Barry Callebaut published the first “Forever Chocolate” progress report. It details both the progress as well as the learnings of the journey kicked off a year ago when Barry Callebaut launched its new sustainability strategy with the ambition of moving sustainable chocolate from niche to norm by 2025.
The plan is based on four ambitious targets to be achieved by 2025 that address the largest sustainability challenges in the chocolate supply chain: 1. lift more than 500,000 cocoa farmers out of poverty; 2. eradicate child labor from its supply chain; 3. become carbon and forest positive; 4. have 100% sustainable ingredients in all its products.
Antoine de Saint-Affrique, CEO of the Barry Callebaut Group, said: “Forever Chocolate requires a systemic change, a new approach to cocoa farming that not only professionalizes farmers but also generates social and environmental benefits to cocoa farming communities. If we cannot resolve the issue of cocoa farmer poverty, we will not reach our other targets. Our data confirms that we are on track. But we neither have all the answers yet as to how to make this happen, nor can we do it alone. Through our Forever Chocolate progress report we extend an invitation to all stakeholders to join us on this journey to make sustainable chocolate the norm.”
Barry Callebaut’s Forever Chocolate progress report was third party verified by Denkstatt GmbH, in accordance with Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) principles. One of the milestones achieved in fiscal year 2016/17: In order to empower farmers to increase their productivity Barry Callebaut had approximately 157,000 farmers involved in one of its sustainability programs on good agricultural practices in 2016/17. Through Barry Callebaut’s Cocoa Horizons program, a total of CHF 7.5 m in premiums was reinvested in cocoa farming communities.
Furthermore, Barry Callebaut developed a Farm Services business that offers cocoa farmers products and services that improve their productivity. These packages can be bought by cocoa famers on credit and include training on good farming practices, access to financial services, access to improved planting materials and access to farm inputs. In 2016/17 packages were loaned to a total of 5,814 cocoa farmers. In Côte d’Ivoire, farmers that acquired these packages experienced an average increase in productivity of 23% per hectare.
