Nestlé has announced that from October 2020, our KitKat brand in the UK will source Rainforest Alliance certified cocoa instead of Fairtrade. The move comes as our business invests more in sustainably sourced cocoa; and harmonises certification for confectionery products within our global portfolio.
As a global business, we have taken the decision to work with the Rainforest Alliance because their mission and approach aligns closely with our Nestlé Cocoa Plan. We, like the Rainforest Alliance, believe that building farmer resiliency and tackling key social and environmental issues such as child labour are fundamental to the long-term sustainability of the sector.
We are aware that the move will have an impact on some farmers, and we are working hard to mitigate this. Nestlé UK’s investment in Rainforest Alliance certification and the mitigation activities we have planned exceed the payments that farmers and co-operatives would have received had we stayed with Fairtrade.
We want to continue working with our Fairtrade farmers and we will pay for them to get to the level required by the UTZ standard, which since 2018 has been part of the Rainforest Alliance certification programme. If farmers are not able to do this in time for the next crop, we will also provide them with financial support for the coming year. We will be investing in a series of initiatives to support farmers and our cocoa growing communities over the next two years, including £1 million to develop an industry-first living income pilot and a further £500,000 on community projects. Through the living income pilot, we will seek to work in partnership with others to accelerate change at farm, cooperative and household level, in order to close the gap on living income. The key innovation will be to empower farmers by making direct, conditional cash transfers to farming households for making clear progress in the areas of good agricultural practices, re-forestation, child labour and alternative incomes.
Nestlé has committed to sourcing 100% of the cocoa it uses for confectionery worldwide from the Nestlé Cocoa Plan by 2025. Nestlé UK and Ireland has sourced 100% certified, sustainable cocoa for its entire chocolate and biscuit portfolio since 2015, and this latest step will ensure consistency and security across the business’s global supply chain.