Highlights

• –8.1% reduction of our corporate carbon footprint 

• 181,861 farms mapped on geographic and socio-economic data

• 94,946 cocoa farmers trained on child labor awareness

• over 2 million cocoa seedlings and over 1.6 million shade trees distributed 

• 61% of our non-cocoa ingredients are sustainably sourced 

Sustainability is at the heart of Barry Callebaut. Forever Chocolate is our commitment to have more than 500,000 cocoa farmers in our supply chain lifted out of poverty, eradicate child labor from our supply chain, become carbon and forest positive and have 100% sustainable ingredients in all of our products. On an annual basis we report on the progress of these time bound, measurable, targets, which are verified by a third-party auditor. Our fourth progress report, covering fiscal year 2019/20 (ending August 31, 2020), shows that, despite the challenges of COVID-19, the projects we put in place in the previous years continue to create scalable impact. 

By 2025, more than 500,000 cocoa farmers in our supply chain will have been lifted out of poverty.

As we progress towards our 2025 target of lifting more than 500,000 cocoa farmers in our supply chain out of poverty, we must continue to focus on scaling impact whilst refining our approach to solve the structural challenges facing cocoa farmers. Modernizing agricultural and cultivation methods, increasing yields, diversifying income and professionalizing farming are required to improve cocoa farmer livelihoods. 

By 2025, we will eradicate child labor from our supply chain.

The worst forms of child labor continue to be present in cocoa farming, including in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, which accounts for approximately two-thirds of global cocoa production. The challenges facing children in cocoa-growing communities are rooted in interrelated, structural issues such as poverty, social exclusion and the lack of access to essential services, including quality education, health care, drinking water and sanitation facilities. Cocoa farmer poverty and a lack of income hinders the hiring of professional workers and the utilization of mechanization, which often leads to reliance on family members, including children, to undertake work which is classified as child labor.

By 2025 we will be carbon and forest positive

Climate change can have severe impacts on agricultural regions. Droughts mean farmers can no longer rely on crucial rainfall, while deforestation leads to soil degradation. To ensure the stability of ecosystems, the chocolate industry must commit to reducing its carbon footprint and achieve a deforestation free supply chain.

In 2019/20 we successfully reduced our carbon footprint as well as led the testing and implementation of innovative industry-wide carbon reduction methods.

By 2025, we will have 100% sustainable ingredients in all our products.

At Barry Callebaut we source a wide range of ingredients for our chocolate products, including dairy, palm oil, coconut oil, nuts, cane sugar, beet sugar, soy lecithin and vanilla.  Approximately half of our sourced ingredients by volume are cocoa products and half are non-cocoa products. Each ingredient we use faces its own complex supply chain that varies from geographic region and subsequently presents its own unique sustainability challenges. To reach our target of 100% sustainable ingredients by 2025, we continue with the implementation of our sustainable sourcing programs across all ingredients. In parallel, we expand our sourcing of sustainable cocoa and ingredients and increase  customer demand for sustainable products.