Responsible coca sourcing
The Rainforest Alliance works together with companies, farmers, foresters, communities, and consumers to amplify the voices of farmers and forest communities, improve livelihoods, protect biodiversity, and help people mitigate and adapt to climate change in bold and effective ways.
What is mass balance cocoa sourcing?
The "mass balance" model of production allows companies to buy more cocoa from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms, which means that farmers, the environment, and cocoa-growing communities benefit from companies’ increasing purchases.
How does the program work?
A company can claim on product packaging that Rainforest Alliance Certified cocoa is sourced for a particular brand if the volume of cocoa purchased by their supply chain from certified farms matches the volume of cocoa used in the manufacturing of that specific brand.
This means that while certified cocoa might not end up in every chocolate bar because of certified and non-certified ingredients mixing at the company’s facility or the facilities of the company’s suppliers, the supply chain is still buying cocoa from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms and including this ingredient in the overall manufacturing of its chocolate recipes.
Find out more about mass balance cocoa sourcing.
