides an audited and checked system whereby Mars can invest through its suppliers in realising meaningful impact with farmers."
Edward Millard, Director of Strategic Partnerships at Rainforest Alliance recalls the impact of Mars' commitment in 2009.
"The market is the biggest driver of change so when Mars, as a major buyer of cocoa, made a commitment on April 10, 2009 to procure 100% of its cocoa in a sustainable manner and partnered with Rainforest Alliance as a key certification partner, the whole supply chain responded. That one commitment galvanised demand for Rainforest Alliance certified cocoa in a way that we hadn't previously seen."
Alastair Child states: "It was a big call to commit to 100% sustainably produced cocoa in 2009. There is no way you can have all the facts at the time. We made that call because there was a strong business case and it felt like the right thing to do."
Mars' latest commitment to certified cocoa was revealed on February 20, 2015 when Mars Chocolate UK and The Fairtrade Foundation announced that they are extending their global cocoa partnership with a commitment to source Fairtrade certified cocoa for all MARS® Bars in the UK and Ireland by Autumn 2015.
Mars is the first UK company to announce a commitment under the new Fairtrade Cocoa Sourcing Programme which follows the Fairtrade certification of Maltesers in the UK in 2011.
Harriet Lamb, Chief Executive of ISEAL member Fairtrade International explains: "With their growing commitment to Fairtrade, Mars is showing their belief in the smallscale farmers they work with. We see it repeatedly at Fairtrade - when farmers are able to chart their own direction, they not only do what's good for their communities and the environment, but also what's good for their business partners.
According to our recent monitoring and impact report, Fairtrade certified producer organisations elected to invest more than 40 percent of their (Fairtrade) Premium in productivity and quality improvements on the farm. This benefits the entire supply chain and provides that key for building trust."
"We were led by both the head - the commercial business case - and the heart - our principles. Mars' sustainable cocoa sourcing effort is rooted in a belief in putting farmers first. We are laser focused on the cocoa farmer as our primary stakeholder above all else."
Certification benefits the whole industry
Child says Mars considers the whole industry. "We are focused beyond just the Mars supply chain. Success for us is transforming the entire global cocoa industry. When you work with certification it not only helps your own supply but is a means of improving the industry as a whole.
We believe 'all ships rise and fall with the same tide' in cocoa, therefore we aim to drive change beyond just the Mars supply of cocoa to improve the long term availability of cocoa for all, and improve the lives of all cocoa farming families, not just those supplying Mars."
Millard agrees that securing a sustainable supply of cocoa is a major driver for Mars. "We've seen how Mars believes in and acts for the future of the cocoa industry. It is very focused on being an industry leader, for example as a champion of World Cocoa Foundation's Cocoa Action initiative.
Thinking of the supply chain as a whole, Mars has shared its research for the benefit of the future of cocoa, for example when it mapped the cocoa genome and shared this information in the public domain."
Extra push on certification
Mars has partnership agreements with ISEAL members UTZ Certified, Rainforest Alliance and Fairtrade International and in each case has insisted on a commitment on productivity.
Child reveals: "In making these partnership agreements we said we need a commitment from you on productivity. We looked for the mutuality in working with each certifier. For example, we found the mutuality with Rainforest Alliance in the realisation that producing more cocoa from less land was good for the environment.
Whilst the certifiers are making great progress, we are impatient and ambitious and are working to achieve a complete transformation in the impact we have with farmers."
Millard welcomes the challenge on certification from Mars. "Mars has always had its eye on the bigger picture of what sustainability stands for. In that respect, it is well aligned with our mission and values.
Mars has been very attentive to making sure that certification is efficient and delivers the outcomes that it purports to. The company has taken tangible steps to challenge the integrity of the systems which we welcome as it helps us ensure we are delivering positive impact."
Daan de Vries, Markets Director at UTZ Certified said: "The UTZ Cocoa Program was co-founded by Mars in 2007. It was a sector partnership that also brought together Nestlé, Cargill, Ecom, Ahold, Heinz Benelux with NGOs Solidaridad, Oxfam-Novib, WWF International and UTZ itself.
Mars was very active throughout, from the first learning trip to the technical working groups and local consultations. I got a call in 2009 that they wanted to go 100% certified by 2020 and was very excited. The move has been a game changer, forcing all intermediaries to get involved and challenging others in the industry on their ambition levels. Mars continues to be a close partner with an exceptional commitment to sustainability, both of the company and of the sector."
Future plans
Mars' plans for the future include maintaining the commitment for 100% of cocoa used to be produced sustainably with the aim of sustainable production becoming mainstream across the cocoa industry. Its programmes aim for increases of yields, farmer incomes and children in school. Alastair Child concludes:
"For us, certification offers something unique, an opportunity to scale across the industry and drive change beyond the Mars supply chain. This supports our commercial need to secure a long term supply of cocoa but at the same time leads to improved income and better quality of life for farmers, their families and their communities."
Originally published 2015
