“With ongoing challenges in cocoa farming, we are focusing on helping farmers to improve their yields, in order to increase overall production and enhance their livelihoods ” said Juergen Steinemann, CEO of the Barry Callebaut Group. “In order to achieve this faster and with more impact, we implement and push the CocoaAction plan of the World Cocoa Foundation. We need to make cocoa farming sustainable, and we will.”

Besides describing the Group’s ongoing cocoa sustainability programs, the report highlights five major developments in the company’s strategy and activities during its fiscal year 2013/14:

• In December 2013, the Cocoa Horizons Truck started its journey across Côte d’Ivoire to bring farmer training, education and medical assistance to remote cocoa communities. It reached 21,000 people in its first 8 months.
• In February 2014, the company completed the acquisition of the Biolands Group, which works directly with 63,000 farmers across Tanzania, Côte d’Ivoire and Sierra Leone to help them produce certified cocoa.
• The Barry Callebaut Group also expanded and strengthened its Quality Partner Program (QPP), the Group’s own offering of sustainable cocoa products. Traceability, verification and transparency will become key specifications of QPP going forward.
• The Group is one of the twelve founding members of CocoaAction, an unprecedented industry strategy to modernize the cocoa sector, announced in May 2014.
• In June 2014, the Group organized the second CHOCOVISION 2014 conference, where 200 senior leaders and stakeholders across the cocoa value chain came together to explore and  initiate new approaches and solutions for a sustainable, successful chocolate future.

The Cocoa Sustainability Report 2013/14 was guided by the AA1000 standard for sustainability reporting and was externally verified by the auditing organization Denkstatt GmbH.

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About Barry Callebaut Group:
With annual sales of about CHF 4.9 billion (EUR 4.0 billion / USD 5.2 billion) in fiscal year 2012/13, the Zurich-based Barry Callebaut Group is the world’s leading manufacturer of high-quality chocolate and cocoa products – from sourcing and processing cocoa beans to producing the finest chocolates, including chocolate fillings, decorations and compounds. The Group runs more than 50 production facilities worldwide and employs a diverse and dedicated global workforce of over 9,000 people.
The Barry Callebaut Group serves the entire food industry, from industrial food manufacturers to artisanal and professional users of chocolate, such as chocolatiers, pastry chefs, bakers, hotels, restaurants or caterers. The two global brands catering to the specific needs of these Gourmet customers are Callebaut® and Cacao Barry®.
The Barry Callebaut Group is committed to sustainable cocoa production through its “Cocoa Horizons” initiative to help ensure future supplies of cocoa as well as improve farmer livelihoods.