Cargill releases cocoa & chocolate sustainability report
Cargill has released a collection of sustainability reports covering four of its key businesses, including Cocoa and Chocolate.
The 2018 reports reflect Cargill’s comprehensive approach to sustainability, with a focus on creating connections across industry, government and communities that foster meaningful change and workable solutions to the world’s biggest sustainability challenges.
The reports provide insight into how Cargill addresses the impacts of climate change and delivers sustainable solutions that are transparent, innovative and collaborative. In addition, they highlight progress made on specific goals in key areas such as direct sourcing, improving traceability and building up the socioeconomic resilience of farmers.
“Our work in sustainability focuses on reducing the environmental and social impact throughout our global operations,” said Ruth Kimmelshue, chief sustainability officer for Cargill.
“Customers and consumers are looking to agriculture and industry to be part of the solution, protecting both people and the planet. These reports showcase critical efforts on that journey—efforts that increase efficiency in our supply chains, reduce resource use, lessen our carbon footprint and develop products to help our customers do the same.”
In its Cocoa & Chocolate report, Cargill said it is committed to leading the industry towards a thriving cocoa sector, by increasing supply chain traceability, empowering cocoa farmers and tackling pressing issues using the power of technology. The company’s aim is to improve the lives of cocoa farmers and their communities across the five countries where it sources cocoa – Brazil, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Indonesia.
Cargill provided Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) training and coaching to over 200,000 cocoa farmers worldwide. In Côte d’Ivoire, Cargill has seen GAP adoption rates double (from 14% to 28%), with farmers able to boost their productivity and manage their farms more sustainably.
The business completed GPS polygon mapping of more than 110,000 farmers and the assessment of 188,065 hectares of forest within Cargill’s direct cocoa supply chain (in partnership with Global Forest Watch). This work establishes a baseline identifying where the cocoa comes from, which areas may be at risk of deforestation and how to mitigate this risk through specific interventions.
A full needs assessment was completed in 137 communities in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, which will serve as the basis for Community Action Plans (CAPs) to enable community leaders to evaluate local needs, identify available resources or areas for development, and define their path forward.
“While we have made great strides, as outlined in our sustainability reports, none of this can be accomplished alone,” added Kimmelshue. “Together with partners, customers and other industry leaders, we are increasing access to safe and nutritious food, supporting farmers and communities and advancing climate solutions in our supply chains.”
