Cocoa Sustainability in 2025
The global cocoa industry has long faced scrutiny over its environmental and ethical impact, especially regarding deforestation, farmer poverty, and child labour. In recent years, many major chocolate manufacturers set ambitious sustainability targets for 2025—ranging from traceable supply chains to eliminating exploitative labour. Now that 2025 has arrived, it’s time to ask: is the industry truly living up to cocoa sustainability promises?
Progress Toward Ethical Sourcing
One of the key goals for major chocolate companies has been to achieve 100% ethically sourced cocoa. Ethical sourcing typically includes traceability to the farm level, monitoring for child labour, and ensuring farmers earn a living income.
Several companies have reported meaningful progress. For example, Hershey announced that by the end of 2023, it had achieved 100% independently verified cocoa sourcing. As of early 2025, approximately 89% of its cocoa from Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire can be traced back to specific farming communities, and 70% of farms are GPS polygon-mapped. In addition, nearly 80% of the cocoa-growing households Hershey works with are enrolled in child labour monitoring systems.
Mars, the maker of Snickers and M&Ms, has also pushed forward. Through its “Cocoa for Generations” initiative, it claims that 61% of its cocoa is now responsibly sourced. The company is working to reach 100% by the end of the year and is supporting thousands of farmers through agroforestry training, tree distribution, and income diversification programs.
Ferrero, the company behind Nutella and Ferrero Rocher, stated it has reached 93% traceability to the farm level and covers 100% of its farmer groups with child labour monitoring systems. It also promotes sustainable agricultural practices through the distribution of cocoa seedlings and farmer education.
Sustainability vs. Market Realities
Despite these achievements, the road to full cocoa sustainability remains bumpy. One of the biggest threats is economic. Global cocoa prices have skyrocketed—reaching record highs in early 2025. A combination of climate change, disease, and political instability has led to lower yields, particularly in West Africa, which supplies about 60% of the world’s cocoa.
These rising prices, while potentially increasing farmer income in the short term, also incentivize illegal cocoa farming in protected forest areas. This undermines environmental goals and highlights how sustainability efforts must align with enforcement mechanisms.
Furthermore, a 2024 report supported by the United Nations revealed that traceability rates in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire had stalled, with both countries hovering at around 82–83% traceable cocoa. While that’s better than previous years, it’s short of the full traceability needed to meet new EU deforestation regulations that come into force in 2025. These rules require companies to prove that their cocoa is not linked to environmental destruction.
The Child Labor Challenge
Child labor remains a persistent issue, despite the efforts of multinational companies. According to a 2020 study by NORC at the University of Chicago, over 1.5 million children were engaged in cocoa-related child labor in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire alone. While many companies have invested in Child Labor Monitoring and Remediation Systems (CLMRS), full coverage has not yet been achieved across the industry.
The real test will be whether companies can demonstrate not just the presence of monitoring systems, but their effectiveness—especially when it comes to remediating cases of abuse and exploitation.
Innovation and Collaboration
There are reasons to be cautiously optimistic. The Rainforest Alliance, one of the world’s leading certification bodies, now certifies over half of the global cocoa supply. They’ve also begun piloting regenerative agriculture programs and new certification labels aimed at helping consumers recognize products that give back more than they take.
Meanwhile, farmers themselves are playing a larger role in sustainability. In Indonesia, for example, some cocoa-growing communities have adopted techniques such as intercropping, composting, and reforestation to protect their land while increasing yields. Partnerships between farmer cooperatives, NGOs, and chocolate companies are proving crucial in scaling these innovations.
Can the Industry Deliver?
With the 2025 deadline here, the cocoa industry has made measurable progress in areas like traceability, farmer support, and environmental stewardship. Yet, the path ahead is far from smooth. Structural issues—such as poverty, weak governance, and the volatility of agricultural markets—continue to challenge long-term sustainability.
What’s clear is that meaningful change requires more than certifications and well-crafted reports. It requires consistent investment, farmer empowerment, regulatory oversight, and consumer awareness. The question isn’t just whether the industry can hit its targets—but whether it can maintain and build upon them in the years beyond.