More than 18 months after launching the Cocoa and Forests Initiative (CFI), which sets out agreed actions to achieve a sustainable and deforestation-free sector, HRH The Prince of Wales has visited key cocoa growing regions in Ghana and the Cote d’Ivoire, to examine first-hand the progress being made and how key players in the supply chain are working toward a sustainable farming model.

Prince Charles attended a meeting that brought together senior government representatives from the major growing regions in Africa and international business leaders to discuss sustainable practice in the cocoa industry and key environmental issues.

As a long-standing environmental campaigner calling to end the destruction of rainforests, the Prince of Wales convened a meeting in London last March, with the World Cocoa Foundation and The Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH), that included the worlds leading chocolate and cocoa companies.

As a result, the companies launched a statement of intent to end the deforestation of rainforests in their supply chain. Ministers and senior government representatives of Ghana, Côte dIvoire, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland and the UK also attended.

Last November, at the UN Climate Change Conference in Germany, the top cocoa-producing countries of Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, and the world’s leading chocolate and cocoa companies, signed a landmark agreement – the Cocoa & Forests Initiative (CFI) – to prevent further conversion of any forest land for cocoa production and restore degraded forests.

The Initiative draws on lessons learned and good practices from global efforts to reduce tropical deforestation in other commodities and sectors. It recognizes that the current model of cocoa production, which revolves around very small, family-owned farms that too often provide barely enough income to support basic family needs, has been a major driver of forest loss in West Africa.

The CFI points forward steps toward a sustainable cocoa industry.

During yesterday’s meeting, The Prince of Wales was briefed by governments officials and business leaders from the likes of Barry Callebaut, Cargill, The Hershey Company, Mars Wrigley Confectionery, Mondelēz International, Nestlé, Olam Cocoa, SIAT Group, and Touton, on progress made over the past year to implement the key joint commitments set out in the CFI. Both governments recently released their National Implementation Plans for 2018-2020, and the participating companies which account for 85 percent of global cocoa usage are now finalizing their detailed individual company action plans. These include key players such as Barry Callebaut, Cargill Cocoa and Chocolate, Ferrero, General Mills Inc., The Hershey Company, Lindt & Sprüngli Group, Marks & Spencer Food, Mars Wrigley Confectionery, Mondelēz International, Nestlé, Unilever and Olam Cocoa.