Hershey Expands Cocoa Sustainability Across Its Supply Chain

Adopt end-to-end traceability across the cocoa supply chain now and set a concrete November milestone to verify progress. This move directly improves sector transparency, mitigates risk for buyers, and lifts farmer livelihoods by tying payments to verified data.

Hershey expands sustainability reach by integrating smallholder programmes with direct sourcing and cooperative networks, extending this approach to mills and traders. In collaboration with callebaut, the company standardises audits, training, and data-sharing across origin countries, including Ivory Coast, Ghana, Ecuador, and Indonesia, another emerging origin in the programme. The scale of this effort lowers verification costs while increasing feedback speed to farmers.

What happens next for stakeholders? Farmers gain predictable income from longer-term contracts, credit access, and targeted agronomy support. Suppliers see steadier volumes, better product quality, and clearer payment terms. Retail partners and consumers notice stronger perception of Hershey’s commitment, observable in product messaging and supplier certifications. The change also strengthens trade relationships by aligning incentives across the chain.

To seize opportunities, Hershey deploys digital tools for traceability and field-level monitoring, plus training programmes that emphasise soil health, water use, and child-labour risk reduction. Including partnerships with farmer organisations, mills, and exporters, the effort aims to reduce reliance on opaque intermediaries and create a more resilient network with less volatility in price and supply.

In November, milestones anchor this expansion, with new origin partners, expanded farmer outreach, and enhanced data dashboards that quantify progress on motivation і interest from several communities. By focusing on what matters–scale, transparency, and fair trade–the programme broadens opportunities and improves perception among consumers, NGOs, and investors.

Hershey Cocoa Sustainability Across the Supply Chain: A Practical Plan

Begin with a transparent, farmer-first sourcing plan that links input costs to farm-level outcomes and guarantees a fair share of value to the farms that grow the products.

Develop a governance framework focusing on clear targets, and use GlobalData to monitor yield, income, land health, and practice adoption across the chain; also clarify what input accelerates progress for farms.

Working in partnership with farmers, co-operatives, and buyers such as callebaut and hersheys speeds up the implementation of proven agronomic methods.

Develop forms of support that strengthen the business for farmers, including input credit, access to training, and fair trade terms that are acceptable to buyers.

Define the foundation: a shared standard for soil health, biodiversity, and worker wellbeing, then expand beyond the farm gate to processing and packaging.

Attach a performance dashboard to the supply chain, publish global data-driven updates, and provide a straightforward way for retailers to verify progress. This is important for traceability with partners.

Align product specifications with sustainable cocoa through close collaboration with callebaut and hersheys, ensuring continuity of supply and quality.

Invest in land stewardship on farms: shade trees, soil health, and diversified income streams to reduce risk and increase resilience.

Strengthen the trade network by building trusted partnerships with farmers, cooperatives, and exporters to improve price transparency and contract fairness.

Measure impact with proven metrics, compare against global benchmarks, and adjust plans annually to keep momentum.

With this foundation and a steady cadence of data, the world can expect a more stable supply of Hershey Cocoa products, whilst improving farmers’ livelihoods.

Companies across the globe can adopt these steps to advance cocoa sustainability in their supply chains.

End-to-End Traceability: Farm-to-Factory Visibility and Data Collection

Implement a centralised global data hub that captures farm-to-factory data in real time, with standardised inputs at origin, to provide a single source of truth for risk management, quality, and public trust across Hershey’s supply chain.

Map every farming site, attach unique identifiers, and require farmers to report inputs through mobile or offline-capable devices. This work creates between-site visibility, reduces data gaps, and improves the accuracy of payments and inventories, benefiting them and the network as a whole.

Public interest and incomes rise when data is shared with appropriate privacy safeguards, enabling stakeholders to see provenance while protecting farmer anonymity where required. The approach includes training, clear data governance, and agreed criteria for data use, so everyone understands how inputs, outputs, and conditions drive product quality.

In November, Hershey's announced a milestone to include input from Parkin and Callebaut to broaden scenarios for tracing and impact analysis. Cases from early pilots show proven benefits: faster response times in recalls, more precise forecasting, and stronger collaboration with farming groups, public health bodies, and retailers. These results were achieved by aligning incentives, streamlining data flows, and giving stakeholders access to global data dashboards that highlight trends, risks, and opportunities.

Рік	Farms Covered	Data Points	Audits Conducted	Public Disclosure
2023	40%	1,200	5	Limited
2024	60%	2,200	9	Помірний
2025	85%	3,800	15	Високий

To accelerate progress over the next years, the plan focuses on scalable onboarding, shared data standards and transparent reporting. The execution includes detailed farming profiles, standardised input codes and a public-facing summary of improvements, ensuring everyone from smallholders to large buyers can follow the path from farming to finished products.

Deforestation Commitments: Tracking, Verification, and Timelines

Adopt a centralised, independent tracking and verification system with public milestones to reduce deforestation across the cocoa supply. The plan assigns clear accountability within Hershey’s network and sets time-bound targets that teams can act on now.

Tracking relies on global data, satellite change detection, on-the-ground audits, and farmer and producer reporting. These inputs measure forest cover, degradation, and land conversion across cocoa regions, including African communities and farming groups working with producers and other partners. This work informs where to focus effort, what to adjust, and how to scale proven practices.

Verification uses third-party auditors, with sampled checks and annual follow-ups. We publish results to transparent dashboards, enabling communities and farmers to see progress and gaps. When a parcel triggers risk, a corrective action plan follows within six to twelve months and tracks completion, including soil restoration and shade-tree improvements on degraded fields.

Timelines establish concrete milestones: a 2025 baseline, yearly progress checks, and a 2030 target for reduced deforestation in key supply zones. The plan emphasises improved agroforestry, smarter land use, and reduced expansion into forested areas tied to palm or other crops. The approach flags parkin parcels–idle or unproductive spaces–and directs them towards productive use or restoration, with another round of improvements as needed to keep supply steady and resilient for farmers and communities.

Hershey applies a holistic framework that links forest protection with livelihoods. It supports farmer training, access to finance, and market incentives so that sustainable farming continues to grow. The approach connects African farmers with transparent data, improving decision making and fostering change across the supply chain. Globaldata feeds ongoing assessments to develop stronger safeguards, reduce degradation, and boost yields over time for producers and their communities.

To accelerate results, the company's sustainability team will mandate quarterly reviews, publish performance by supplier and community, and share best practices. Doing proactive forest protection on farms, improving shade management, and restoring degraded lands are included in the plan to drive change across the supply chain and support farmers in African regions.

Scaling Smallholder Support: Training, Certification, and Income Improvement

Launch a scalable programme that bundles training, certification, and income support for smallholders, starting with a 12-month plan that trains 8,000 producers across 6 regions and links certification to premium cocoa prices, creating opportunities to improve livelihoods beyond basic harvests.

Focus on practical modules: agroforestry practices for shade-grown cocoa, soil health, pest management, post-harvest handling, process quality, and financial literacy. Pair classroom sessions with on-farm coaching, field days, and peer networks to build motivation and share best practices. Certification should align with international standards and be validated by trusted third parties; this helps producers access higher price bands and lowers verification costs.

Link training to income gains by establishing savings groups, microcredit with favourable terms, and access to higher-value buyers. Use a stepwise ladder so producers move from basic to premium segments. Frequent feedback loops track progress, adjust curricula, and increase household resilience. This approach helps communities and their families reach a broader set of opportunities and reduces reliance on volatile harvest cycles, protecting children from income shocks.

Build a foundation with local cooperatives, extension services and civil society to scale up. Create a governance routine with quarterly reviews, field visits and transparent data sharing. In November, Mars and Hershey rolled out joint audits to ensure supplier compliance with standards across supply chains. Engage leaders such as Charles from the programme’s field team to strengthen trust within communities and amongst producers.

Implement a measurement framework that tracks changes in yields, income, and standards compliance; use a dashboard to monitor progress monthly; scale to additional communities once pilots show significant increases in producer income and female and youth engagement. By focusing on foundation-level capacity and long-term motivation, the programme continues to grow beyond initial sites and increases producer income over time, unlocking substantial potential across cocoa-growing regions.

Collaborative Initiatives Across Major Players: Cargill, Mars, Nestlé, Mondelez

Recommendation: establish a joint governance council across Cargill, Mars, Nestlé, and companies to standardise cocoa-sourcing metrics, share intelligence, address risk, and drive sector change. A November kickoff should align with international norms, and a director from each company will lead the effort, the director said. The collaboration will include Mondelēz to ensure together that that's a unified approach across the industry.

Governance and intelligence sharing: Create a unified council with a director from each company to oversee a shared intelligence platform that tracks supplier risk, farm productivity, and compliance across key sourcing regions; this approach brings together Mondelez and others, and that's the intent of the collaboration.
Sector risk mapping: Map African cocoa belts and land use, including land and tree cover, to identify priority hotspots and reduce issues; the joint programme targets ending harmful practices and improving transparency within the supply chain.
Child protection and community programme: Address children in cocoa communities by a shared programme with measurable milestones and annual reporting; partners were pleased with momentum and transparency.
Standards harmonisation: Align sustainability criteria for products, including callebaut’s supply-chain requirements, reducing duplication in the sector; rely on clmrs for traceability and enable cross-border reporting by mondelez and other multi-nationals.
Supply base expansion and farmer-income focus: Extend engagement beyond large mills to include smallholders and women-led cooperatives; track results within two years and report progress as part of the programme.
Traceability and product mapping: Link cocoa farms to final products using clmrs; capture land, tree, and farm-origin data to reduce mislabelling and strengthen consumer trust; address issues across supply chains and ensure accurate labelling on products.
International coordination and reporting: Publish an annual, public progress report with quarterly updates; that keeps the effort accountable to governments, civil society, and consumers, and positions the sector as a new standard for responsible cocoa, together with multi-nationals like Mondelez.

Tariff Shifts: Implications for Cocoa Sourcing and Financial Planning

Act now to establish a holistic tariff-risk framework that shields cocoa sourcing. Build a foundation that combines input from GlobalData, NGOs, and public-private partnering to map tariff exposure by origin and identify practical action steps.

Tariff shifts impact several touchpoints in the cocoa value chain. They alter farm-gate prices, stress input costs, and reshape international logistics. Procurement systems must adapt quickly; in several cases, public-private coalitions that share data and coordinate supplier audits kept volatility manageable. Implement a real-time dashboard that tracks tariffs by origin, and run three scenarios–base, uplift, and shock–to guide sourcing decisions and cost containment. They provide a clear input for industry planning and farm resilience across global markets.

For financial planning, implement scenario-based budgeting that reflects tariff bands by country. Made by cross-functional treasury and sourcing teams, the framework centres on hedging, origin diversification, and a living library of input from NGOs, multi-nationals, and partnering with suppliers. This approach leverages GlobalData to validate assumptions and root out hidden costs. They can adjust procurement strategies quickly to keep margins intact.

Implementation steps include mapping tariff lines, running what-if analyses, and aligning with farms and processing facilities within several quarters. Build a governance circle that includes companies and suppliers for transparency. Use a holistic approach to monitor KPIs: price pass-through, supplier resilience, and farm income, with biannual public reporting. This strengthens industry collaboration, public-private initiatives, and international standards. The foundation remains to combat volatility and ensure socially responsible sourcing.

Go Deeper with GlobalData: Recommended Reading and Data Signals

Recommendation: Align Hershey’s cocoa-sustainability work with three GlobalData signals: chain-level traceability across the trade and ingredients from farm to factory, NGO outcomes in Ivorian communities, and market data on cocoa price volatility and cross-border trade flows. Use these signals to shape the next two years and measure progress towards the global goal of responsible sourcing.

GlobalData analyses show that over the next years, supplier engagement and standards adoption drive results more than any single programme. The included sections cover governance, stakeholder collaboration, and real-world cases where teams worked together to address persistent challenges, including ending child labour. The director-led meeting cadence combines input from stakeholders, NGOs, and supplier members to align strategy with field results, while Ivorian communities remain a focus for education and livelihoods.