Cémoi, the largest French chocolate and confectionery company, has joined the International Cocoa Initiative (ICI) as a Contributing Partner, joining the organization and its partners in the fight against child labour and forced labour in the cocoa supply chain.

By joining ICI, Cémoi seeks to advance their current sustainability programme, Transparence Cacao, which includes a ‘Child Labour Prevention Plan’. Improving the quality of life of the 60,000 farmers connected to their partner cooperatives and providing access to education through school projects to support the fight against child labour are core parts of their programme.

“Improving the livelihoods and welfare of the farming families we work with are of the utmost importance to us and supporting them has been a key part of our Transparence Cacao programme” said Patrick Poirrier, Cémoi’s CEO. “This partnership with ICI means a lot to us as it will allow us to learn from others in the cocoa sector and receive support to continue our current activities dedicated to preventing and fighting child labour in our supply chain.”

“It is great to join this multi-stakeholder partnership and we look forward to collaborating with ICI and its partners to advance these causes,” Antoine Resk Diomandé, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility at Cémoi, added.

Cémoi is the latest cocoa company to join ICI as the organization seeks to drive the scale up of effective and sustainable approaches that prevent and address child labour and forced labour, as laid out in ICI’s 2021-2026 strategy.

“Cémoi joining ICI is a great motivator for us as we set out on our new strategy. Their commitment to supporting cocoa farmers and tackling child labour will be a welcome addition to our collective effort,” said Nick Weatherill, ICI’s Executive director. “We are aiming to reach all children at risk of child labour to drive sector-wide change. Bringing new partners like Cémoi on board who are motivated to play a role in this fight is crucial to achieving our objectives and those of the sector at large. We look forward to working closely with Cémoi over the coming years.”