Mars Inc. has made a commitment to source only legally produced palm oil that does not come from areas of high conservation value or areas with high carbon stocks, such as tropical rainforests.

An article on Mongabay.com says the company has also established a ‘no burn’ requirement and criteria for labor standards and human rights in palm oil production. It has set 2015 as a deadline for removing forest destruction from its supply chain.

"These measures will help ensure a genuinely sustainable pipeline where all material is sourced from companies whose mills only produce sustainable palm oil," says the policy.

The policy comes after Nestle, Neste Oil, Kellogg’s and others have established similar safeguards. Now, Greenpeace is currently urging Procter & Gamble to adopt a similar policy.

Palm oil is currently the biggest single direct driver of deforestation in Indonesia and Malaysia and there are fears the crop could soon contribute to forest losses in West and Central Africa.

Mars is working closely with the World Agroforestry Centre on the Vision for Change initiative in Côte d’Ivoire, which aims to improve the livelihoods of farmers through sustainably increasing cocoa yields

Read the full story: Snickers, Twix to be deforestation-free

Find out more about Vision for Change: http://worldagroforestry.org/regions/west-central-africa/projects/building-sustainable-cocoa-communities-cote-d%E2%80%99ivoire