Barry Callebaut’s Japanese operations join manufacturers agreeing key cocoa sector child labour initiative
pic: Barry Callebaut extended its ruby chocolate launch range with Japanese customers
Barry Callebaut’s Japanese operations have joined with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and other key confectionery businesses operating in the country to confirm membership of Sectoral Action to Eliminate Child Labour in the cocoa trade, reports Neill Barston.
As the company acknowledged, making a difference on the key issue of tackling the ongoing issue of under-age workers within industry requires collective action from across the sector working with civil society and governments to drive change.
Consequently, the Swiss headquartered Barry Callebaut group has joined with institutions and businesses including the Japan Chocolate and Cocoa Association, Fair Trade Label Japan, Fuji Oil Co., Ltd, Meiji Holdings Co., Ltd, Morinaga & Co., Ltd. Yuraku Confectionery Co., Ltd, Lot’s Co., Ltd, Lotte Co., Ltd, Romero Trade Co., Ltd in signing up to the latest initiative.
The “Sustainable Cocoa Platform in Developing Countries”, whose secretariat is the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), announced the “Sectoral Actions to Eliminate Child Labour,” which set out specific actions.
According to Barry Callebaut, the “Sustainable Cocoa Platform in Developing Countries” (hereinafter referred to as “Platform”) was established in January 2020 with the goal of realising a sustainable cocoa industry. Industry groups, food manufacturers, trading companies, NGOs, and consulting as a “place” for co-creation and collaboration among various stakeholders to solve problems facing the cacao industry, such as farmer poverty, deforestation, and child labour. In total, 48 organisations such as companies and 94 individuals are participating (as of September 30, 2022). This time, within the platform, companies and NGOs aiming to solve the problem of child labor in particular have taken the lead in formulating “Sectoral Actions for the Elimination of Child Labour.”
Notably, amid growing international interest in business and human rights, the Japanese government released the “Guidelines for Respecting Human Rights in Supply Chains, etc.” on September 13, 2022, in order to support companies’ efforts to respect human rights.
Based on this guideline, the “Sectoral Actions to Eliminate Child Labour” announced by the platform will help companies related to the cocoa industry to understand the risks related to child labor, which is one of the human rights issues in the supply chain, and It is expected to be used as practical guidance for prevention and mitigation, and to promote concrete efforts to respect human rights in the supply chain of companies.