Barry Callebaut’s Forever Chocolate Progress Report 2020/21: carbon intensity reduction per tonne of product by 17% since 2016

Barry Callebaut’s Forever Chocolate Progress Report 2020/21: carbon intensity reduction per tonne of product by 17% since 2016

(PRESS RELEASE) ZÜRICH, 3-Dec-2021 — /EuropaWire/ — Barry Callebaut Group (SWX: BARN), Switzerland-based cocoa processor and chocolate manufacturer, has announced the release of its Forever Chocolate Progress Report for 2020/21 measuring the company’s efforts towards making sustainable chocolate the norm by 2025. The key achievement in this year’s report is the reduction of the company’s carbon intensity per tonne of product by more than -17% since 2016. 

The publication of our fifth Forever Chocolate Progress Report marks the half-way point of our plan to make Sustainable chocolate the norm by 2025. Our progress data in 2020/21 shows that we have continued to scale our efforts and create impact on our journey to make sustainable chocolate the norm by 2025.

• 214,584 cocoa farmers estimated to be out of poverty in our direct supply chain
• Our child labor monitoring and remediation system now covers 237 farmer groups, including 220,878 farmers in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Cameroon
• Significant growth in Cocoa Horizons, with the premiums generating over CHF 28.4 million in funds, an increase of +63% compared to prior year
• Over -10% reduction of Land Use Change (LUC) from the impact of cocoa due to our efforts in traceability and sourcing
• 43% products sold containing 100% sustainable cocoa or chocolate

“This year, we celebrate the 5th anniversary of Forever Chocolate and I am extremely proud of the progress that we have made since 2016, creating tangible impact on the ground. Our outstanding achievements are only made possible with the expertise and dedication of our employees, partners and customers. I would like to warmly thank them for their commitment and invite other stakeholders to join us in this journey to make sustainable chocolate the norm by 2025,” commented Peter Boone, CEO of the Barry Callebaut Group.

Forever Chocolate is based on four ambitious targets:

• Check out our Forever Chocolate Progress Report

“In 2020/21, we have continued to scale digital innovations, created a novel approach to measure carbon emissions, increased our individualized tailored support to cocoa farmers and developed a new approach to tackling child labor. Our application of leading innovative solutions is clearly paying off,” said Pablo Perversi, Chief Innovation, Sustainability & Quality Officer; Global Head of Gourmet.

Over 500,000 cocoa farmers out of poverty by 2025

In order to lift more than 500,000 cocoa farmers out of poverty in our supply chain, it is critical to have an in-depth understanding of the conditions, challenges and potential of the farms and farmers we are working with. Our unique and extensive farm mapping database was expanded to cover 234,997 farmers with full data in 2020/21. Over the past five years, we’ve learned that farm-specific support is more effective than a one-size-fits-all approach. In 2020/21 a total of 125,593 cocoa farmers in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Cameroon, Brazil, Ecuador and Indonesia received Farm Services support.

For the measurement of progress against our target to lift over 500,000 cocoa farmers out of poverty by 2025, we are using as a starting point the International Poverty Line definition of extreme poverty of USD 1.90/day. But we are not stopping there. Our activities are directed to place farmers on a trajectory towards a living income and beyond, through increased productivity and income diversification. In 2020/21 we estimate 214,584 cocoa farmers (+50%) in our supply chain are out of poverty.

Eradicate child labor from our supply chain by 2025

Among the most prevalent types of child labor, occurring primarily on family farms, is that of children working at too young an age or working in hazardous conditions. In line with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the solution lies not in ending the sourcing from these regions, but in assessing, monitoring and remediating on the ground the risk of children becoming involved in child labor. Therefore, we continue to monitor and identify cases of child labor rigorously and with intent. This year, our monitoring and remediation systems grew +116% to cover 237 farmer groups, including 220,878 farmers in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Cameroon. In addition, 25,486 (+412%) of the reported child labor cases we found in previous years, are now under remediation. The percentage of the farmer groups we directly source from with whom we undertake child labor monitoring and remediation activities is 61%.

Our approach to eradicate child labor is a child-centered approach which starts at the local level, engaging with children, parents, families and community members to create empowered communities to help their own development and make lasting change for the future. This approach relies on a framework of collaborative action from all stakeholders. In 2020, our partnership with Embode, the internationally renowned social protection and human rights consultancy, led to the finalization of our new approach to tackling child labor. This new approach sets clear internal milestones between 2020 and 2025 to guide planning, implementation, and stakeholder engagement.

Carbon and Forest positive by 2025

Since the commencement of Forever Chocolate in 2016, we were able to reduce our overall corporate carbon intensity per tonne of product  by more than -17%. In addition, we also made outstanding progress in 2020/21 to reduce the carbon emissions caused by Land Use Change (LUC). Through the scaling of our traceability and sourcing efforts, we reduced the LUC impact from cocoa cultivation by over -10%.

A key component of evaluating our progress toward becoming forest positive is biodiversity, which includes both on-farm and off-farm efforts, such as soil regeneration and the creation of carbon sinks. By improving on-farm ecosystems, cocoa farmers can reduce the use of pesticides and fungicides. In addition, cocoa grown in the shade is linked to increased biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and nutrient retention in the soil. This year, we increased our planting capacity and are now planting over 35 trees per hectare, such as teak, mahogany and sejula, in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. This ramp up also aligns with the requirements of the Cocoa & Forests Initiative (CFI), of which we have been a founding signatory in 2017. Due to our tree planting activities, we account for a total of 240,000 tCO₂e reduction this year alone, according to the Gold Standard Value Chain Intervention methodology.

Furthermore, we are actively participating in action-oriented business coalitions, such as World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and One Planet Business for Biodiversity (OP2B), to drive cross-commodity systemic change and restore natural biodiversity within value chains, in order to accelerate the transition towards sustainable business models.

100% sustainable ingredients by 2025

At Barry Callebaut, we are the key partner for our customers to enable them to fulfill their sustainability commitments. We work with, and implement, several sustainable cocoa programs to improve farmer livelihoods and farming practices. Among them is Cocoa Horizons, our preferred vehicle to drive impact and deliver on our Forever Chocolate ambition. In 2020/21, we have seen significant growth in Cocoa Horizons premiums, driven by strong demand from customers. The premiums from the purchase of HORIZONS cocoa products generated over CHF 28.4 million in funds, an increase of +61% compared to prior year. This uptake in demand is also reflected in the increase to 43% (+15%) of the percentage of cocoa and chocolate products sold that contain 100% sustainable cocoa or chocolate. In addition, in fiscal year 2020/21 we sourced 66% of all our non-cocoa ingredients from sustainable sources, an increase of +8% compared to the previous year.

We continued to lead the way in sustainable chocolate innovation this year. Almost two years after the development of WholeFruit chocolate, a chocolate containing only ingredients from the cacaofruit, in June 2021, Cacao Barry unleashed Cacao Barry’s WholeFruit Evocao™, the first signature expression of WholeFruit chocolate. WholeFruit Evocao™ was also the first global chocolate to qualify for the Upcycled Certified mark, developed by the Upcycled Food Association.

Media contact:

Taryn Ridley
Taryn Ridley
External Affairs Manager
+41 43 204 04 62

SOURCE: Barry Callebaut