Mondelēz International is a global snacking leader with net revenues of approximately $36 billion, operating in over 150 countries with a portfolio that includes Oreo, Cadbury, Milka, Toblerone, Triscuit, and Ritz. Its sustainability framework, Snacking Made Right, organises commitments across five pillars: climate action, responsible sourcing, packaging sustainability, water stewardship, and social impact. The 2024 Snacking Made Right ESG Report, published in 2025, is the company’s most comprehensive disclosure to date, covering multi-year performance data across all pillars.
In April 2024, the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) validated Mondelēz’s full value chain net zero target, covering both the 2030 interim milestones and the long-term 2050 ambition. In January 2026, Mondelēz received an A rating in Climate and A- ratings in both Forests and Water from CDP, achieving its highest-ever environmental disclosure performance across all three categories simultaneously. Susanne Alig-Mathis, Vice President of Sustainability, described the result as reflecting cross-functional delivery spanning supply chain, procurement, finance, and sustainability teams across global operations.
The 2024 data confirms that Mondelēz has exceeded its manufacturing carbon and water reduction targets ahead of schedule and made substantial gains in cocoa sourcing sustainability. Significant gaps remain in packaging real-world circularity, supply chain deforestation, and the pace of end-to-end Scope 3 reduction required to meet the 2030 target. CEO Dirk Van de Put has framed the company’s sustainability ambition as building a snacking business that is “good for people and good for the planet,” positioning sustainability as embedded in long-term commercial strategy rather than a standalone programme.
2024 Key Highlights
- Total end-to-end GHG emissions: 30.47 million metric tonnes CO2e in 2024, a 12% reduction vs 2018 baseline and a 9% reduction vs 2023
- Manufacturing CO2e (market-based): 913,000 tonnes in 2024 vs 982,000 in 2023 vs 1,458,000 in 2018, a 37% reduction that exceeded the prior manufacturing target
- Scope 1 and 2 (market-based): 28% absolute reduction vs 2018, tracking toward the 50.4% target by 2030
- Scope 3 emissions: approximately 11% reduction vs 2018; 9% reduction vs 2023
- SBTi validated full value chain goal confirmed April 2024: 35% absolute end-to-end CO2e reduction by 2030 and net zero by 2050, both vs 2018 baseline
- Renewable electricity at manufacturing sites: 54% in 2024, up from 45% in 2023; 34 sites now equipped with solar energy generation
- Water use at priority sites: 15% absolute reduction vs 2018, surpassing the 10% reduction target
- Total water at priority sites: 5,778,000 m3 in 2024 vs 6,827,000 m3 in 2018
- Cocoa Life programme: 91% of cocoa volume covered; 208,000 registered farmers; approximately 3,200 communities enrolled
- 237,000-plus Cocoa Life farms mapped via satellite for deforestation monitoring; 10,665,000 economic shade trees distributed cumulatively
- 96% of packaging designed to be recyclable in 2024, against 100% target by 2025
- Plastic packaging footprint reduced approximately 4.6% vs 2020
- CDP performance: A in Climate, A- in Forests, A- in Water for the 2024 reporting cycle
- Total waste generated at manufacturing sites: 319,000 metric tonnes in 2024 vs 332,000 in 2023
- 98% of prioritised supplier sites completed a SMETA audit within the past three years
- Child Labour Monitoring and Remediation Systems (CLMRS) covering 89% of Cocoa Life communities in West Africa in 2024, against 100% target by 2025
- 52 suppliers sponsored in Supplier Leadership on Climate Transition (LOCT) training in 2024
- Approximately 40,000 volunteer hours and approximately $48 million in cash and in-kind donations in 2024
- Design to Transport programme in Europe eliminated over 1,000 trucks annually between manufacturing facilities and distribution centres
Source
https://www.mondelezinternational.com/news/mondelez-all-a-scores-cdp-reporting/
https://csrwire.com/press-release/mondelez-2024-snacking-made-right-report-executive-letters/
https://csrwire.com/press-release/mondelez-2024-snacking-made-right-report-climate-change/
https://www.rssl.com/media/a2rafrzd/2024-mdlz-snacking-made-right-esg-report.pdf
Sustainability Strategy and Goals
Mondelēz’s Snacking Made Right strategy aligns with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C pathway, and SBTi’s Business Ambition for 1.5°C. The company has joined the United Nations Race to Zero campaign and participates in the Consumer Goods Forum’s Forest Positive and Toward Net Zero coalitions of action. The strategy is built around the three largest drivers of carbon emissions in the food and beverage sector: changing land use including deforestation, farming-related emissions, and fossil fuel use across manufacturing and logistics.
The approach interconnects goals across climate, sourcing, social impact, and human rights, treating ingredient sourcing programmes as the primary vehicle for both emissions reduction and community sustainability outcomes. SBTi validation in April 2024 covers both the near-term 2030 milestones and the 2050 net zero ambition, setting a single accountable framework across all scopes. Approximately 70% of total emissions are driven by raw materials, with cocoa and dairy as the two largest contributors, followed by palm oil, sugar, wheat, and other ingredients.
Net Zero and Carbon Emissions
Mondelēz targets net zero GHG emissions across the full value chain by 2050, with an interim target of a 35% absolute reduction in end-to-end CO2e by 2030, both against a 2018 baseline. Within this, Scope 1 and 2 absolute emissions must fall 50.4% by 2030. By end of 2024, manufacturing CO2e had been cut 37% vs 2018, driven by electrification, renewable electricity adoption, and energy efficiency improvements across 100-plus manufacturing sites.
- Total end-to-end GHG: 30.47 million metric tonnes CO2e in 2024, a 12% reduction vs 2018; 9% reduction vs 2023
- Manufacturing CO2e (market-based): 913,000 tonnes in 2024 vs 982,000 in 2023 vs 1,458,000 in 2018
- Scope 1 and 2 (market-based): 28% reduction vs 2018; approximately 2% reduction vs 2023, reflecting slower year-on-year production-level pace
- Scope 3 emissions: approximately 11% reduction vs 2018; 9% reduction vs 2023; cocoa supply chain delivering the largest individual contribution
- Renewable electricity at manufacturing: 54% in 2024 vs 45% in 2023; total renewable energy consumed: 18,528,000 GJ in 2024 vs 18,464,000 GJ in 2023
- New renewable electricity PPAs signed in Poland and Mexico in 2024; Latin America reached approximately 89% renewable electricity consumption
- Viana bakery in Spain baked Oreo cookies in a fully electric oven for the first time in September 2024, replacing combustion-based baking with zero-emission electric baking
- Electric transportation pilots active in China, US, Brazil, and Czechia in 2024
- Design to Transport programme in Europe eliminated over 1,000 trucks annually through pallet height optimisation, double stacking, and truck space utilisation improvements
- Partnership with Watershed initiated in 2024 to improve GHG accounting data granularity and streamline Scope 1, 2, and 3 calculations
- Dairy accounts for approximately 16% of the total GHG footprint; Mondelēz has confirmed it will likely need plant-based dairy reformulation to meet 2050 net zero, though dairy brands remain central to the portfolio for the medium term
Water Stewardship
Mondelēz’s water strategy focuses on priority manufacturing sites in water-stressed areas, using a programme built around audits, water-efficient equipment installation, reuse and recycling systems, leak prevention, employee education, and benchmarking against industry standards. By 2024, the company achieved a 15% absolute reduction at priority sites vs 2018, surpassing the 10% target set for 2025.
- Total incoming water at priority sites: 5,778,000 m3 in 2024 vs 5,715,000 m3 in 2023 vs 6,827,000 m3 in 2018, a 15% absolute reduction
- Total incoming water at all sites: 10,376,000 m3 in 2024 vs 10,119,000 m3 in 2023 vs 11,410,000 m3 in 2018
- 11 sites harvest rainwater; 24 sites recycle water from wastewater treatment plants, representing approximately 8% of total global site water usage in 2024
- Salinas plant, Mexico: new osmosis system enables approximately 100% recycled water for factory cooling systems, reducing annual water consumption by approximately 90,000 m3
- Ikeja site, Nigeria: approximately 25% water consumption reduction through equipment cleaning optimisation, increasing condensate recovery from 20% to 80%, and employee leak detection campaigns
- Future scope includes developing detailed watershed roadmaps for key basins using the World Resources Institute Aqueduct tool, with local stakeholder consultation to identify new at-risk sites beyond the current priority programme
Regenerative Agriculture
Mondelēz’s agricultural sustainability strategy is anchored in the Cocoa Life programme and the Harmony sustainable wheat programme. Cocoa Life integrates farmer livelihood support, child labour monitoring, forest protection, agroforestry, and climate-resilient practices into a single long-running platform covering the company’s most significant agricultural emissions source.
- Cocoa Life coverage: 91% of cocoa volume in 2024 against a 100% target by 2025
- 208,000 registered farmers and approximately 3,200 communities enrolled by end of 2024
- Cocoa Life registered farmers experienced an 8% production decline during the 2023 to 2024 season vs a 20% national average decline in origin countries, attributed to climate-resilient farming practices
- 178,000 farmers trained in Good Agricultural Practices; 571,000 community members trained in Good Environmental Practices in 2024
- Harmony Ambition 2030 charter launched with 20 mandatory farming practices and 17 best practices for wheat, covering nitrogen optimisation, crop rotation diversification, soil cover between crops, and reduced tillage
- Harmony Ambition 2030 launched in France for harvest 2023, expanded to Belgium for harvest 2024, Central Europe for harvest 2025, and Spain plus Italy for harvest 2026
- New Harmony digital platform, developed with Improvin’, rolling out across seven European markets and 1,260-plus farms starting 2025
- Palm oil strategy: transitioning from RSPO credit sourcing to RSPO physical certified sourcing starting in 2025; NDPE IRF supplier profile submissions required annually
Deforestation and Biodiversity
Mondelēz’s deforestation commitment covers primary commodities with a cutoff date of December 31, 2020, aligned with EU regulations and SBTi FLAG guidance. The company’s primary deforestation exposure is in cocoa sourced from West Africa and palm oil, with soy, pulp, and paper also tracked.
- 192,600 farms mapped in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana; deforestation risk assessments conducted across approximately 356,000 hectares
- West Africa satellite monitoring results (2024): approximately 0.6% deforestation signal on or near Cocoa Life registered farms in Côte d’Ivoire; approximately 2.2% in Ghana; approximately 19% in Nigeria with most occurrences on potential secondary forest or agroforestry areas
- Carbon Booster agroforestry project active in seven countries: Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Brazil, Nigeria, and Cameroon; Cameroon uses Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) financial incentives tied to the number of trees planted
- Community-based PES model in Ghana (C4SL pilot) reduced the deforestation growth curve by over 70% vs business-as-usual, conserving approximately 7,000 tonnes CO2e and protecting biodiversity
- Approximately 10,665,000 economic shade trees distributed cumulatively through Cocoa Life
- AIDEnvironment report published in December 2025 linked Mondelēz to over 4,100 hectares of native forest cleared after the December 2020 cutoff date in cocoa and palm oil supply chains, indicating active traceability gaps
- CLMRS covering 89% of Cocoa Life communities in West Africa in 2024, against a 100% target by 2025
Packaging and Circular Economy
Mondelēz has committed to 100% recyclable packaging by design by 2025, with recycled content growth and a plastic footprint reduction as secondary targets. By 2024, 96% of packaging was designed to be recyclable, while independently assessed real-world recyclability remained at 18.9% due to the structural dominance of flexible packaging formats in the portfolio.
- 96% of packaging designed to be recyclable in 2024 vs 100% target by 2025
- Packaging recyclable in practice and at scale: 18.9%; reusable: 0%; flexible formats: 70.1% of portfolio (formats for which recycling infrastructure is largely absent globally)
- Plastic packaging footprint reduced approximately 4.6% vs 2020
- Total waste generated at manufacturing sites: 319,000 metric tonnes in 2024 vs 332,000 in 2023
- Triscuit (US and Canada): ISCC PLUS mass balance certification applied to liner films, attributing up to 50% to advanced recycling sources; outer box uses 100% recycled paperboard with 35% post-consumer recycled content
- EcoDesign digital tool rolled out to R&D colleagues globally; eQoPack packaging sustainability assessment tool developed with Quantis deployed for product development
- Mondelēz has adopted the Consumer Goods Forum Golden Design Rules for packaging sustainability across its global product development process
- As You Sow filed a shareholder resolution in December 2024 requesting disclosure of clearer sustainable packaging policies for flexible plastics, reflecting investor concern about the gap between design intent and real-world recyclability
- Packaging Europe analysis published in April 2025 concluded Mondelēz may fall short of both its virgin plastic reduction and design-for-recycling targets for 2025
Human Rights and Responsible Sourcing
Mondelēz applies its Human Rights Policy across all employees globally, including temporary and contract workers, using the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGP) as the due diligence framework. Supplier assessments use the Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit (SMETA) standard, and all suppliers are bound by Mondelēz’s Corporate Responsibility Guidelines and Code of Conduct.
- 98% of prioritised supplier sites completed a SMETA audit within the past three years in 2024, up from 90% in 2023 and 87% in 2022
- 649 Tier 1 SMETA suppliers audited in 2024
- Consumer Goods Forum Forced Labour Priority Industry Principles adopted: no worker pays for a job, no coercion, freedom of movement
- Modern Slavery Statement 2024 confirms active risk assessments in Australian operations; labour hire risk flagged in manufacturing environments
- Independent third-party Human Rights Due Diligence assessments conducted; 2024 HRDD Report published in partnership with Embode
- Committed to $1 billion spend with minority- and women-owned businesses globally as part of the multi-year D&I programme launched in 2020
- EcoVadis sustainability ratings used across the supplier base for responsible sourcing risk assessment
Nutrition and Health
Mondelēz’s Snacking Made Right framework positions responsible snacking as a business strategy alongside climate and sourcing commitments. The company reports that over 84% of portfolio revenue comes from individually wrapped mindful portion snacks, framing portion control as a structural feature of its commercial model.
- 84% of portfolio revenue from individually wrapped mindful portion snacks in 2024
- Reformulation research ongoing; a digital dashboard was piloted to capture carbon-reduction potential from ingredient substitution
- Research funded with The National Food Lab to test potential for reducing dairy ingredients from selected baked products with minimal impact on cost, taste, and nutrition
- Mondelēz has confirmed that meeting the 2050 net zero target will likely require wider plant-based dairy reformulation; Cadbury Plant Bar introduced as an early-stage product in this direction
Community and Social Impact
Mondelēz’s community investment is primarily channelled through the Cocoa Life programme and the Mondelēz Changemakers employee volunteering initiative. Water access and community ecosystem services form secondary benefits in water efficiency programmes at water-stressed manufacturing locations.
- Approximately 40,000 volunteer hours contributed by employees globally in 2024, up from 29,000 in 2023 and 19,000 in 2022
- Approximately $48 million in cash and in-kind donations in 2024
- Approximately 9,000 employee volunteers participated in community programmes in 2024
- Approximately 3,200 communities engaged through Cocoa Life by end of 2024
- Sustainable Futures platform invested in eAgronom, supporting farmers accessing carbon credit markets across over one million hectares
- Multi-year partnership with Boys and Girls Clubs of America includes college scholarship programmes for underrepresented youth in the US
- Coaching for the Best programme in Morocco provides training for disadvantaged youth; more than 200 young people have benefited to date
Governance and Transparency
The Governance, Membership and Sustainability Committee of the Mondelēz Board of Directors oversees the sustainability framework, KPI performance, strategic communications, consumer well-being, and environmental and social sustainability. The company reports against the GHG Protocol Corporate Standards, SBTi methodology, TCFD-aligned frameworks, and SASB standards, with independent third-party assurance of all key sustainability data.
- CDP scores: A in Climate, A- in Forests, A- in Water for the 2024 reporting cycle, the highest result in company history across all three categories
- SBTi validation of full value chain goal confirmed April 2024, covering near-term 2030 targets and long-term 2050 net zero ambition
- Carbon Accounting Manual formalised; Standard Operating Procedures expanded for internal GHG consistency
- Climate risk assessments conducted using the Risilience platform and the Centre for Risk Studies at the University of Cambridge, covering physical and transition risks across emission pathways from 1.5°C to over 4°C
- SASB and TCFD alignment indexes published alongside the annual ESG report
- All sustainability data independently verified and published in the ESG Reporting and Disclosure Archive
Technology and Innovation
Mondelēz’s innovation strategy in sustainability spans electric manufacturing equipment, advanced recycling partnerships, regenerative agroforestry science, digital farm monitoring platforms, dairy emissions measurement, and water recycling systems. The company is deploying site-level technology solutions while building research partnerships on longer-term systemic challenges such as dairy decarbonisation and biochar sequestration.
- Viana bakery (Spain): first fully electric Oreo baking completed in September 2024, delivering zero combustion emissions, lower energy consumption, and minimal exhaust energy loss
- Heat pump programme: Skarbimierz plant in Poland and Bludenz plant in Austria replaced boilers with heat pumps; Bludenz achieved approximately 60% reduction in annual gas consumption
- Solar energy: 8 new sites added in 2024, bringing the global total to 34 solar-equipped manufacturing sites
- Advanced recycling (ISCC PLUS mass balance) applied to Triscuit liner films; up to 50% attributed to advanced recycling sources
- Biochar research completed in collaboration with the Alliance of Biodiversity International and CIAT; confirmed potential for CO2 removal alongside improved soil fertility, water retention, and cocoa farm productivity
- Harmony digital platform (Improvin’) rolling out to 1,260-plus farms across seven European markets from 2025, using machine learning and satellite imagery to reduce manual reporting burden
- eAgronom investment through Sustainable Futures platform: over one million hectares under sustainable farming, enabling carbon credit access for smallholder farmers
- Watershed GHG accounting partnership initiated 2024 for greater data granularity across Scope 1, 2, and 3
- Water recycling system at Salinas, Mexico: osmosis technology delivers approximately 100% recycled water for factory cooling, reducing annual consumption by approximately 90,000 m3
Global Partnerships and Advocacy
Mondelēz operates through a network of sector-wide and bilateral partnerships designed to extend sustainability reach beyond its direct operational control. Partnership models are the primary vehicle for Scope 3 reduction across agriculture, packaging, logistics, and procurement.
- Cocoa and Forests Initiative (CFI): connects Mondelēz with governments in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Cameroon and with peer companies on landscape-level deforestation solutions
- RSPO membership: transitioning to physical certified palm oil sourcing from 2025; NDPE IRF supplier profiles required annually
- Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI) Platform Sustainable Dairy Partnership: active participation in scaling SDP adoption in Latin America
- UN Race to Zero campaign member; CGF Forest Positive Coalition and Toward Net Zero Coalition of Action participant
- Supplier LOCT programme: 52 suppliers sponsored for climate training in 2024
- EcoVadis ratings used across the supplier base for responsible sourcing risk management
Source
https://csrwire.com/press-release/mondelez-2024-snacking-made-right-report-climate-change/
http://csrwire.com/press-release/mondelez-2024-snacking-made-right-report-energy/
https://csrwire.com/press-release/mondelez-2024-snacking-made-right-report-water/
https://www.cocoalife.org/en/progress/mdlz-2024-snacking-made-right-report/
https://www.cocoalife.org/en/progress/mdlz-cocoa-life-2024-cocoa-forests-initiative-progress-report/
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2024/09/18/2948275/35903/en/Mondel%C4%93z-International-Makes-Progress-Toward-Packaging
https://packagingeurope.com/news/mondelez-may-fall-short-on-virgin-plastic-and-design-for-recycling-targets-for-2025/12754.article
https://www.asyousow.org/resolutions/2024/12/3-mondelez-international-sustainable-packaging-policies-flexible-plastics
https://sustainablefoodbusiness.com/mondelez-deforestation-aidenvironment-report/
https://embode.co/mondelezs-2024-human-rights-due-diligence-report/
https://csrwire.com/press-release/mondelez-2024-snacking-made-right-report-impact-community-engagement/
https://www.mondelezinternational.com/investors/corporate-governance/governance-membership-and-sustainability-committee/
https://www.mondelezinternational.com/Snacking-Made-Right/Reporting-and-Disclosure/Standards-and-Ratings/
https://www.ingredientsnetwork.com/can-mondelz-hit-net-zero-by-2050-without-plant-news129032.html
https://www.rssl.com/media/a2rafrzd/2024-mdlz-snacking-made-right-esg-report.pdf
Progress vs. Target Tracker
Source
https://www.rssl.com/media/a2rafrzd/2024-mdlz-snacking-made-right-esg-report.pdf
https://csrwire.com/press-release/mondelez-2024-snacking-made-right-report-climate-change/
https://packagingeurope.com/news/mondelez-may-fall-short-on-virgin-plastic-and-design-for-recycling-targets-for-2025/12754.article
https://www.asyousow.org/resolutions/2024/12/3-mondelez-international-sustainable-packaging-policies-flexible-plastics
https://csrwire.com/press-release/mondelez-2024-snacking-made-right-report-water/
https://www.mondelezinternational.com/snacking-made-right/reporting-and-disclosure/datasheet/
Key Sustainability Innovations and Technologies
Mondelēz’s sustainability technology investment spans four domains: decarbonising manufacturing through electrification and renewable energy procurement, transforming packaging through advanced recycling and digital design tools, protecting and monitoring agricultural supply chains through spatial analytics and farmer digital platforms, and measuring and reducing dairy supply chain emissions through farm-level collaborative research.
- Electric oven, Viana bakery (Spain): Oreo cookies baked in a fully electric oven for the first time in September 2024; technology delivers zero combustion gases, lower total energy consumption, and minimal exhaust energy loss; serves as a replication model for other sites in the network
- Heat pump programme: Skarbimierz plant in Poland and Bludenz plant in Austria replaced fossil fuel boilers with heat pumps for hot water supply; Bludenz achieved approximately 60% reduction in annual gas consumption and serves as a reference case for the wider European plant network
- Solar energy expansion: 8 new sites added in 2024, bringing the global total to 34 manufacturing sites with on-site solar generation; combined with new PPAs in Poland and Mexico, Latin America reached approximately 89% renewable electricity
- Advanced recycling for Triscuit packaging (US and Canada): ISCC PLUS mass balance certification applied to liner films, attributing up to 50% to advanced recycling sources; designed to divert over one million pounds of plastic waste from landfills annually; serves as the lead market test for scaling to additional brands
- EcoDesign tool and eQoPack: digital tools rolled out globally to R&D and packaging teams to build lower-impact choices into product innovation, reformulation, and portfolio decisions; eQoPack developed in partnership with Quantis
- Carbon Booster agroforestry project: active in seven countries (Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Brazil, Nigeria, Cameroon); uses spatial data, species selection analytics, and Payment for Ecosystem Services incentives to optimise carbon sequestration from tree planting across Cocoa Life farm landscapes
- Biochar research: first comprehensive study of biochar’s CO2 removal potential in smallholder cocoa farming, completed in collaboration with the Alliance of Biodiversity International and CIAT; confirmed simultaneous decarbonisation potential alongside improved soil fertility, water retention, and farm productivity
- Satelligence satellite monitoring: remote sensing and machine learning used to detect deforestation signals on and near Cocoa Life farms in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Nigeria; methodology expanded in 2024 to include secondary forests, improving detection sensitivity
- Harmony digital platform (Improvin’): rolling out to 1,260-plus farms in seven European markets from 2025; uses machine learning and satellite imagery to streamline farmer data reporting, reducing manual entry and enabling year-on-year comparable data at individual farm level
- Dairy Scope 3 measurement: Scienta Group R&D partnership exploring Marginal Abatement Cost Curves for dairy farm typologies across Europe; Knowledge Transfer Partnership with Queen’s University Belfast on end-to-end farm emissions assessment
- Watershed GHG accounting partnership: initiated in 2024 to deliver greater granularity and consistency in Scope 1, 2, and 3 carbon calculations, improving data quality for SBTi-aligned target tracking
- eAgronom investment via Sustainable Futures platform: covers over one million hectares under sustainable farming; enables smallholder farmers to access carbon credit markets and transition to regenerative practices
- Water recycling system, Salinas (Mexico): osmosis technology treats and reuses wastewater from the local municipality, delivering approximately 100% recycled water for factory cooling and reducing annual consumption by approximately 90,000 m3
- Design to Transport programme (Europe): eliminated over 1,000 trucks annually through pallet height optimisation, double stacking, and pack-light-right logistics redesign across 25 European markets
Source
https://csrwire.com/press-release/mondelez-2024-snacking-made-right-report-climate-change/
http://csrwire.com/press-release/mondelez-2024-snacking-made-right-report-energy/
https://csrwire.com/press-release/mondelez-2024-snacking-made-right-report-water/
https://www.cocoalife.org/en/progress/mdlz-cocoa-life-2024-cocoa-forests-initiative-progress-report/
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2024/09/18/2948275/35903/en/Mondel%C4%93z-International-Makes-Progress-Toward-Packaging
https://www.ingredientsnetwork.com/can-mondelz-hit-net-zero-by-2050-without-plant-news129032.html
https://www.rssl.com/media/a2rafrzd/2024-mdlz-snacking-made-right-esg-report.pdf
Measurable Impacts
Mondelēz’s 2024 Snacking Made Right ESG Report provides multi-year data against the 2018 baseline across all SBTi-aligned targets. The most significant performance improvements are in manufacturing carbon intensity and water efficiency at priority sites, where both original targets have been exceeded. Packaging real-world circularity and the pace of Scope 3 reduction against the 2030 target pace are the two areas with the largest performance gaps.
- Total end-to-end GHG: 30.47 million metric tonnes CO2e in 2024 vs approximately 34.6 million in 2018, a 12% reduction; 9% reduction vs 2023
- Manufacturing CO2e (market-based): 913,000 tonnes in 2024 vs 982,000 in 2023 vs 1,458,000 in 2018, a 37% reduction
- Scope 1 and 2 (market-based): 28% reduction vs 2018; approximately 2% reduction vs 2023
- Scope 3 emissions: approximately 11% reduction vs 2018; 9% reduction vs 2023
- Total energy consumed at manufacturing: 18,528,000 GJ in 2024 vs 18,464,000 GJ in 2023
- Renewable electricity share at manufacturing: 54% in 2024 vs 45% in 2023
- Water at priority sites: 5,778,000 m3 in 2024 vs 6,827,000 m3 in 2018, a 15% absolute reduction exceeding the 10% target
- Total water all sites: 10,376,000 m3 in 2024 vs 10,119,000 m3 in 2023 vs 11,410,000 m3 in 2018
- Total waste generated at manufacturing sites: 319,000 metric tonnes in 2024 vs 332,000 in 2023
- Cocoa Life: 91% volume coverage; 208,000 registered farmers; 237,000-plus farms mapped via satellite
- Packaging recyclable by design: 96% in 2024; recyclable in practice at scale: 18.9%; reusable: 0%
- Plastic packaging footprint: approximately 4.6% reduction vs 2020
- SMETA supplier audits: 98% of prioritised sites within 3 years in 2024, up from 90% in 2023
- Employee volunteering: 40,000 hours in 2024 vs 29,000 in 2023 vs 19,000 in 2022
- CDP performance: A in Climate, A- in Forests, A- in Water for the 2024 reporting cycle
Source
https://csrwire.com/press-release/mondelez-2024-snacking-made-right-report-climate-change/
http://csrwire.com/press-release/mondelez-2024-snacking-made-right-report-energy/
https://csrwire.com/press-release/mondelez-2024-snacking-made-right-report-water/
https://www.mondelezinternational.com/snacking-made-right/reporting-and-disclosure/datasheet/
https://www.asyousow.org/resolutions/2024/12/3-mondelez-international-sustainable-packaging-policies-flexible-plastics
https://www.mondelezinternational.com/news/mondelez-all-a-scores-cdp-reporting/
Challenges and Areas for Improvement
Packaging circularity is the most significant public-facing sustainability gap for Mondelēz. The gap between 96% “designed to be recyclable” and 18.9% “recyclable in practice and at scale” reflects a structural problem: 70.1% of the company’s packaging sits in flexible formats where functioning collection, sorting, and recycling infrastructure does not exist at commercial scale in most markets. The company has 0% reusable packaging against stated 2025 targets, and As You Sow filed a shareholder resolution in December 2024 requesting clearer flexible plastic packaging policies.
The AIDEnvironment report published in December 2025 linked Mondelēz to over 4,100 hectares of native forest cleared after the December 2020 cutoff date in cocoa and palm oil supply chains. This directly challenges the credibility of the Cocoa Life deforestation position and arrives in the same year the company is transitioning to RSPO physical certification for palm oil. The Nigeria satellite result of approximately 19% deforestation signal on or near Cocoa Life registered farms adds geographic specificity to the broader supply chain risk.
End-to-end Scope 3 reduction is tracking at 12% vs 2018 against a 35% target by 2030. At the current rate of reduction, roughly 9% per year from a 12% base, achieving the target would require consistent and accelerated delivery for six consecutive years. Dairy ingredients, representing approximately 16% of total GHG footprint, are the single most complex variable, with Mondelēz’s own senior sustainability leadership confirming in March 2026 that meeting 2050 net zero will likely require plant-based reformulation.
- Packaging recyclable in practice: 18.9% vs 100% design-intent target by 2025
- Reusable packaging: 0% vs stated 2025 targets
- Virgin plastic and design-for-recycling 2025 targets: at risk per Packaging Europe analysis
- Cocoa Life coverage: 91% vs 100% target by 2025
- CLMRS coverage: 89% vs 100% target by 2025
- Deforestation: over 4,100 hectares linked to supply chains after December 2020 cutoff date
- Nigeria satellite deforestation signal: approximately 19% on or near Cocoa Life registered farms
- End-to-end Scope 3: 12% reduction vs 2018, needing acceleration to 35% by 2030
- Scope 1 and 2: 28% reduction vs 2018, requiring continued acceleration to 50.4% by 2030
- Renewable electricity: 54% at manufacturing, needing to reach 100% by 2030
- Dairy decarbonisation: no confirmed farm-level baseline reductions published in 2024; dairy Scope 3 remains the largest unresolved component of the footprint
Source
https://packagingeurope.com/news/mondelez-may-fall-short-on-virgin-plastic-and-design-for-recycling-targets-for-2025/12754.article
https://www.asyousow.org/resolutions/2024/12/3-mondelez-international-sustainable-packaging-policies-flexible-plastics
https://sustainablefoodbusiness.com/mondelez-deforestation-aidenvironment-report/
https://csrwire.com/press-release/mondelez-2024-snacking-made-right-report-climate-change/
https://www.ingredientsnetwork.com/can-mondelz-hit-net-zero-by-2050-without-plant-news129032.html
Future Plans and Long-Term Goals
Mondelēz’s 2030 roadmap requires a 35% absolute end-to-end CO2e reduction, a 50.4% Scope 1 and 2 reduction, 100% renewable electricity at all manufacturing sites, 100% recyclable packaging by design, deforestation-free primary commodity sourcing, and full Cocoa Life coverage. The 2050 target is net zero across the full value chain as validated by SBTi in April 2024.
The packaging transition from 2025 will centre on scaling advanced recycling beyond Triscuit to additional brands, developing infrastructure partnerships for flexible plastic collection, and accelerating recycled content targets across the global portfolio. The dairy supply chain roadmap, currently in early baselining stage across European farms, must transition into measured year-on-year reductions within the next two reporting cycles to remain credible against the 2030 and 2050 targets.
- 100% renewable electricity at manufacturing sites by 2030; Latin America already at approximately 89%; new PPAs signed in Poland and Mexico in 2024
- Advanced recycling scaling: Triscuit packaging serves as the proof-of-concept for deployment to additional brands and markets from 2025 onward
- Harmony digital platform covering 1,260-plus farms across seven European markets by 2026, creating a scalable data infrastructure for regenerative wheat measurement
- Phase 2 dairy baselining will cover a broader share of European supplier farms and begin tracking annual progress from validated baselines
- Water strategy will evolve from priority-site efficiency management to full watershed roadmaps using WRI Aqueduct data and local stakeholder consultation
- Carbon Booster agroforestry project to scale across Cocoa Life origins with monitoring transitioning to remote sensing for tree survival verification
- RSPO physical certification fully operational for palm oil supply from 2025; NDPE IRF compliance tracking embedded in supplier procurement
- Plant-based dairy reformulation likely required beyond 2030 for long-term net zero pathway; currently a slow-burn process given brand equity tied to dairy
Source
https://csrwire.com/press-release/mondelez-2024-snacking-made-right-report-climate-change/
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2024/09/18/2948275/35903/en/Mondel%C4%93z-International-Makes-Progress-Toward-Packaging
https://csrwire.com/press-release/mondelez-2024-snacking-made-right-report-water/
https://www.ingredientsnetwork.com/can-mondelz-hit-net-zero-by-2050-without-plant-news129032.html
https://www.rssl.com/media/a2rafrzd/2024-mdlz-snacking-made-right-esg-report.pdf
Comparisons to Industry Competitors
Mondelēz, Nestlé, and Kraft Heinz all target net zero by 2050 with SBTi-validated near-term commitments. Key differences lie in manufacturing decarbonisation pace, renewable electricity coverage, packaging circularity strategy, and the maturity of agricultural sourcing programmes.
Nestlé leads Mondelēz on Scope 1 and 2 reduction pace (33.19% vs 28% vs 2018) and renewable electricity coverage (91.9% vs 54% at manufacturing sites). Mondelēz’s CDP performance across all three environmental categories places it ahead of both Nestlé and Kraft Heinz on disclosure quality in the 2024 cycle.
Kraft Heinz’s packaging target structure mirrors Mondelēz’s design-intent commitment, but neither company has published real-world recyclability rates that account for flexible packaging infrastructure gaps, making direct comparisons on circularity outcomes difficult. Mondelēz’s Cocoa Life programme with 208,000 registered farmers and satellite monitoring at farm level is more mature than comparable programmes at either competitor.
Source
https://ditchcarbon.com/organizations/nestle
https://www.nestle.com/sites/default/files/2025-02/non-financial-statement-2024.pdf
https://www.kraftheinzcompany.com/esg/pdf/KraftHeinz-2024-ESG-Report.pdf
https://www.esgtoday.com/kraft-heinz-to-eliminate-100-million-pounds-of-plastic-from-packaging/
https://my.csrwindo.com/company/nestle/07d0dfde-2736-46d1-a019-b3927bf8f314/1-environment
https://www.wbcsd.org/news/nestle-reduces-its-greenhouse-gas-emissions-in-2023-and-delivers-significant-progress-against-its-net-zero-roadmap/
What to Watch: 12 to 18 Month Indicators
Three signals will define whether Mondelēz’s sustainability standing improves or weakens between mid-2026 and end-2027.
First, the packaging recyclability disclosure. The 2025 Snacking Made Right Report will confirm whether the 96% design-recyclability figure has reached 100% and, more critically, whether the real-world recyclability rate has moved materially above 18.9%. The As You Sow shareholder resolution on flexible plastic packaging, filed December 2024, creates an investor accountability mechanism that will generate public reporting pressure regardless of how the company responds internally. If no structured flexible packaging end-of-life strategy with infrastructure partnerships is published by mid-2027, investor escalation is the probable next step.
Second, deforestation supply chain resolution. The AIDEnvironment report linking Mondelēz to 4,100-plus hectares of post-cutoff native forest clearance was published in December 2025. The 2026 and 2027 Snacking Made Right reports must show how the RSPO physical certification transition, NDPE IRF supplier profiles, and Cocoa Life satellite monitoring address and close the identified traceability gaps. Any new third-party deforestation finding in the same supply chains during this window would indicate that systemic sourcing controls are not reducing the risk.
Third, dairy Scope 3 measurement and reduction. Dairy represents approximately 16% of total GHG footprint and is the largest single unresolved Scope 3 variable. Phase 2 of the European dairy farm baselining programme should deliver confirmed baselines and begin publishing year-on-year reduction data in the 2025 ESG Report. Without farm-level dairy Scope 3 data showing measurable reductions by 2027, the credibility of the 35% end-to-end reduction target and the 2050 net zero pathway both become difficult to sustain against investor and regulatory scrutiny.
Source
https://www.asyousow.org/resolutions/2024/12/3-mondelez-international-sustainable-packaging-policies-flexible-plastics
https://sustainablefoodbusiness.com/mondelez-deforestation-aidenvironment-report/
https://csrwire.com/press-release/mondelez-2024-snacking-made-right-report-climate-change/
https://www.ingredientsnetwork.com/can-mondelz-hit-net-zero-by-2050-without-plant-news129032.html
https://www.rssl.com/media/a2rafrzd/2024-mdlz-snacking-made-right-esg-report.pdf
Mondelēz has delivered genuine, measurable performance on the targets it controls most directly: manufacturing CO2e cut 37% vs 2018, water reduction at priority sites at 15% against a 10% target, renewable electricity growing from 45% to 54% in a single year, and supplier audit coverage at 98% of prioritised sites. The CDP All-A sweep in 2024 is a meaningful governance milestone, confirming that disclosure quality and data infrastructure have reached a level that satisfies the most rigorous third-party environmental assessment framework.
The credibility problem is the gap between claims and outcomes on packaging and deforestation. A company that states 96% of packaging is recyclable while independently verified data shows 18.9% recyclability in practice is reporting design intent as environmental performance. The AIDEnvironment finding adds a second domain where stated supply chain commitments and on-the-ground reality are visibly misaligned, and that finding was published in December 2025 with no public rebuttal on the data. These two gaps sit in the areas of highest public visibility and investor scrutiny.
Three strategic takeaways for practitioners benchmarking or replicating this approach:
- Manufacturing performance alone does not constitute a credible corporate sustainability story at scale. Approximately 70% of Mondelēz’s footprint is in raw materials and supply chains. Companies that lead on operational metrics while lagging on supply chain and packaging outcomes create asymmetric ESG risk profiles that attract third-party scrutiny and investor escalation, regardless of how strong the manufacturing numbers are.
- Flexible packaging requires a systemic end-of-life strategy, not a recyclable-by-design target. The 70.1% flexible packaging share means that recyclability by design is largely irrelevant until collection and sorting infrastructure exists at scale in key markets. Building or co-funding that infrastructure, not redesigning packaging that has no end-of-life route, is the prerequisite for any credible circularity claim in this portfolio.
- Dairy decarbonisation is the make-or-break Scope 3 variable for the 2050 net zero commitment. At 16% of total footprint and with brands like Cadbury Dairy Milk, Milka, and Philadelphia anchored in dairy, the company’s own senior leadership confirmed in March 2026 that meeting the 2050 target will likely require plant-based reformulation. Practitioners benchmarking this approach should treat the speed of dairy baselining completion and evidence of farm-level reductions as the single most important forward indicator of Mondelēz’s long-term climate credibility.
Source
https://www.mondelezinternational.com/news/mondelez-all-a-scores-cdp-reporting/
https://csrwire.com/press-release/mondelez-2024-snacking-made-right-report-climate-change/
https://www.asyousow.org/resolutions/2024/12/3-mondelez-international-sustainable-packaging-policies-flexible-plastics
https://sustainablefoodbusiness.com/mondelez-deforestation-aidenvironment-report/
https://www.ingredientsnetwork.com/can-mondelz-hit-net-zero-by-2050-without-plant-news129032.html
https://www.rssl.com/media/a2rafrzd/2024-mdlz-snacking-made-right-esg-report.pdf
