Nestlé UK & Ireland today announced it has reached its target to source 100 per cent certified sustainable cocoa for its chocolate confectionery and biscuits becoming the first major confectionery company in the UK and Ireland to do so.
From 1 January 2016, the entire range of Nestlé chocolate confectionery and biscuits sold in the UK and Ireland from KITKAT to MILKYBAR, AERO to QUALITY STREET, AFTER EIGHT to SMARTIES and many more will be produced using certified sustainable cocoa, sourced through the Nestlé Cocoa Plan.
Andrew McIver, Managing Director, Confectionery, Nestlé UK & Ireland said: “In achieving this landmark milestone, Nestlé UK & Ireland is demonstrating its long-term commitment to making a real difference to cocoa farmers and their communities.
"The Nestlé Cocoa Plan is helping farmers to run profitable farms, support the elimination of child labour and ensure a sustainable supply of cocoa. Consumers here in the UK can enjoy their favourite products with the confidence that they are made with cocoa that comes from 100 per cent certified sustainable sources”.
Nestlé UK & Ireland works with both UTZ Certified and the Fairtrade Foundation for independent certification that the cocoa is sourced and produced sustainably on farms with safe working conditions.
The UTZ program is designed to improve producers’ lives and offer a flexible and cost efficient sustainability program to the industry.
UTZ certified farmers are trained to grow better crops, generate more income and create opportunities for their families whilst safeguarding the environment.
Companies, on the other hand, are able to secure their supply also in the future. Currently UTZ certified coffee, cocoa and tea is harvested in 37 countries and sold in 135 countries around the world.
Daan de Vries, Markets Director at UTZ, said: “Our vision at UTZ is that sustainability becomes the norm. Nestlé’s commitment is a step towards that vision. By buying responsibly grown ingredients, Nestlé helps to improve farmers’ lives, while assuring a stable supply in a turbulent context of climate change and other big challenges.”
Fairtrade supports small scale farmers and workers who are marginalised from trade in a variety of ways. Through the standards and certification, the Fairtrade system provides direct and indirect support to producers and their organisations to deepen social and environmental sustainability.
Michael Gidney, Chief Executive Officer, The Fairtrade Foundation said: “The Fairtrade Foundation is pleased to be working in partnership with Nestlé to achieve 100% sustainable sourcing commitment in cocoa, through certification of their two and four-finger KITKAT products.
"With the launch of the new Sustainable Development Goals – and their ambition to end poverty in all its forms everywhere by 2030 – businesses such as Nestlé working with Fairtrade to build more sustainable supply chains will be critical.
"The secured price and social premium enabled through Fairtrade delivers real investment in community and farmer-led development in a future sustainable cocoa industry.”
ENDS
For further information please contact Nestlé UK Press Office on 020 8667 6005 or email [email protected].
Notes to Editors:
Nestlé Cocoa Plan
The Nestlé Cocoa Plan, launched in 2009 aims to improve the profitability and sustainability of farms, advance the social conditions for local people and in turn develop a sustainable supply of high quality cocoa for Nestlé.
It focuses in the following key areas:
- Better farming: training farmers on efficient farming methods and responsible work practices through farmer field schools and field demonstrations. Around 30,000 farmers were trained this year (2015).
- Better plants: supplying farmers with 12 million higher yielding, disease-resistant cocoa trees to replace ageing unproductive trees by 2019.
- Better schools: working with the World Cocoa Foundation to build and refurbish schools to improve educational opportunities, and working with NGOs and the governments of Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana to stamp out forced labour practices in the cocoa industry. To date 40 schools have been opened with the support of the Nestlé Cocoa Plan, and in 2015 Nestlé UK and Ireland has supplied 20,000 books to schoolchildren in Cote d’Ivoire. The Nestlé Cocoa Plan is principally focused on Côte d’Ivoire: one of the world’s poorest countries, but the source of 40% of the world’s cocoa. Find out more at www.nestlecocoaplan.com.
About Nestlé in the UK & Ireland
Nestlé in the UK & Ireland has approximately 8,000 employees across 20 sites comprising of: Nestlé UK, Nestlé Ireland, Nestlé Purina Petcare, Nestlé Waters, Cereal Partners UK (a joint venture with General Mills) and Lactalis-Nestlé Chilled Dairy (a joint venture with Lactalis).
In the UK, the company manufactures some of Nestlé’s most popular and iconic brands, including KIT KAT®, NESCAFÉ® SHREDDED WHEAT®, BUXTON® water, and FELIX® petfood.
For more information please visit: www.nestle.co.uk.
About UTZ Certified
UTZ Certified is a program and label for sustainable farming of coffee, cocoa and tea. Its mission is to create a world where sustainable farming is the norm. The UTZ program enables farmers to learn better farming methods, improve working conditions and take better care of people and the environment. The compliance with UTZ’s strict requirements by farms and businesses is closely monitored by independent third parties.
More information at: www.utzcertified.org.
About Fairtrade Foundation
The Fairtrade Foundation is an independent certification body which licenses the use of the Fairtrade Mark on products which meet international Fairtrade standards. Fairtrade is about better prices, decent working conditions and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers. It’s about supporting the development of thriving farming and worker communities that have more control over their futures and protecting the environment in which they live and work. Fairtrade offers consumers a powerful way to reduce poverty through their everyday shopping. Today, more than 1.5 million farmers and workers, across more than 74 developing countries benefit from the international Fairtrade system.
More information at: www.fairtrade.org.uk