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.
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. Nestlé’s executive vice president for operations, José Lopez, said: “Child labour has no place in our supply chain. 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.”
The FLA is a collaboration of socially responsible companies, civil society organisations and experts, working together to promote adherence to international labour standards. In the second phase, Nestlé will work with the FLA other stakeholders including the government in Côte d’Ivoire to address any problems that are identified.
The FLA will assess the impact of these efforts and report publicly on the progress made regularly. The Cocoa Plan is a ten year, CHF110m commitment to provide higher quality cocoa plantlets to farmers and to make the cocoa supply chain more traceable, the company said.
Source: Nestlé
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