Nestlé is spending 45 million Swiss francs ($45.13 million) a year on efforts to source cocoa sustainably, the food company said, also citing progress in reducing child labour in its West African supply chain. 

The company [...] said it aimed to have 100% sustainable cocoa sourcing in its confectionary products by 2025. 

Nestle’s child labour monitoring and remediation system (CLMRS), a part of its sustainably sourcing scheme, currently covers just 15% of the cocoa it sources in West Africa, where child labour is prevalent. 

Coverage under the CLMRS does not mean the elimination of child labour, but means that the issue is being addressed or remedied.

“We’re proud Nestle has made this commitment but (its) a daunting challenge to go from 15% to 100% in five years,” said Nick Weatherill, executive director of the International Cocoa Initiative (ICI)...

Chocolate makers like Nestle, Mars Wrigley, Mondelez , Barry Callebaut and Hershey’s are all ramping up their sustainability schemes in a bid to meet consumer demands for ethically sourced products. 

But the schemes, which certify cocoa ingredients as ethically sourced, have so far had little success in tackling the widespread child labour and deforestation in West Africa that has become a blight on chocolate’s image worldwide.