Updated 10 April 13:10  London, England and Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Mars has become the latest chocolate maker to go green with its products, making a commitment ” to spend tens of millions of dollars annually certifying that the cocoa used in the $10bn of chocolate products it sells every year is sustainably sourced by 2020,” reports the Financial Times. Mars claims to be the world’s largest end-user of chocolate. The company joins Cadbury (whose European head office is in Rolle, Vaud, Switzerland), the largest chewing gum and sweets maker in the world, which has a significant chocolate business. Cadbury announced in March that it would increase direct Fair Trade buying from farmers, spending £45 million in the next 10 years to “to secure the sustainable socio-economic future of cocoa farming in Ghana, India, Indonesia and the Caribbean where the cocoa farming industry is facing increasing challenges.”

Chocolate producers are turning increasingly to marketing their products as “green”, with sustainability a possible selling point to offset what could be higher prices as they struggle with rising world chocolate prices. In January, wholesale prices, which are set in London in pounds, rose above £2,000 a ton for the first time in nearly 25 years. Supplies from Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, which together account for 60 percent of the world market, have been falling and industry observers do not expect the crops to be larger in the near future. Swiss chocolate-maker Lindt, which has turned in healthy annual results for several years, has seen its share price slide since late 2008 in the face of price uncertainties (Ed. note: shares are climbing again; see Lindt site for most recent share trends.) It ended 2008 with sales up more than 5 percent mainly by gaining a larger market share, particularly in the US and Canada.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation gave sustainability efforts in the industry a boost when it announced in February 2009 it will spend $40 million over five years, working with industry partners to improve farmer knowledge and competitivity in West Africa, helping 200,000 cocoa farmers in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon and Liberia improve productivity and quality and supply chain efficiency.

The strength of the Swiss franc and euro against sterling has meant that for now prices in shops have remained stable outside the UK, but Cadbury, for example, has said it may have to increase UK chocolate bar and beverages prices.

Green also extends to the companies’ production system, with Cadbury, for example, pointing to its new offices in Rolle as one of its energy-efficient installations.

Nestlé in Vevey, in 2008 produced a lengthy report on its relations with farmers in Africa and sustainable farming efforts it supports there.

Related:

• web site of the International Cocoa Intiative
• web site of the World Cocoa Foundation
• Global Exchange’s plea, “Every Bunny loves Fair Trade Easter Chocolate”

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