12/11/2010(The Sydney Morning Herald) - IN THE wake of a bruising public relations disaster last year over its use of palm oil, Nestle has announced that by the end of next year its Kit Kat bars will only be made with cocoa that has been certified as socially and environmentally responsible.

Greenpeace, the main agitator against Nestle during the furore over palm oil, has described the company's effort as ''among the best in class''.

Under Nestle's plan, cocoa used in its Kit Kat range will be certified by UTZ, an international, not-for-profit organisation certifying the sustainable farming of coffee, tea and cocoa.

Advertisement: Story continues below Some Kit Kats with the UTZ-certified labels are already on sale, with the program due to be rolled out across the full range during 2011, as enough certified cocoa becomes available. The program begins as Kit Kat celebrates its 75th birthday.

Greenpeace's senior forest campaigner, Rolf Skar, said following its campaign against Nestle last year over its use of palm oil, which is linked to deforestation, the company had taken on a global commitment to make sure that the main commodities it used were environmentally sustainable.

Mr Skar said Nestle's commitment was one of the best from a large consumer company. ''It expressed great ambition but will require years of work to fully implement.''

Nestle suffered a huge backlash after it attempted to shut down a YouTube campaign against its use of palm oil. The confectioner tried to get a video removed in which the mouth of someone eating a Kit Kat appeared to be full of blood. Its attempt backfired, sending the video viral and prompting a huge response.

Nestle has since begun working with the Forest Trust to ensure the palm oil used in its products was not linked to rainforest destruction. It has also established a $118 million Cocoa Plan, which aims to improve conditions for cocoa farmers and their communities. A Nestle spokeswoman said the company was focusing on the declining cocoa industry in West Africa.

Mr Skar said the role of Greenpeace in exposing greenwashing was crucial. He said UTZ had a reputation for independence worldwide.

But Mr Skar said Greenpeace had no permanent friends or enemies. ''If Nestle, or any of these companies that we recently ended campaigns with fall back on their commitments then we're more than happy to restart those campaigns,'' he said.