Nestlé becomes first food company to partner with the Fair Labor Association

The Swiss concern Nestlé SA has decided to work with the Fair Labor Association (FLA) to investigate whether children are working on cocoa farms supplying its factories. It is the first food company to do this. The FLA is a non-profit multi-stakeholder initiative that works with major companies to improve working conditions in their supply chains.

In January 2012 the FLA will send independent experts to Côte d’Ivoire to examine Nestlé’s cocoa supply chain. Where they find evidence of child labour, the FLA will identify the root causes and advise Nestlé how to address them in ways that are sustainable and lasting. The FLA’s role will be to provide expertise to help ensure Nestlé’s efforts to eliminate child labour are more effective and transparent. The FLA’s work with Nestlé on cocoa will begin in Côte d’Ivoire, the world’s largest exporter of the raw material.

In the first phase the FLA will send its team of independent experts to the country to map the supply chain. The results of the FLA’s assessment, which will be made public in the spring of 2012, will guide future Nestlé operations. “Child labour has no place in our supply chain,” said Nestlé’s Executive Vice President for Operations José Lopez. “We cannot solve the problem on our own, but by working with a partner like the FLA we can make sure our efforts to address it are targeted where they are needed most.”

www.nestle.com