Ferrero makes key gains with Cocoa Charter sustainability goals
Ferrero
Ferrero has underlined its commitment to working collaboratively across the sector on core sourcing responsibilities and enhancing human rights, as it reports key gains in its latest Cocoa Charter Progress report, writes Neill Barston.
According to the Italian-founded business, which will be returning as a keynote speaker at our World Confectionery Conference in Brussels on 12 September, it has continued to make inroads into its core environmental performance targets.
Significantly, as a core achievement between 2022-2023, the business reportedly sourced 100% of its cocoa through certification and independently managed sustainability standards.
Furthermore, it also achieved 93% traceability of sourced cocoa beans from farm to first-purchase point via Polygon mapping, exceeding its annual target of minimum 90%.
Moreover, as Confectionery Production has covered recently, transparency and traceability within cocoa supply chains will be at the heart of the incoming EUDR regulations on deforestation, in combination with the corporate due diligence laws that will place legal requirements on companies to ensure sustainable sourcing is at the heart of their respective operations.
For the first time, the two pieces of legislation will make these commitments legally binding – both in environmental goals, as well as recognising human rights for farmers, with geomapping down to farm level being at the centre of these initiatives.
Pic: Cocoa farming in Ghana. Pic: Shutterstock.
As Ferrero noted, its results have demonstrated a dedication to delivering improvements on sustainability, as well as addressing significant issues within the industry including securing farmer livelihoods and supporting producing communities.
On the issue of human rights, the company observed that respecting the rights of smallholder farmers, as well as protecting children’s rights remains a significant goal of its work in global supply chains, which it is aiming to achieve through developing and enhancing sustainable agricultural practices.
“It’s our ambition to play our part by addressing economic, social, and environmental challenges in cocoa-growing communities in our cocoa supply chain and beyond,” said Isabel Hochgesand, Chief Procurement Officer at Ferrero.
“The promising 2022-2023 results in our Cocoa Charter Progress Report – for example, supporting 40,000 farmers to pursue income-generating activities, and achieving 93% traceability of sourced cocoa beans via polygon mapping – demonstrate our commitment to a continuous improvement in our sustainability journey.”
As the business noted, with the complexities of the cocoa supply chain, collaboration throughout the value chain with farmers, NGOs, communities, and governments is key to achieving collective progress.
In terms of sustainable livelihoods, the company provides targeted support to farmers to diversify income and boost productivity.
As for its human rights and social practices approach, the business has worked with Save The Children, The World Cocoa Foundation, and The International Cocoa Initiative to bring about further improvements for the sector.
However, significant challenges remain within the wider cocoa sector, with a total of 1.5 million children still reportedly exposed to the worst forms of child labour within farming communities in Ghana and Ivory Coast, which make up two thirds of the chocolate industry’s supply chain.
Ferrero stated it has made it a core mission to protect human rights, and especially those of children in cocoa-growing communities.
It has also put in place environmental protection measures, supporting farmers to move towards agroforestry systems and restore natural forest areas.
In terms of transparency, as its reported noted, Ferrero works to ensure a transparent and compliant value chain, traceable to the farm level. Each year, the Group also updates the public list of Tier 1 suppliers and farmer groups in the cocoa supply chain.
Under the Cocoa Charter Progress Report in 2022-2023, Ferrero has made significant progress across its four pillars, including:
Pillar I: Sustainable Livelihoods
50,000 farmers received targeted support to improve farming practices and diversify income
40,000 people participating in income-generating activities
1.2 million cocoa seedlings distributed
Pillar II: Human Rights & Social Practices
100% farmer groups covered by Child Labour Monitoring and Remediation System (CLMRS) or equivalent
25 schools built or renovated (133 in total by 2022/2023)
1,721 Village Savings & Loan Associations (VSLA) groups active
Pillar III: Environmental Protection
1.4 million trees distributed for on and off-farm planting
168,000 hectares of agroforestry developed (40% of total hectares)
68,000 hectares under Community-Based Natural Resource Management
Pillar IV: Supplier Transparency
93% cocoa traceable to farm level via Polygon mapping
460,000 hectares assessed for deforestation risk
97% deforestation-free cocoa supply chain
211,000 farmers participated in Ferrero’s program
224,000 metric tons of cocoa sourced
Furthermore, in tandem with Ferrero’s Cocoa Charter Progress Report, the Group also released its 2022-2023 Cocoa and Forests Initiative (CFI) Progress Report, which seeks to support sustainable livelihoods and protect forests across Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana.
Among its notable achievements, Ferrero trained 75,000 farmers in Climate Smart Cocoa Practices and empowered 86,000 farmers to apply agroforestry practices. Ferrero also engaged 4,500 youth through community service groups and developed active forest restoration and protection programs in 181 communities.
The company concluded that it will continue to place collaboration as a cornerstone of its approach to sustainability to drive positive change, especially given the strong level of challenges that the industry is presently facing around the world.
