Our sister organisation VOCAL is looking for a coordinator to help develop their work. This exciting opportunity will allow you to build a cutting edge civil society collaboration in the coffee space, working closely with the VOICE staff.
More information can be found in the job posting here.

Full statement here. Text copied below.

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The Cocoa Coalition, which comprises companies and civil society and other organisations in the cocoa and chocolate sector,* has consistently supported the introduction of the EUDR.

We welcome the publication of the guidance and updated FAQ document by the European Commission on 2 October. We will study them closely, and look forward to further clarifications as soon as possible.

We note the Commission’s proposal to delay implementation by twelve months, and call for this to be adopted as speedily as possible, without amendment, in order to give companies as much certainty as possible on the revised timetable.

We strongly oppose reopening the substance of the EUDR for new negotiations, and urge policymakers to resist any such suggestion. This would serve only to impede the smooth passage of the proposal, increase uncertainty and jeopardise the significant investments our member companies have made in preparing for its application.

We also call on the Commission, member states and the corporate sector to provide appropriate support for the implementation of the EUDR for smallholder farmers and their organisations so that the costs of compliance are not passed to them and they are not excluded from the EU market due to a lack of resources.

* The Cocoa Coalition consists of companies (Ferrero, The Hershey Company, Mars Wrigley, Mondelēz International, Nestlé, Tony’s Chocolonely, Unilever), and civil society and other organisations (Fairtrade International, Fair Trade Advocacy Office, International Cocoa Initiative, IDH, Rainforest Alliance, Solidaridad, VOICE Network). See here for more information.

Companies and civil society organisations oppose any calls to reopen the substance of the EU Deforestation Regulation, urges immediate release of guidance documents and FAQ

The undersigned companies and civil society organisations in the cocoa and chocolate sector have consistently supported the introduction of the EUDR. 

It is deeply disappointing that at the meeting of the Commission’s Multi-Stakeholder Platform on Protecting and Restoring the World’s Forests on 24 September, the Commission was unable to share or even announce the publication of the guidance and updated FAQ document that have been in preparation for months. This is jeopardising companies’ ability to implement the EUDR.

However, we strongly oppose the calls by some to reopen the substance of the EUDR for new negotiations. This would only serve to increase uncertainty and jeopardise the significant investments our member companies have made in preparing for its application. 

We call for the publication of the guidance and FAQ documents without further delay as a matter of urgency. We also call on the Commission, member states and the corporate sector to provide appropriate support for the implementation of the EUDR for smallholder farmers and their organisations so that the costs of compliance are not passed to them and they are not excluded from the EU market due to a lack of resources.

Companies: Ferrero, Mars Wrigley, Mondelēz International, Nestlé, Tony’s Chocolonely

Civil society and other organisations: Fairtrade International, Fair Trade Advocacy Office, International Cocoa Initiative, Rainforest Alliance, Solidaridad, VOICE Network

On International Coffee Day, a new alliance of civil society organisations in coffee releases their first report: “Coffee’s Regulatory Blend”. This report points to the benefits of the upcoming regulations in the coffee sectors, and urges the sector to catch up and step up on their compliance, rather than pushing back. It also calls on the EU to not bow to pressure to reopen the negotiations on the regulation, and provide support to smallholders. 

Mandatory sustainability regulations are becoming the new standard for global commodities, including coffee. This shift is not just necessary but overdue, and is vital for the sector’s future. The coffee industry’s response to this evolving regulatory environment has been inadequate. However, these regulations bring significant benefits for the planet, farmers, and coffee companies alike. They aim to curb deforestation, enhance human rights protections, and boost the credibility of sustainability claims. 

By mandating companies to address the living income needs of smallholders, these regulations make it clear that fighting farmer poverty is no longer a voluntary action. Additionally, the private sector stands to gain from a more harmonized and equitable marketplace, where all players must adhere to the same sustainability standards. The short-term costs of implementing sustainability measures are far outweighed by the risks of doing nothing and losing viable coffee-growing land due to environmental neglect or a waning appeal of coffee farming for future generations.

The coffee sector needs a clear understanding of the benefits of regulatory changes and the harms of maintaining business as usual. Embracing this new normal – where sustainability is no longer voluntary – is essential for the industry. Sustainability regulations are here to stay and will be a driving force in driving systemic sector transformation going forward. 

We are hiring! Come and join our incredibly effective and fun global team!

Are you a real ‘getting things done’ person, with a passion for detail and a knack for administration and finances? Then we’d love to get to know you.

VOICE is hiring a Finance and Administration Manager (0.4 FTE), based in the Netherlands (and optionally Belgium).

Job posting closes on June 12th. The vacancy can be read here.

The terminal market for cocoa is currently trending at around $10,000 a tonne. This is way higher than the low trending prices of the past decades. Why is the price so high? Are farmers earning from this? What should happen?

We try to answer a few of these questions with this non-paper, which the VOICE secretariat drafted for our membership. If you are a cocoa expert and believe data is missing, feel that points need to be challenged, etc, please reach out to us. We like to be a learning organisation, and our opinions change based on new information, so please do reach out to us. This document is a work in progress, and will likely be amended regularly in the coming months.

The Cocoa Coalition has consistently supported the proposed EU Directive on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence. We believe that it represents an important step forward in driving the necessary transformation of the cocoa and chocolate sector and in making human rights and environmental due diligence the norm in global value chains. We called for EU-wide due diligence legislation in the first position paper we published, in 2019.

Accordingly, we urge support for finalising the text of the Directive as soon as possible and before the end of the current EU legislative term. Failure to do so would undermine the position of those companies aiming to put in place systems that protect human and labour rights and the environment. It would risk the emergence of a patchwork of national legislation in EU member states, increasing compliance costs without any benefit to the sector or consumers. This would be a major setback to sustainability in global supply chains.

The Cocoa Coalition comprises companies (Ferrero, The Hershey Company, Mars Wrigley, Mondelēz International, Nestlé, Tony’s Chocolonely, Unilever), NGOs (Fairtrade International, Fair Trade Advocacy Office, Rainforest Alliance, Solidaridad, VOICE Network) and multi-stakeholder organisations (International Cocoa Initiative).

The full statement with logo’s can be downloaded here.

On 19 February 2024, Italian company Ferrero, jointly with industry peers like Mars and Mondelēz, urged the Italian Government to support the adoption of the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) at EU level. The call was joined by leading civil society actors active in the cocoa sector and on deforestation.

The statement welcomes the carefully negotiated text and recalls that over the last years many voices from business have “called for the introduction of pragmatic, consistent and uniform legislation at the EU level and therefore welcome the text of the directive provisionally approved by the Council and the European Parliament.

The new agreement, reached by the EU institutions in December 2023, reflects a careful and pragmatic balance between countries’ resolute commitment to protecting human rights and sustainability and the need for caution in imposing new obligations on a sector that is already facing uncertainty and complexity in the global marketplace.

The obligations in the directive ensure a high level of alignment with the internationally recognised standards on due diligence. The harmonisation proposal will provide common standards, instead of regulatory fragmentation that would only bring uncertainty and complexity, including for Italian companies.” [unofficial translation from Italian]

The full statement in Italian including signatory logos can be found here.

Join us as we gather for a day of building knowledge, strategy, and relationships with civil society and farmers from across the globe.

Are you attending Amsterdam Cocoa Week (or happen to be in the neighbourhood) and working for an NGO or union in the cocoa sector, or are you (representing) a cocoa farmer?

The VOICE Network is happy to invite you to a global Civil Society and Farmer Based Organisation meeting in Amsterdam on the 5th of February, ahead of the World Cocoa Foundation WCF partnership meetings and Chocoa (6-10 Feb). This  in-person gathering during Amsterdam Cocoa Week is aimed to bring together representatives around the world to discuss key issues in cocoa. Coffee and lunch will be provided and we will foresee interpretation in the three main cocoa languages, English, French and Spanish.

Register here.

The Cocoa Coalition of companies, NGOs, certification organisations and multi-stakeholder organisations welcomes the conclusion of a political agreement on the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). We believe that it represents an important step forward in driving the necessary transformation of the cocoa and chocolate sector, and in making due diligence the norm in global value chains.

As this Coalition has previously stated, it is crucial that the Directive is supported by guidance, including on what companies are accountable for, and accompanying measures, especially to support upstream economic actors and vulnerable stakeholders in global value chains. We call on the European Commission to start this work without further delay and engage with relevant stakeholders throughout the process.

[Note: the Cocoa Coalition comprises companies (Ferrero, The Hershey Company, Mars Wrigley, Mondelēz International, Nestle, Tony’s Chocolonely), certification organisations (Fairtrade International, Rainforest Alliance), NGOs (Fair Trade Advocacy Office, Solidaridad, VOICE Network) and multi-stakeholder organisations (International Cocoa Initiative).]