Barry Callebaut has released their 6th Forever Chocolate Progress Report, which details their progress toward their 2016 objective of making sustainable chocolate the norm. The Progress Report for Fiscal Year 2021/22, which ends on August 30, 2022, demonstrates that they are continuing to scale up their activities by collaborating with customers, as well as societal and industry stakeholders, to create tangible impact on the ground. With the help of their customers, they increased the proportion of products sold containing 100% sustainable cocoa or chocolate to 49.4%, or one in every two products.
“Forever Chocolate is our plan to make sustainable chocolate the norm, and it is truly becoming a reality! With the support of our customers, one out of two products we sell contain sustainably sourced cocoa or chocolate“: Peter Boone, CEO of the Barry Callebaut Group.
What does Barry Callebaut consider sustainably sourced cocoa?
Sustainably sourced cocoa includes cocoa, which is grown in accordance with various sustainable cocoa certification programs, improving cocoa farmers’ livelihoods through premium payments and farming practices. In addition to this certification, Barry Callebaut is deploying programs to fight child labor and deforestation, reduce carbon emissions and improve farmer prosperity. Among them is Cocoa Horizons, their preferred vehicle to drive impact and deliver on their Forever Chocolate ambition, while addressing customer needs.
In 2021/22, they saw significant growth in Cocoa Horizons premiums, driven by solid demand from customers seeking a program that focuses on impact. Cocoa Horizons premiums generated by our customers rose to CHF 37.4 million in funds (+30%).
Their commitment to 100% sustainable ingredients
Their sustainable sourcing target aims to have 100% sustainable ingredients in all their products. At Barry Callebaut, approximately half of the ingredient volume their source consists of cocoa products and the other half consists of other ingredients – sugar, dairy, palm oil, coconut oil, sweeteners, nuts and vanilla, among others.
Each ingredient they use has its own unique sustainability challenges. Through industry programs and collaborations with suppliers, they are defining and implementing sustainability standards for every ingredient they source. With the upcoming formalization of the sustainable coconut and coconut oil roundtable as well as the new standard on sweeteners introduced by the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI), Barry Callebaut has now established sustainability standards for the vast majority of their non-cocoa ingredients, allowing us to currently source almost three out of four ingredients certified (73.4% compared to 66.2% prior year).
“We will continue pushing the envelope and setting new standards in sustainable sourcing, offering our customers best-in-class solutions“: Massimo Selmo, Chief Procurement Officer of the Barry Callebaut Group
Continuing to scale up their activities
Next to our target to have 100% sustainable ingredients in all of our products, Forever Chocolate contains targets to have more than 500,000 cocoa farmers in our supply chain lifted out of poverty, eradicate child labor from our supply chain and become carbon and forest positive.
“Our Forever Chocolate Progress Report, covering fiscal year 2021/22, shows that we continue to scale up our activities by partnering with customers as well as industry stakeholders to create tangible impact on the ground, while at the same time publicly advocating for policies to make sustainable chocolate the norm“. Steven Retzlaff, President Global Cocoa of the Barry Callebaut Group.
The key achievements for Barry Callebaut in 2021/22 include:
- Prospering Farmers – Their Farm Services Business continued to support 171,710 (+36.7%) farmers in 2021/22. In addition, programs supporting subsidized soil inputs and paid labor teams to improve cocoa quality yield per hectare were ramped up across 8,000 hectares in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana;
- Zero Child Labor – 80.6% of the farmer groups that are part of their direct supply chain have systems in place to prevent, monitor and remediate child labor, compared to 61.4% in prior year.
- Thriving Nature – Barry Callebaut launched their intensified agroforestry approach across 11,000 hectares in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire with a focus on long-term success through training, extended monitoring and payment for ecosystem services;
- Sustainable Chocolate – With the support of their customers, they increased the proportion of products sold containing 100% sustainable cocoa or chocolate to 49.4% in 2021/22, compared to 42.6% in prior year. This corresponds to one in two products.
“As the future requirements for a sustainable chocolate supply chain are constantly evolving and transforming, we have assessed where our targets need sharpening. Our conclusion? We want to add fresh ambition to our Forever Chocolate Plan. In spring 2023, we will present a set of sharpened targets, using our ongoing Forever Chocolate targets for 2025 as a springboard”: Peter Boone, CEO of the Barry Callebaut Group.
