Making chocolate truly sustainable

When we eat a delicious piece of chocolate, do we have any idea of the journey it undertook to get to us, or the potential harm it has caused to people and the planet? This article discusses the potential and actual sustainability of cocoa and chocolate, from farmer to consumer. This round-the-world journey follows cocoa production from the tree all the way to supermarket shelves. This voyage of discovery shows that zero deforestation efforts are an excellent means of addressing the challenges in making cocoa production and trade sustainable. Many other issues need to be addressed before cocoa — or even better, chocolate — is truly sustainable. Efforts to make supply chains “green” must be embedded in a broader discussion about how to ensure sustainability, from commodity production to end products, from farmer to consumer, and not just at some of the points along the way.Peer reviewe

Charcoal supply chains from Mabalane to Maputo: Who benefits?

AbstractIn urban centres of Mozambique, charcoal is the major energy source for cooking. Growing demand drives high wood extraction rates over increasing areas of miombo and mopane woodlands. Charcoal production can lead to changes in ecosystem service provision and woodland degradation while also significantly contributing to rural income and, possibly, poverty alleviation. As such, understanding charcoal production and trade has important implications for rural areas and for the sustainable development of woodland resources. Here, we investigate charcoal production and trade through empirical research conducted in Gaza Province, the main charcoal supply area for Maputo, Mozambique.We analyse the present structure of the main charcoal supply chains from Gaza province to Maputo and the profit distribution along them. Seven villages in the Mabalane district, Gaza, at different stages of engagement with the charcoal industry, were selected for investigation. We conducted household surveys and semi-structured interviews with key informants (village leaders, charcoal producers, licence holders, wholesalers, transporters and forest technicians), from May to October 2014.Our results highlight two main charcoal supply chains comprising four main actor groups a) Local small-scale operators producing charcoal on a small-scale with household labour, who sell to wholesalers b) Large-scale operators producing and commercialising large volumes of charcoal using migrant labour, who sell their own production to wholesalers. While charcoal production constitutes an important income source for rural households in Mabalane, under supply chain a) more than 90% of the monetary benefits do not reach local communities and remain with external agents. Two of the main factors impeding the generation of greater revenues at community level are: 1) bureaucratic burdens in obtaining charcoal commercialisation rights in the form of licences; and 2) weak institutional capacities for woodland resource governance.We conclude that access to markets and control over woodlands is key if local communities are to generate greater benefits from charcoal production while aiming at sustainable charcoal production. Strong local institutions for obtaining commercialisation rights and managing woodland resources have to be developed, while the restructuring of the licencing system in favour of small-scale producers and more rigorous control of the regulations could support this process

Greening the Dark Side of Chocolate : A Qualitative Assessment to Inform Sustainable Supply Chains

Despite the plethora of discourse about how sustainable development should be pursued, the production of agricultural commodities is held responsible for driving c. 80% of global deforestation. Partially as a response, the private sector has made commitments to eliminate deforestation, but it is not yet clear what factors these commitments should take into account to effectively halt deforestation while also contributing to broader sustainable development. In the context of private sector commitments to zero-deforestation, this study characterizes the perceptions of different types of stakeholders along the cocoa and chocolate supply chain in order to determine the main challenges and solutions to encourage sustainable production. The main purpose is to understand the key factors that could facilitate a transition to a more sustainable supply while harmonizing the multiple actors’ interests. A qualitative thematic analysis of perceptions was conducted based on responses from 59 interviews with different stakeholders along the cocoa and chocolate supply chain in six key producing and consuming countries. Thematic analysis of the responses revealed six main themes: (1) make better use of policies, regulations and markets to help promote sustainability; (2) improve information and data (e.g., impacts of climate change on cocoa) to inform sound interventions; (3) focus on the landscape rather than the farm-level alone and improve integration of supply chain actors; (4) promote better coordination between stakeholders and initiatives (e.g., development assistance projects and corporate sustainability efforts); (5) focus on interdependent relationships between social, environmental and economic dimensions to achieve sustainable development; and (6) engage with the private sector. The study shows the importance of identifying different stakeholder priorities in order to design solutions that accommodate multiple interests. It also emphasizes the need to improve coordination and communication between stakeholders and instruments in order to address the three different dimensions of sustainability in a synergistic manner, considering the interactions from production of raw material to end consumer.Peer reviewe