Tony's wins Chocolate Scorecard's Achievement Award
.. scoring top marks for the 5th time running, earning the Scorecard’s Achievement Award for leading in practice + policy!
Hooray! Tony’s scored top marks on the Chocolate Scorecard for the 5th time running, earning the Scorecard’s Achievement Award for leading in practice + policy! A choc-tastic celebration of our impact in cocoa, as we continue to show the industry that taking responsibility for your supply chain should be the norm, not the exception.
Released every year, the Chocolate Scorecard is the chocolate industry’s independent assessment founded by Be Slavery Free and Mighty Earth, along with other civil society organizations. Unwrapping the truth on choco brand’s business practices, they evaluate companies on ethical sourcing, sustainability and labour practices, celebrating the industry’s frontrunners while calling out those who can (and should) do better.
Sooo.. How did we do? Glad you asked! Tony’s got top marks in the traceability, living income, child labour, deforestation + climate and agroforestry categories. Just like last year. Our green score is a direct result of sourcing all cocoa according to our 5 Sourcing Principles, which include paying a living income price for 100% traceable cocoa beans. By paying this higher price directly to farmers, we’re working to end forced labour, child labour and deforestation in cocoa.
Our chemical and pesticide management score remained yellow, though – a sign that we’re not perfect either. But we strive to do our very best in every sector of our business, improving our impact day after day. Last year, we scored yellow because we’re not organic, a conscious choice to include as many cocoa farmers as possible. This year, the Scorecard folks agreed that organic is not the only sustainable way to manage pests. Overall our use of chemicals is limited, only occurring when it’s strictly necessary, and according to the Fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance standards.
changing the norm, together
You know who didn’t do so well? Big Choco.. with many big chocolate companies scoring yellow, orange + red across the board. A bitter side note to their sugary-sweet claims.
As our very own Joke – Tony’s Open Chain Lead– shares: “It’s amazing for our impact work to be acknowledged for the 5th time through this Achievement Award – we're super happy with that. But we had hoped to see more big players with improved scores.. Year after year, we prove that our sourcing model is replicable and scalable for every business. And so we invite all other cocoa-buying companies to join our way of working, sourcing cocoa responsibly through Tony’s Open Chain.”
While Big Choco still needs to step up their game, we’re very, very happy to see other chocolate pioneers put people + the planet at their core. ’Cause we need everyone on board to change the norm across the globe. It’s only together that we’ll end exploitation in cocoa.
Psst.. searching for Easter choc to fill up your basket? See how your fave brands compare on the Scorecard – and choose those that have nothin’ to hide.
