As the Easter weekend draws near, the spotlight turns once again to the global chocolate industry, thanks to the sixth annual sustainable Chocolate Scorecard being released.

The yearly initiative, led by Be Slavery Free in collaboration with Australian sustainability groups and universities, evaluates how chocolate companies measure up when it comes to ethical and environmental practices.

This year’s scorecard offers a mixed batch of findings. On a positive note, transparency is improving. Eighty-two per cent of companies now fully disclose child labour data—nearly doubling from 2023.

The data also shows a drop in instances of child labour, signalling some progress in tackling long-standing social issues within cocoa supply chains. However, the challenges are far from over.

Deforestation linked to cocoa farming remains high, and a staggering 84 per cent of cocoa farmers are either not earning a living income or have earnings that remain undisclosed.

The Scorecard assessed 60 companies that collectively buy over 90 per cent of the world’s cocoa. These include major manufacturers, smaller producers, and retailers, all ranked based on criteria such as traceability, climate action, and pesticide use.

Top honours went to Tony’s Chocolonely, earning the “Good Egg” award in the large company category for leading across all key sustainability markers.

Among smaller companies, Beyond Good claimed the top spot, praised for its direct trade model, which sources cocoa straight from farmers in Madagascar and Uganda—an approach celebrated for its fairness and transparency.

Mars Wrigley received the Gender award, commended for supporting gender equality in its operations through a partnership with CARE.

“Their investment will significantly scale our VSLA programming in cocoa-growing communities in West Africa,” President and CEO of CARE Michelle Nunn said.

“With this expansion, thousands of women in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana will come together and—under their own leadership and with their own aspirations—realise critical improvements in their lives, and those of their families and communities.”

Not all companies embraced the call for accountability. This year, multinational chocolate giant Mondelēz—makers of Cadbury, Toblerone, Green & Black’s, Oreo, and Daim—was named the “Bad Egg” for opting out of the scorecard process entirely.

The decision stands in stark contrast to other large manufacturers, all of whom participated.

Mondelēz had ranked 25th out of 38 in the previous year’s report, but its absence this time raises concerns about declining transparency and public accountability. Australian supermarket Coles, another prior participant, was also notably absent without explanation.