Mondelēz Updates Sustainability Strategy Across Brands

Mondelēz International has released its 2025 sustainability progress report covering cocoa sourcing, climate action and packaging.

The document comes as consumer brands face scrutiny over environmental claims and supply chain transparency, increasingly viewed by leadership as a critical driver of brand trust and consumer loyalty.

According to Mondelēz International, net revenues for 2025 reached around US$38.5bn.

The company operates in more than 150 countries with brands including Oreo, Ritz, Cadbury Dairy Milk, Milka and Toblerone.

Cocoa sourcing at scale

The Cocoa Life programme now covers around 100% of cocoa volume sourced for the chocolate business. More than 257,000 registered farmers work with the programme.

Mondelēz International is a founding member of the TogetherCocoa Foundation, an organisation that works with governments and other companies to help accelerate sector-wide changes.

The company has introduced an enhanced enterprise-wide sourcing strategy for cocoa. Geographic flexibility and large-scale farming form part of this approach.

Partnerships with food-tech startups are underway to develop ingredients such as lab-grown cocoa. Predictive technology is being used for crop forecasting, which could improve supply accuracy.

Christine Montenegro McGrath, SVP Chief Impact & Sustainability Officer at Mondelēz International, says the company is updating smallholder programmes to align with evolving regulatory landscapes and consumer expectations.

"Focus, innovation and impact at scale have always been at the heart of our sustainability work," she says. 

"Ever humble, but determined, we remain focused on contributing to the future of more sustainable snacking and delivering sustainable business growth."

Environmental footprint reductions

The company continues work towards a 2030 target to reduce end-to-end CO₂e emissions by 35% against a 2018 baseline. Around 100% of cocoa volume for chocolate now comes through Cocoa Life, which contributes to this target.

According to Mondelēz International, the company exceeded a target of 10% reduction in absolute water usage in priority sites by 2025. The result was around 18% reduction versus the 2018 baseline.

Recycled content packaging has been introduced for Cadbury in Australia. This forms part of commitments to a more circular economy for plastic.

Progress has been made against the 2030 recycled plastic content target. These changes could reflect the company's commitment to scaling recyclable materials.

Packaging strategy shifts

The procurement strategy has enabled an annual reduction of around 1,000 tonnes of virgin plastic across the European market. The shift centres on sourcing more recycled plastic materials.

Mondelēz International has completed a transition from rigid plastic trays. Alternatives now contain around 80% recycled plastic across several European flagship brands.

Circularity solutions are being piloted within the supply chain. Packaging improvements are set to deploy at scale across major European markets including the UK, France, Spain, Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Mondelēz International has joined The 100+ Accelerator, which provides access to eco-entrepreneurs to further scale environmental solutions.

Dirk Van de Put, Chair & Chief Executive Officer at Mondelēz International, says the work is part of long-term structural actions.

"Our path forward is grounded in long-term, sustainable business growth – shaping, creating and accelerating the future of snacking for generations of consumers to come," says Dirk.

"We remain focused on innovating with excellence, implementing long-term structural actions intended to enhance business resilience, embedding sustainability into our everyday work and delivering long-term value for our many stakeholders."

For the marketing suite, these milestones represent the transition of sustainability from a corporate metric to a core pillar of brand differentiation in a conscious marketplace.