
Hershey statement on Cocoa Sustainability and Supporting the West African LID
Hershey’s commitment to improving cocoa farmer livelihoods and ensuring a long-term sustainable cocoa supply is unwavering. Solving the many challenges within cocoa production, such as low incomes, poverty, child labor and environmental protection will be possible only through collaboration and cooperation across industry, governments, and civil society. We look forward to continuing to engage with the governments of Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana in the spirit of our longtime mutual collaboration and partnership to advance our shared goals.
We are fully participating in the LID for cocoa purchases already made from the 2020/2021 crop as we buy a substantial supply sourced from Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana. And we will continue to participate in the LID to support cocoa farmer livelihoods going forward. We recognize the importance and the value of the LID as a means to reach and improve the lives of farmers across the entire Ivorian and Ghanaian cocoa farming industry, not just the ones directly involved in our programs.
Industry sustainability programs, such as ours, complement and strengthen efforts to positively impact cocoa-growing communities and we remain ready, willing and able to continue these important program such as child labor monitoring and remediation, farmer training, environmental protection, and childhood nutritional supplements. We are eager to move ahead with our sustainability programs so farmers continue to receive the benefits provided by our on-the-ground programs as well as the price premium for certified cocoa.
Doing well by doing good—it’s our original purpose story.
For almost 125 years, our iconic brands have been delighting consumers. They’ve spanned generations, been a part of our culture and were on hand for great moments in history. They’ve been shared at family gatherings and helped create personal moments of happiness. And through it all, doing business the right way has been key to our long-term success and how we continue to deliver innovative and exciting products that consumers love.
We’re using responsibly sourced ingredients, offering smaller portion sizes, and giving consumers more choice and transparency across our portfolio of great-tasting snacks.
Milton Hershey made sure that everyone had the opportunity to enjoy chocolate, which propelled his success and allowed him to leave a lasting legacy that would benefit kids in need for generations to come. Today, we honor his generosity by investing in brands, business models and programs that continue that legacy of making a difference.
Click below to learn how our values have continued to guide our business decisions, and how we’re investing in cocoa communities. #SharedGoodness
Feature Story

Cocoa For Good
By collaborating with our partners and the cocoa-growing communities around the world, we’re working to holistically address the issues these communities are facing — from poverty to climate change.
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Responsible Sourcing at Hershey
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