Ferrero confirms action plan for global Cocoa and Forests Initiative

The Ferrero group has confirmed its participation in the international Cocoa and Forests Initiative (CFI), through joining other global firms in producing action plans to tackle deforestation and support key African farming communities.

This new public-private partnership – called the Cocoa & Forests Initiative (CFI) – has been organised by the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF), IDH – the Sustainable Trade Initiative, and The Prince of Wales’s International Sustainability Unit (ISU). The Prince of Wales launched CFI in March 2017 in London.

In its action plan, Ferrero has identified key measures for Ghana and Ivory Coast, which will range from continuing to foster the traceability and mapping of all supplying cocoa farms, to training cocoa farmers in good agricultural practices, as well as supporting the distribution and planting of multi-purpose trees.

The measures contained in the plan, which have been elaborated together with Ferrero’s suppliers, focus on three main areas defined by the Cocoa & Forests Initiative: forests protection and restoration; sustainable cocoa production and farmers’ livelihoods; and community engagement and social inclusion.

As the company explained, these activities form an integral part of Ferrero’s strategy to continue to address in a systemic way the challenges in the cocoa sector.

Ferrero said that it intends to update the action plan as the Ivorian and Ghanaian governments provide further reports and studies such as boundary maps for protected forests and updated operational guidance about land-use in degraded forest areas.

The underpinning Frameworks for Action for Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana define core commitments, verifiable actions,
and timebound targets required for a deforestation-free and forest-positive supply chain. The Governments of Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana play a critical leadership role in establishing the national strategy, enabling policy environment, and governance structure for CFI implementation.

In addition, they ensure that CFI is linked to similar initiatives with other commodities, and provide key operational guidance, and baseline economic, environmental, and social data, to help companies identify and plan the most
effective and efficient private investment activities for CFI.

A statement from the company read: “Ferrero recognises that deforestation and forest degradation are critical issues of the global cocoa supply chain. Deforestation threatens to undermine the very resilience of the cocoa sector itself and
with it the livelihoods of the millions of smallholders who depend on it.

“Ferrero is committed to working on the challenges to end deforestation in the cocoa sector, as well as to implementing key principles and strategies that underpin socially and environmentally sustainable cocoa production. As part of its Corporate Social Responsibility strategy, Ferrero continues to engage in certification programmes, institutional engagement, projects and partnerships, with the aim to safeguard the future of the cocoa sector, supporting and improving cocoa farming sustainability. The business has signed multiple agreements that focus on collective action to end deforestation and to safeguard natural capital.”

 

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