Our Action Plan
Tackling Child Labour
An International Cocoa Initiative (ICI) organised women’s awareness group from Gonukrom, Wassa Amenfi, West district, Western Region, Ghana
Picture: International Cocoa Initiative
At Nestlé, as part of our stated and publicly-available business principles, practices and supplier agreements, we are against all forms of exploitation of children and any form of forced or compulsory labour. Our actions include:
- Supporting the United Nations Global Compact’s labour principles including elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labour and effective abolition of child labour
- All our suppliers and partners are required to abide by our Supplier Code including no use or benefit from forced or compulsory labour, no use of child labour or work that is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous or harmful to children, or improperly interferes with their schooling needs
In addition, we are active members and financial contributors to organisations that share our principles, and to programmes, which work to address poor practices, which we alone cannot directly address.
The Causes of Child Labour
It is generally acknowledged that the causes of child labour are complex, including poverty, differing stages of economic development, social values and cultural circumstances. It’s impossible for any one organisation to tackle these issues alone, and eventual elimination will take time, but progress is being made. The governments of Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, for example, have national plans to improve cocoa farming practices. These also address the use of forced and child labour.
Nestlé is a founding participant in the International Cocoa Initiative (ICI), an independent foundation set up in 2002 and dedicated to ending child and forced labour in cocoa growing, and eliminating child trafficking and abusive labour practices. The ICI, a unique partnership among civil society and cocoa industry, works to ensure that children are not exposed to unsafe tasks, helps children that are exploited and improves their access to education.
ICI regularly communicates and updates results of its industry-funded programmes, showing annual progress. Visit www.cocoainitiative.org for further information.
The Cocoa Plan complements our efforts. Projects such as the provision of new cocoa trees and farmer training all contribute to better farming practices that reduce the need for child labour in the first place. The only way to address the issues facing cocoa farmers effectively, is by working together. In this regard, Nestlé is a very good partner.Peter McAllister, Executive Director, ICI
