Our new column keeps an eye on the latest big brands’ corporate responsibility moves and how the NGOs and activists are keeping up the pressure

By Jeni Bauser

Kraft chocolates go Rainforest Alliance certified

Kraft Foods, the largest US food and drink company, has launched the first European mainstream chocolate with the Rainforest Alliance Certified (RAC) seal.

The company is also committed to buying 10 times more RAC cocoa beans by the close of 2012 and will use only RAC cocoa beans for the entire Cote d’Or and Marabou ranges, roughly 30,000 tonnes of beans a year.

The programme starts in France and Belgium where the Cote d’Or premium dark chocolate line will now include 30% RAC cocoa. The chocolate will be available in Sweden, Denmark and Finland under the Marabou brand and in Austria and Switzerland under the Suchard brand.

Kraft Foods has worked with the Rainforest Alliance since 2005 to promote sustainable cocoa production in the Ivory Coast. Over the past five years, this partnership has benefited more than 300,000 farmers and their dependents on more than 60,000 hectares of farmland.

Edward Millard, director for sustainable landscapes at the Rainforest Alliance, says the collaboration with Kraft Foods will “result in long-lasting, positive changes for cocoa farmers, their families, communities and the ecosystems on which they depend”.

“Consumers want to buy products from companies that ‘get it’ and suppliers are increasingly aware of this,” says Kraft spokesman Richard Buino. “When marketing particular brands, if a product has more environmentally friendly attributes than another, and all else is equal, it can be a tie-breaker.”

Work to be done

The UK garment workers rights group Labour Behind the Label’s new report – Let’s Clean up Fashion – exposes how badly factory workers are still being paid by high street retailers.

The report reveals that few fashion industry workers worldwide earn more than $2 a day, in an industry worth over £36bn annually in the UK alone.

In the series’ fourth instalment, Labour Behind the Label contacted all the major high street retailers and members of the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI). The group surveyed the retailers’ commitment to a “meaningful living wage”, one that enables workers to obtain food, water, shelter, clothing, education, healthcare and transport.

Only a fraction of the surveyed retailers – Next, Gap, New Look and Monsoon Accessorize – scored 3.5 out of 5, the highest grade awarded. They demonstrated “examples of steps to develop and implement a living wage methodology in the supplier base, with clear plans to move beyond pilot projects”. Brands scoring a close 3 include Marks & Spencer and Primark.

The worst performers did not reply to the survey and had no information on their websites about living wages. These companies include Alexon, BHS, Ethel Austin, House of Fraser and the Peacock Group.

While the study notes improvements from years past, high street retailers have work do to, including engaging more in initiatives like the ETI, and actively supporting freedom of association.

The report also highlights an ambitious new initiative, the Asian Floor Wage, an Asia-wide campaign uniting trade unions and NGOs from six garment producing countries to calculate a “floor wage”, or a globally acceptable minimum wage. This is no doubt a lofty mandate, but one with real teeth that could finally set the standard for a real living wage worldwide.

Nestlé makes certified palm oil commitment

Nestlé, the largest food company in the world, has announced a commitment to use only certified sustainable palm oil (CSPO) by 2015.

According to its environmental sustainability policy, the company has pledged to prioritise suppliers who are improving “the efficiency and sustainability of their operations and use of resources”.

Nestlé buys and uses palm kernel oil for many of its confectionery and dairy products. The company says it does not use crude palm oil and “continues to work with suppliers to investigate the traceability of all possible sources of any palm oil used”. Nestlé uses 0.7% of the global supply of palm oil (about 320,000 tonnes).

Nestlé has demonstrated its commitment to sustainable palm oil though its participation in the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil and has recently applied for full corporate membership.

Nestlé’s decision to jump on the CSPO bandwagon is commendable, but there is more that companies can do. WWF’s recent palm oil buyers’ scorecard, assessing 59 of the most prominent European palm oil retailers and manufacturers, concluded that no company achieved the highest score of 29 points.

Roughly half of the companies surveyed are UK-based. Seven UK retailers and manufacturers scored above 20 points, while most scored between five and 20 points. Nestlé scored 8.75.

The top 10 performers were Sainsbury’s, Marks & Spencer, Migros, Young’s/Findus, Unilever, Cadbury, Body Shop, L’Oréal, Asda and Coop Switzerland.

While corporate commitments are vital, companies have yet to truly capitalise on the availability of CSPO and incorporate it sufficiently into their operations. As a result, companies are missing the opportunity to add real substance to their sustainability efforts, and are also dissuading producers from growing more sustainable palm oil, putting rainforests in jeopardy.



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