Beyond Chocolate partners report on their progress on a yearly basis. This reporting is crucial, as it helps to track progress towards the partnership's joint objectives, as well as raise transparency and accountability in the sector.

Accountability, Monitoring and Evaluation (AME) Framework

Over the past years, Beyond Chocolate has developed a monitoring framework that enables partners to report on the progress made vis-à-vis the partnership’s end goals.

Beyond Chocolate partners used this framework to report on their progress for a first time in 2020. Since then, Beyond Chocolate has harmonized its monitoring framework with that of the other National Initiatives on Sustainable Cocoa in Europe (ISCOs). This harmonization reduces the reporting burden for international companies and gives a better view of the general progress in Europe. Moreover, the ISCOs have together developed an online monitoring tool that allows partners to report in a user-friendly way in a safe environment. A full overview of the monitoring framework can be found here. More information on the monitoring tool can be found here.

The 2023 reporting round took place in the month of April. In the months of May and June, the Beyond Chocolate secretariat will clean and aggregate the data. Analyses and conclusions will be drawn in consultation with all reporting partners. Aggregated results will be shared in the Beyond Chocolate annual report which will be published in October 2023. The report will be the basis for the Steering Committee to set priorities for the new year.

2021 Annual Report

In October 2022, Beyond Chocolate published its 2021 Annual Report. The 2021 data show that Beyond Chocolate signatories are taking valuable steps towards a more sustainable chocolate sector. 65% of chocolate produced in Belgium is now certified and/or covered by a corporate sustainability scheme. Moreover, there is a positive evolution towards origin transparency. Lastly, increasingly more partners are sharing household income data which leads to relevant new learnings.

Read the report here

The Monitoring Working Group

Beyond Chocolate partners are actively involved in the development and implementation of the AME Framework. In March 2020, a specialized AME working group was formed which provides strategic guidance on the way in which the partners of Beyond Chocolate should be kept accountable, monitored and evaluated. In 2021, the AME working group was incorporated in the joint Monitoring Group of the National Initiatives on Sustainable Cocoa in Europe (ISCOs).

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