Barry Callebaut Group releases its 6th Forever Chocolate Progress Report highlighting its progress towards making sustainable chocolate the norm

Sustainable Chocolate Forever Chocolate 2021/22

(PRESS RELEASE) ZURICH, 1-Dec-2022 — /EuropaWire/ — Barry Callebaut Group (SWX: BARN), Switzerland-based cocoa processor and chocolate manufacturer, has announced the release of its 6th Forever Chocolate Progress Report highlighting the company’s progress towards making sustainable chocolate the norm. According to the report, which covers Fiscal Year 2021/22, ending 30 August 2022, nearly 50 percent or one out of two of the company’s products sold contains 100% sustainable cocoa or chocolate. The achievement demonstrates that the company is continuing to scale up its activities by partnering with customers as well as societal and industry stakeholders to create tangible impact on the ground. One of the company’s key achievements is that with the support of its customers, the company has managed to increase the proportion of products sold containing 100% sustainable cocoa or chocolate to 49.4%, meaning one in 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,” commented Peter Boone, CEO of the Barry Callebaut Group.

What do we 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, we are deploying programs to fight child labor and deforestation, reduce carbon emissions and improve farmer prosperity. Among them is Cocoa Horizons, our preferred vehicle to drive impact and deliver on our Forever Chocolate ambition, while addressing customer needs. In 2021/22, we 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%).

Our commitment to 100% sustainable ingredients

Our sustainable sourcing target aims to have 100% sustainable ingredients in all our products. At Barry Callebaut, approximately half of the ingredient volume we 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 we use has its own unique sustainability challenges. Through industry programs and collaborations with suppliers, we are defining and implementing sustainability standards for every ingredient we 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), we have now established sustainability standards for the vast majority of our 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,” said Massimo Selmo, Chief Procurement Officer of the Barry Callebaut Group.

Eradicate Child Labor Forever Chocolate 2021/22

Continuing to scale up our 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,” commented Steven Retzlaff, President Global Cocoa of the Barry Callebaut Group.

Our key achievements in 2021/22 include:

Prospering Farmers – Our 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 our direct supply chain have systems in place to prevent, monitor and remediate child labor, compared to 61.4% in prior year.
Thriving Nature – We launched our 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 our customers, we 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.

Our measured impact – Forever Chocolate 2021/22

Check out our third-party verified Forever Chocolate Progress Report for more information on these and other achievements, as well as on our approach and measured impact.

“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,” added Peter Boone, CEO of the Barry Callebaut Group.