Tony’s Chocolonely

Strengthening deforestation due diligence in cocoa sourcing

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Climate and nature-related risk: Deforestation and biodiversity loss creating regulatory, sourcing, market-access and reputational exposure
Solution pathway: Farm-level traceability; deforestation screening; investigation and remediation


Business type: Chocolate company operating a collaborative cocoa-sourcing initiative 
Sector: Food manufacturing and cocoa sourcing 
Geography: Netherlands; cocoa sourcing in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana 
 

In practice

For cocoa buyers, environmental due diligence depends on knowing where supplies originate and investigating whether production is linked to forest loss. Tony’s Open Chain’s 2024/25 impact report states that all farms in its supply chain were mapped using GPS polygons and assessed for deforestation and overlap with protected areas. 

The initiative introduced a Ground-Truthing and Remediation Protocol to investigate alerts using field visits and enhanced satellite analysis. Of 87 farms initially flagged, follow-up assessments covered 85 and confirmed deforestation at two; two alerts remained pending. This verification process helps distinguish genuine problems from false positives and reduces the risk of unnecessarily excluding farmers. 

Linking mapping, screening and investigation creates a stronger evidence base for sourcing decisions and corrective action. It also supports preparedness for the EU Deforestation Regulation, which places due-diligence obligations on businesses handling relevant commodities. These processes support compliance management, although their existence alone does not demonstrate legal compliance. 

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Why this example was selected

Tony’s Chocolonely ranked second in the seventh edition of the Chocolate Scorecard, an external assessment covering issues including traceability, deforestation and farmer livelihoods. This provides context for its wider sourcing approach. The case itself offers a practical example of connecting environmental alerts with investigation and remediation, including reported results that show why verification matters when making decisions affecting suppliers and market access. 

Key lesson

Combine traceability with environmental screening, verification and documented corrective action. A useful due-diligence system should establish where risks occur, distinguish credible findings from false positives and guide a proportionate response. 

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