The International Cocoa Initiative (ICI) was created in 2002 as a result of a groundswell of opinion urging the chocolate industry to ensure child and forced labour were not used in the production of their products. An international protocol (known as the Harkin/Engel or Cocoa Protocol) was signed in Washington, D.C. in September 2001, by representatives of the cocoa industry and governments. Establishing the ICI foundation was one of the steps required by the parties to the protocol, and was duly achieved in July 2002.[1]
The ICI is an independent foundation governed by Articles 80ff of the Swiss Civil Code. The ICI is governed by a foundation board that comprises members of labour unions, civil society, and the cocoa and chocolate industry. Its work is implemented and supervised by a secretariat based in Geneva, Switzerland. The ICI is primarily funded by contributions from cocoa industry board members. However the decisions on programme direction and emphasis are made by the board as a whole. The board is chaired by a co-presidency that is shared between industry and civil society representatives.
Current members of the ICI are: Barry Callebaut, Cadbury Schweppes, Education International, European Cocoa Association, Ferrero, Free the Slaves, global march against child labor, Hershey Foods, International Confectionery Association, International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers Associations (IUF), Kraft Foods, Mars Incorporated, Nestlé, US National Consumers League, WAO Afrique and Toms.[2]
By working locally with cocoa-growing communities, ICI works to change the way cocoa is grown. Since its establishment, the ICI has collaborated with a broad range of stakeholders – from farmers to consumers groups – to identify the most efficient and effective methods to end abusive labour practices in cocoa growing.