Evaluating a company's impact (the case of Mondelēz)

This week’s read time: 3 minutes

You are reading Green Digest Impact, a bi-weekly newsletter that provides in-depth analyses of companies’ environmental and social impact.

OUR APPROACH

Central to our narrative is the principle of double-materiality, which recognizes that a company's impact is twofold: it affects both the environment and society at large, and in turn, these external factors influence the company's financial and operational performance.

While traditional ESG assessments focus on the latter, we aim to examine companies' direct impacts on these factors. In pursuit of this, we introduce a unique scoring system that quantifies a company's impact.

The insights and analyses presented in Green Digest Impact are brought to you by a partnership between Green Digest and Impaakt, a Swiss-based impact data provider. Contact Impaakt here to explore how they can assist you.

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THIS WEEK’S COMPANY

Mondelēz

This week, we dive deep into Mondelēz’s environmental and social impact.

Mondelēz International is a global snacking powerhouse behind brands like Oreo, Cadbury, Toblerone, and BelVita, operating in over 150 countries.

Some interesting facts:

• Nearly 34 billion Oreo cookies are sold every year, averaging about 92 million per day. Since its launch in 1912, over 500 billion Oreos have been sold globally.

• The name “Mondelez” was created by combining the Latin word “mundus” (world) and “delez” (a play on delicious). It was proposed by employees and selected from over 1,000 submissions.

COMPANY’S IMPACT

Mondelēz’s overall impact score

Mondelēz has a general impact score of +0.08 (on a scale from -5 to +5). Its impact is spread across eight European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) topics, split between positive and negative analyses.

In the socio-economic sphere,

as a global leader in snacking, Mondelez plays a pivotal role in shaping modern eating habits, with operations in over 80 countries and a presence in more than 150. The company is the world’s largest biscuit manufacturer, and its iconic brands like Oreo, Cadbury, and Milka reach millions daily, contributing to enjoyment, cultural connection, and accessible nutrition across diverse communities. Mondelez also supports global economic stability by employing 91,000 people and has made significant strides in empowering hundreds of thousands of cocoa farmers. Through initiatives like Cocoa Life, the company has helped increase incomes, expand educational opportunities, and promote financial inclusion, particularly for women in farming communities.

That said, some challenges remain. Mondelez has faced allegations of labor rights violations in parts of its supply chain, including reports of forced and child labor in cocoa production. The company has also drawn criticism for encouraging overconsumption through promotional strategies, and more than half of its product portfolio still falls short of healthy nutrition benchmarks. While Mondelez has made progress in reducing sodium and saturated fats, sugar content remains high in many popular products.

Environmentally,

the company reported 30.47 million tonnes of CO₂e emissions in 2024, with 95% coming from its supply chain (Scope 3). It withdrew 10.38 million m³ of water, much of it from high-stress areas, while failing to disclose its recycling rates. It also generated 319,000 tonnes of total waste and 875,800 tonnes of packaging materials. Mondelez’s sourcing of palm oil and cocoa has been linked to deforestation, particularly in Southeast Asia and West Africa. Despite reporting that 99% of palm oil is traceable to the mill (89% to the plantation), the company has not verified whether its sourcing is fully deforestation-free. While forest restoration and water-saving efforts are in place at select plants, Mondelez acknowledges ongoing challenges and the need for stronger supplier collaboration to improve transparency and sustainability.

_{*The impact score is current as of May 2025 and may be subject to changes as it is continuously updated.
**You can find details about the scoring methodology here and the information sources here.}

SCORES BY ESRS

Mondelēz’s impact scores by ESRS topics

Positively (and by weight), the company scores the highest in S4 - Consumers and end-users (+0.35), followed by G1 - Business Conduct (+2.75) and Workers in the Value Chain (+3.47).

Negatively, the company scores the worst in E5 - Resource Use and Circular Economy (-2.64), followed by S1 - Own Workforce (-0.74) and E1 - Climate Change (-2.97).

*the analysis takes into account the weight and impact materiality of each topic

CONCLUSION

Materiality Map & Final Words

So, Mondelēz’s key social and environmental impact lies in …

its central role in modern food consumption and lifestyle. With operations in over 80 countries and products reaching more than 150, the company supports global economic stability by employing 91,000 people and empowering over 200,000 cocoa farmers through its Cocoa Life program, helping to improve incomes, drive financial inclusion, and support education, particularly for women. These efforts underscore Mondelez’s positive influence on livelihoods, food security, economic growth, and agricultural resilience, among others.

However, the company continues to face challenges tied to health, labor rights, and environmental sustainability. A significant portion of its product portfolio does not meet healthy nutrition standards, and its supply chain has been linked to labor violations and deforestation concerns, particularly in cocoa and palm oil sourcing. While Mondelez has made strides in traceability and launched forest restoration and water-saving initiatives, its full environmental footprint remains substantial.

Mondelez’s final impact score of +0.08 reflects a company with significant global scale and positive contributions to livelihoods and food security, while still facing important challenges related to health, nutrition, and environmental sustainability.

If you’d like to delve deeper into Mondelēz’s impact, you can explore it here.

If you'd like to learn more about the scoring methodology, you can do so here.

Do you have a specific company you'd like us to cover? Send your suggestions to [email protected]

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