CHICAGO — Mondelez International, Inc. in 2024 made progress in its Cocoa Life program, reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, used more recyclable packaging and increased revenue in its mindful portion products, according to the Snacking Made Right report released by the company April 15.

Cocoa Life, which helps to empower farming communities and regenerate landscapes, covered nearly 91% of cocoa volume at the end of 2024, which was up from 85% in 2023. The goal is to source 100% by 2025. Cocoa Life now runs in eight cocoa-producing countries: Brazil, Ecuador, the Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, India and Indonesia with about 208,000 cocoa farmers participating.

FLOCERT verifies the flow of cocoa from Cocoa Life communities into the Mondelez supply chain. Ipsos conducts studies that evaluate Cocoa Life’s progress and impact in cocoa-producing countries. In the cocoa sector, Mondelez also seeks to improve crop forecasting and maintain hedging frameworks, to launch large-scale cocoa farms, to increase opportunities for direct cocoa sourcing and to develop options from plant cell technologies or analogue technologies.

Christine Montenegro McGrath, chief impact and sustainability officer for Mondelez, in 2023 was appointed chairperson for the World Cocoa Foundation. Mondelez uses cocoa in global brands such as Cadbury Dairy Milk, Milka, Côte d’Or, Toblerone, Freia, Marabou and Daim. Chocolate made up 31% of Mondelez revenue in 2024.

Mondelez has achieved about a 12% reduction in end-to-end GHG emissions across the company’s value chain since 2018. The goal is 35% by 2030.

In palm oil, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil has certified 100% of palm oil volumes sourced by Mondelez International since 2013. This year, the company is adopting a no deforestation, no peat, no exploitation (NDPE) implementation reporting framework (IRF), which requires suppliers to submit verified NDPE, IRF profiles annually.

In dairy, Mondelez works with farmers supplying the brands Cadbury Dairy Milk, Milka and Philadelphia to track carbon dioxide emissions and develop plans to reduce emissions. Mondelez in 2024 continued its partnership with the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative Platform and its Sustainable Dairy Partnership.

Mondelez has reduced its water use in priority sites by about 15% since 2018. The company plans to develop road maps and plans for key basins that involve consulting with local stakeholders to identify and respond to local water risks in watersheds across the supply chain.

About 96% of Mondelez packaging is designed to be recyclable. The amount of overall virgin plastic use has declined by about 4.6% since 2020.

“While numerous stakeholders express changing points of view about the best way to define and evaluate sustainability programs and goals, I’m proud of the consistency of our approach, and I’m proud of the strong progress we continue to achieve against our sustainability goals in 2024,” McGrath said.

In the company’s Mindful Snacking progress, over 84% of revenue, up 22 percentage points from 2023, was derived from individually wrapped mindful portions or clear portion guidance on packs. The goal for 2025 is 100%.

Mindful Snacking progress came in several countries in 2024. In the United States, sodium was reduced by about 17% in the Ritz Everything cracker. In the United Kingdom, reductions of about 23% in sugar, about 37% in sodium and about 29% in saturated fat came in the belVita dark chocolate-hazelnut baked bar. Fiber in the product increased by 13%. In Argentina, reductions of about 16% in sugar, 10% in sodium and about 56% in saturated fat came in the Cerealitas oat and cocoa variety. Fiber in the product increased by 37% while protein increased by about 17%.

Dirk Van de Put, chief executive officer of Mondelez, has co-chaired the Consumer Goods Forum since 2023 alongside Frans Muller, president and CEO of Ahold Delhaize.

“The progress detailed in this report would not be possible without our dedicated and passionate people; our strong partnerships with suppliers, customers, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs); and our multiple collaborations with industry coalitions, including the Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) and the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF),” Van de Put said.