Mondelēz International has reported further progress in its efforts to address child labour, modern slavery and broader human rights risks across its global supply chain, as the snacking giant published its 2025 Human Rights Due Diligence and Modern Slavery Report ahead of World Day Against Child Labour on 12 June.
The maker of brands including Cadbury, Oreo and Milka said it had expanded human rights due diligence programmes across both its own operations and supplier network during the year.
According to the report, almost all of the company's priority suppliers and manufacturing sites have now undergone third-party audits. Around 100 per cent of owned manufacturing sites and 99 per cent of prioritised tier-one suppliers have completed SMETA audits within the past three years, while more than 1,200 priority supplier sites were audited during 2025.
Mondelēz also said it has trained more than 50,000 employees on human rights issues since launching its dedicated Human Rights Policy in 2021, including workers in manufacturing, logistics and key stewardship roles.
Darren O'Brien, chief corporate and government affairs officer and chief cocoa officer at Mondelēz International, said the company viewed stronger human rights due diligence as central to long-term value creation.
"We continue to believe that helping to drive positive change at scale across the communities our business touches is an integral part of value creation," he said. "Simply put, we believe that more sustainable business is, and always will be, good business."
The company highlighted progress within its Cocoa Life sustainability programme, announcing it had achieved its target of reaching approximately 100 per cent Child Labor Monitoring and Remediation Systems coverage across Cocoa Life communities in West Africa. The programme now covers around 2,300 communities and includes initiatives aimed at improving farmer incomes, supporting women's empowerment and promoting income diversification.
Mondelēz said collaboration across industries and governments remains essential to tackling systemic human rights challenges in agricultural supply chains. During 2025, the business continued its involvement in initiatives focused on cocoa, palm oil, sugar cane and hazelnut sourcing.
Among the developments, the company joined the sugarcane sustainability organisation Bonsucro and continued supporting programmes led by the International Cocoa Initiative and the International Labour Organization aimed at addressing child labour risks in cocoa production in West Africa and hazelnut harvesting in Turkey.
The report forms part of Mondelēz's broader commitment to aligning its operations and supply chain practices with internationally recognised human rights standards, including principles set out in the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.