Working conditions in the Mexican sugar industry are far from ideal, and brands sourcing their sugar from the region are already actively engaging to implement improvements. AIM-PROGRESS is now looking to give more impetus by facilitating collaborative improvement projects, instead of each company working in isolation, often with the same suppliers.
As a first step, four AIM-PROGRESS members - Coca-Cola, Kellogg, Nestlé and PepsiCo - hosted an industry awareness workshop on 14 November in Mexico City, gathering 70 delegates from sugar cane growers, sugar corporations, traders/refiners, NGOs and civil society as well as representatives from the Mexican government (Labor, Social Development, Agriculture and Finance Institutions).
The next step will be to focus on a specific collaborative remediation project between brands and the local sugar industry, with the aim to roll out concrete improvements during the current harvesting season.
