Despite dairy production having grave impacts on dairy cows and their calves, the environment and the climate, milk has not been in the spotlight like chocolates' other ingredients, such as palm oil which is commonly criticised for its deforestation, and cocoa, for its slave labour. Though the chocolate industry is not transparent in disclosing how much milk is in fact sourced, it is estimated to be in the range of millions of tonnes of milk annually.

The FOUR PAWS Chocolate Challenge, which is part of the Atlas Challenge ranking series, focuses on the welfare of cows in the production chains of this industry, as well as the contribution of the sourced dairy to the climate crisis. FOUR PAWS analysed the product portfolio, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policies and marketing strategies of chocolate companies to see if they are aware of its impact and whether they have measures and goals in place to lower them.

By assessing the level of effort and performance of the selected 18 chocolate companies within Austria, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the United States and South Africa, FOUR PAWS shows where they stand and encourages them to reassess their policies and strategies to highlight and implement dairy reduction as part of their animal welfare and climate action goals. ​ 

How do the companies of your favourite chocolate brands compare? 

The FOUR PAWS Chocolate Challenge ranking is based on FOUR PAWS' assessment on publicly available information online, as well as on the input received by some of the responsive companies, regarding their dairy reduction strategies that includes animal welfare and climate protection measures.  The reduction of dairy products and the availability of plant-based alternatives are key to helping end the suffering of factory-farmed dairy cows in industrial keeping systems and in lowering greenhouse gas emissions.

For more information, click here.