Three Mission Guardians are appointed to watch over Tony’s Mission.
Author: Maria-Antoanela Ioniță – Sustainability Communications Specialist
The chocolate industry in which Tony’s Chocolonely operates is one historically riddled with human rights and labor rights abuses. When Tony launched, it made it its mission to break the chains of child labor and slavery in the cocoa supply chain. Recently, they made one further step towards preserving this mission for the foreseeable future.
Through a brand-new governing structure, Tony’s Mission Lock, the company aims to safeguard its purpose. As long as the company exists, the mission, core values, and the 5 Sourcing Principles will not be amended without approval from the new governing structure.
Tony’s Mission Lock will be represented by three Mission Guardians, with strong track records in social impact and sustainability:
- As Chair, Seth Goldman — the founder of Honest Tea and Eat the Change and Chair of Beyond Meat
- Ikenna Azuike – a lawyer turned broadcaster, with a deep understanding of West Africa’s socioeconomic context
- Anne-Wil Dijkstra — Tony’s former Chief of Impact, Operations and People & Culture
“I’ve learnt from my own experience that — even when we create companies with the highest aspirations in mission — times change, people change, new people come in, and organisations change, too. So, historically, no mission is guaranteed. I hope we can serve as advocates for all people and communities around the world that are served and supported by Tony’s 5 Sourcing Principles. Like anything new and unproven, we will learn along the way. But I also hope our approach can become a model for other purpose-driven brands,” says Seth Goldman in the press release.
Setting an example for impact companies
Tony’s Chocolonely has been making chocolate with a mission since 2005. They have since obtained B Corp and Fairtrade certifications and have developed an internal set of sustainable sourcing principles.
The brand sets an example by establishing direct, long-term relationships with cocoa farmers in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, paying them higher prices, and collaborating to tackle the root causes of modern slavery and child labor. Their 5 Sourcing Principles provide tangible solutions to the complex issue of poverty in cocoa production:
- Sourcing fully traceable beans
- Paying farmers a fair income
- Supporting and empowering farmers through cooperative partnerships
- Committing to long-term relationships
- Providing training to enhance farmers’ productivity and agricultural knowledge.
To enhance collaboration and accountability, Tony’s has granted its three Mission Guardians access to a set of tools to be utilised when they suspect a significant breach of the company’s mission-related responsibilities. Anyone can anonymously report such concerns to the Mission Guardians via contact@tonysmissionlock.org.
In cases where these issues remain unresolved, the Mission Guardians have the authority to escalate their concerns publicly. They can publish their concerns in Tony’s annual FAIR report, place full-page newspaper advertisements in major markets where Tony’s operates, and ultimately, refer the matter for legal investigation and arbitration at the Enterprise Chamber of the Court of Appeal in Amsterdam.
Tony hopes that this innovative approach will inspire other impact brands to adopt similar measures and embed their impact models at the core of their business permanently and independently of their shareholder structure. To support this, Tony will make the full details of Tony’s Mission Lock’s structure available as an open-source resource.
The formation document for the structure is officially signed by Lamont and the Mission Guardians during Tony’s FAIR event in Amsterdam on June 8, 2023. They will engage in a live Q&A session to discuss the significance of this evolution of a Mission Lock, both for Tony’s and other impact companies.
Photo credit: Tony’s Facebook Page
