Ferrero’s latest sustainability report targets 50% carbon footprint cuts

The Ferrero Group has released its 11th sustainability report, revealing several key goals including targeting a 50% carbon footprint from its global operations by 2030, reports Neill Barston

As the Italian-founded company revealed, its latest “Care for the Better” strategy forms part of ongoing plans to enhance existing programmes of environmental responsibility across its businesses, which centre upon confectionery and snacks ranges.

With the climate emergency requiring corporations to step up their commitments, Ferrero has set itself two targets to reduce its carbon footprint. By 2030, the company aims to halve all emissions from its owned operations (Scope 1 and 2), which is consistent with the Paris Agreement goal to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Furthermore, across all scopes, Ferrero commits to reducing emissions by 43% for each tonne of product produced. Both targets use 2018 as a base year.In order to achieve the first target, Ferrero has developed a set roadmap to reduce emissions from plants, warehouses and main offices.

For the second target, which involves also Scope 3 emissions, the company said it will work together with its suppliers to reduce emissions, while rethinking solutions and developing new products.

Speaking on the report, the company’s executive chairman, Giovanni Ferrero, said: “Covid-19 has impacted all of our lives and disrupted every area of society. For business, it has shone a light on the importance of sustainability as an enabler of resilience. The impacts have also shown the crucial need for longterm strategic thinking on a global scale to tackle social and environmental challenges, and build a fairer, more sustainable and resilient society.

“The core values that distinguish Ferrero enabled us to continue to deliver against our objectives and maintain solid business continuity throughout this challenging period. I would like to recognise the outstanding commitment and optimism of our employees. We acted quickly to keep them safe and they responded with determination to minimise disruption and maintain quality across our company.”

As the company highlighted, to date, the company has progressed a number of sustainability initiatives. These include last year’s commitment to make its packaging 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025. As part of this announcement, the company signed up to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics Economy Global Commitment, reflecting its ambition to play an active role in eliminating problematic and unnecessary plastic packaging through redesign and innovation.

Meanwhile, in January 2015, Ferrero reached its target to source 100% RSPO certified and segregated palm oil, and has continued to do so since. Last year, the company was ranked the most sustainable in the industry by WWF in its Palm Oil Buyers Scorecard.

Significantly, the report also highlights the progress of the Ferrero Farming Value (FFV) programmes, launched in 2013 to achieve the company’s ambition of developing a sustainable supply chain for each of its main raw materials. In 2019, the FFV hazelnut teams have visited over 21,000 farmers helping them increasing their yields by over 40%. The FFV cocoa programme addresses the main issues in the cocoa supply chain along three pillars: improving the livelihoods of farmers and communities; protecting children’s rights; and safeguarding the natural capital. In 2019 Ferrero has supported over 100,000 farmers, besides having renovated or constructed around 50 schools, and provided over 13,000 children with education materials.

In 2019, 81% of the cocoa beans Ferrero sourced were certified sustainable, and the company is on track to achieve 100% segregated and traceable cocoa beans by the end of 2020. This will enable Ferrero to have full visibility of its supply chain and to address issues in a targeted way. Moving forward, Ferrero is working to strengthen its cocoa sustainability strategy.

Activities include scaling up programmes on the ground with suppliers and NGO partners as well as implementing Child Labour Monitoring and Remediation Systems in the entire cocoa supply chain.

  • The latest Ferrero sustainability report can be viewed in full: here.

Related content

Leave a reply

Confectionery Production