Sustainability Isn't the Problem. The System Is.
What the coffee industry can teach us about the future of cacao.
For years, sustainability has been the language of specialty coffee and craft chocolate.
Certification logos have multiplied. Companies publish sustainability reports. Consumers are encouraged to buy products that promise to do better for farmers and forests.
Yet one uncomfortable question remains:
If the system has become more sustainable, why are so many farmers still struggling to make a living?
A recent report on the global coffee industry argues that, despite two decades of sustainability initiatives, many of the structural problems remain unchanged. Farmers continue to earn below a living income. Climate change is making production more difficult. And much of the value created by coffee is still captured far from the farms where it is grown.
Anyone who works with cacao will find these concerns familiar.
The Price Isn't the Same as the Value
When cocoa prices reached record highs in 2024 and 2025, many assumed farmers would finally benefit.
Some certainly did.
But high commodity prices alone do not solve structural problems.
Farmers still face rising labour costs, climate change, disease pressure, uncertain weather, and years of underinvestment. A temporary increase in price can disappear just as quickly as it arrived, while the underlying vulnerabilities remain.
The question isn't simply "How much is cocoa selling for?"
It's "Does producing cacao provide a stable and dignified livelihood?"
Those are not always the same thing.
Certification Was Never the Finish Line
Certification has accomplished important things.
It has raised awareness about deforestation, child labour, traceability, and environmental stewardship.
But certification was never designed to solve every problem.
Coffee researchers increasingly argue that voluntary standards alone cannot transform an economic system in which producers carry most of the risk while others capture much of the value.
Cacao faces a similar challenge.
A farm may be certified and still struggle to pay workers.
It may meet environmental standards while lacking access to finance, reinvestment, or local processing.
Certification matters.
But it cannot substitute for a resilient rural economy.
Transparency Means More Than Knowing the Farm
Specialty chocolate often celebrates transparency.
We know the origin.
Sometimes we know the farmer's name.
Sometimes even the fermentation method.
Those are meaningful steps.
Yet another kind of transparency receives far less attention:
How much value remains in the producing country?
Who performs the fermentation?
Who dries the beans?
Who roasts them?
Who tells the story?
Every step where knowledge and value stay closer to origin strengthens the communities that grow cacao.
A Different Way of Thinking
Perhaps the biggest lesson from coffee is that sustainability cannot simply mean producing the same commodity a little more responsibly.
Real resilience comes from creating more opportunities around the crop itself.
That may include:
Local chocolate makers creating value close to origin.
Agroforestry systems that improve biodiversity and farm resilience.
Educational tourism that connects visitors directly with cacao.
Better market access for small producers.
Long-term relationships rather than one-time transactions.
These are not replacements for fair pricing.
They are ways of reducing dependence on a single volatile commodity market.
Beyond Sustainable
At Cacao Huasi, we often say that chocolate is only the beginning.
People arrive expecting to make chocolate.
They leave understanding the lives, landscapes, and relationships that make chocolate possible.
Perhaps that is where the next chapter of sustainability begins.
Not with another certification.
Not with another marketing claim.
But with a deeper understanding that resilient cacao depends on resilient communities—and that building those communities requires more than paying attention to the bean.
It requires paying attention to the people.
Further Reading
Are Old Cacao Trees Really the Problem?
The idea that old cacao trees must be replaced has become accepted wisdom. But is the problem really the age of the tree—or the way we manage cacao forests?
Have We Been Breeding Cacao for the Wrong Things?
For decades, new cacao varieties have promised higher yields and greater disease resistance. But what have we gained—and what might we have lost along the way?
What Does Sustainable Chocolate Actually Mean?
"Sustainable" has become one of the most common words in chocolate. But it can refer to everything from certification and agroforestry to farmer incomes and biodiversity. Here's what the term really covers.
Why Biodiversity Matters in Cacao
A cacao farm can be a monoculture—or it can be a thriving forest. Discover how biodiversity influences flavour, resilience, wildlife, and the future of chocolate.
What Is Fine Flavour Cacao?
Why are some cacao beans worth many times more than others? Explore how genetics, fermentation, and craftsmanship create exceptional chocolate.
Bean-to-Bar Chocolate: Why Making Chocolate at Origin Matters
The future of cacao isn't just about growing better beans. It's also about where chocolate is made, who creates the value, and how more of that value can remain in producing countries.
