The FINANCIAL — Nestlé has decided to work with the Fair Labor Association to investigate whether children are working on cocoa farms supplying its factories.
The FLA is a non-profit multi-stakeholder initiative that works with major companies to improve working conditions in their supply chains.
In January 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.Nestlé is applying to become a member of the FLA. It is the first food company to do this.
The FLA’s work with Nestlé on cocoa will begin early next year 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.
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