News
Hershey takes steps to reduce child labor Call it an example of how quiet dialogue can make a global difference. A decision by Hershey, the largest chocolate manufacturer in North America, to move toward using only certified cocoa in all its chocolate lines is being praised as a step toward reducing child exploitation in Africa. The company recently announced that by 2020 it will source 100 percent certified cocoa and strengthen programs to eradicate child labor in the cocoa industry. The move was praised by Praxis Mutual Funds, which for the last three years has encouraged Hershey to address its
cocoa sourcing to help increase pay for farmers, provide fair labor standards for workers and put an end to child slave labor. Praxis (advised by Everence Capital Management) has led the dialogue with Hershey, along with the Tri‑State Coalition for Responsible Investment and members of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility. Certified cocoa meets sustainability standards to protect the environment, employees and communities. Hershey intends to use an independent, third‑party certification system to ensure its cocoa is grown sustainably and without the
use of forced and child labor. “Seventy percent of the world’s cocoa is grown in West Africa,” explains Chris Meyer, stewardship investing specialist for Praxis and co‑convener of the Hershey dialogue. “Tens of thousands of children are forced — often smuggled in — to work on cocoa plantations, especially in Ghana and the Ivory Coast.” Hershey’s commitment is expected to significantly increase the supply and demand
Magazine marvels at Africa turnaround Africa is on the cusp of a “tsunami of change” as years of aid and investment begin to pay off, according to an enthusiastic report in Time. “Africa,” the magazine says, “is in the midst of a historic transition, and during the next few decades hundreds of millions of Africans will likely be lifted out of poverty” as more African countries record GDP increases of five to seven percent annually. “From vendors at traffic lights selling iPad chargers to millions of neatly suited commuters, signs of change are everywhere. Average incomes have close to doubled in a decade, and if the economy continues to expand 5% annually as expected, a nation of mud huts will become a middle-income country by 2016.” What has fuelled the boom? A combination of “accelerators” ranging from money spent to fight malaria
for certified cocoa, which currently accounts for less than five percent of the global trade. Praxis president David Gautsche called the Hershey decision “a big step in eliminating labor abuses in West African cocoa plantations.” Similar discussions are under way with Kraft Foods Inc., the world’s largest chocolate manufacturer, to strengthen its cocoa sourcing policies and local development activities. ◆
Goshen ranks in top 10 of accounting programs Goshen College’s accounting program has been ranked 10th best in the nation and 2nd best in Indiana (just behind Notre Dame). The ranking by the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) is based on the Certified Public Accountant exam that all accounting graduates take. Goshen’s ranking was in the small program category, which comprises 265 schools. The ranking is based on exam passing rates. While the national average pass rate for 2011 was 45.5 percent, Goshen’s pass rate for first‑time exam candidates was 68.8 percent. “We have always believed that our pass rates were above the national average,
and HIV/AIDS to improved education to better roads so farmers can better haul their manioc to market. “Business increasingly dominates foreign interest in Africa,” says Time. “Investment first outpaced aid in 2006 and now doubles it.” An underlying force is a lively entrepreneurial drive born of relentless need. Where, asks Live Aid organizer Bob Geldof, does Africa get its spirit of enterprise? “If you’re constantly scratching for a living,” he says, “you’re an entrepreneur.” ◆
The Marketplace January February 2013
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although this was based on anecdotal evidence only when students told us they passed and how many attempts it took them,” says Michelle Horning, professor of accounting. Nearly 100 percent of graduates in the Goshen program get jobs in accounting, she says, with many students having offers prior to graduation and the rest finding jobs within a few months after graduating. “It is unusual for a school our size to have as many accounting firms and companies come to campus to interview and recruit students,” Horning says. “Three of the top 10 accounting firms in the nation actively recruit students from Goshen College by coming to campus.” ◆
