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Sucden and Mars announce five-year collaboration for advancing low-carbon, climate-resilient cocoa production on participating farms in the Dominican Republic and Ecuador 

Aligned to Mars 2030 ambition to cut emissions across the entire business by 50% and to achieve Net Zero by 2050 (against a 2015 baseline), Mars’ new collaborations with suppliers target reducing the carbon footprint for cocoa whilst increasing productivity.  

December 15, 2025 — Sucden (General Cocoa) and Mars, Incorporated are pleased to announce the launch of a five-year collaboration (2025-2029) aimed at advancing low-carbon, climate-resilient cocoa production in participating farms in the Dominican Republic and Ecuador. The project aims to bring together innovation, science-based reductions and farmer-centered approaches to drive meaningful greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions across the participating farms in the cocoa supply chain.  

Collaboration on this project builds on a shared commitment between the companies to help minimize the environmental footprint of cocoa production while helping farmers improve their yields. The program activities will encourage participating farmers to adopt climate-smart agricultural practices such as use of improved planting materials, low carbon fertilizers, aerobic composting and other agroforestry practices which are aimed at helping enhance productivity and soil health, reduce GHG emissions and increase yields for cocoa farmers.

Sucden’s technical partners will support the project’s design and monitoring through advanced modeling tools and field-based assessments to quantify emission reductions and measure long-term environmental impact.

Over the next five years, the program aims to help hundreds of farmers across priority regions in the Dominican Republic and Ecuador produce cocoa on 5,250 of hectares using improved agroforestry practices that align with Mars’ GHG reduction targets and Sucden’s commitment to regenerative supply chains.

“The world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today, and we can only achieve our sustainability ambitions by working with like-minded value-chain partners. That’s why Mars is working with suppliers to help build a deforestation and conversion-free cocoa supply chain. This collaboration with Sucden aims to encourage farmers to implement practices in Latin America that can help increase their yields while reducing our supply chain emissions—helping deliver mutual benefits for farmers, suppliers and Mars,” said Pedro Amaral, Associate Director, Head of Cocoa Climate Sustainability. “Taking action to embed sustainability efforts through collaborations with suppliers like this one aligns with our vision to help create a more modern, inclusive and sustainable cocoa ecosystem.”

“Addressing the climate challenges facing cocoa today demands coordinated action and specialized capabilities. Sucden brings deep on-the-ground experience in cocoa production systems, farmer engagement and sustainability program delivery – capabilities that are essential to implementing complex, multi-year climate initiatives,” said Charlotte Demuijnck, Sucden Global Cocoa Program Manager. “Through our strategic partnership with Mars, we aim to deliver robust, science-based interventions that support farmers, reduce emissions and strengthen the long-term resilience of the cocoa supply chain in Ecuador and the Dominican Republic.”

Raw ingredients account for 65% of the total GHG emissions from Mars’ snacking portfolio. The collaboration on this project aims to drive measurable reductions in GHG emissions in the participating farms in the cocoa supply chain. If the agroforestry techniques on this project prove to be effective and scalable across the wider cocoa supply chain, they may play a meaningful role in helping Mars achieve its larger sustainability targets, outlined in the Mars Net Zero Roadmap, to cut GHG emissions by 50% and to achieve net zero GHG emissions across the company’s full value chain by 2050 (as measured in each case against a 2015 baseline).  

Contact:
Caitlyn Camacho
caitlyn.camacho@effem.com