Sustainable Ingredients
Sustainable Ingredients
A Strategic Partner for Sustainable Sourcing
Barry Callebaut is the key strategic partner for our customers when it comes to turning sustainability commitments into reality. Approximately half of the ingredient volumes we source consists of cocoa products and the other half consists of other ingredients – sugar, dairy, palm oil, coconut oil, sweeteners, nuts, lecithin and vanilla, among other ingredients. Each ingredient we use has a complex supply chain that varies depending on the geographic region where it is grown.
Establishing industry-wide sustainability standards and shaping agricultural policies
We are collaborating closely with our suppliers, engaging in industry-level working groups and striving to increase customer demand for sustainable products while implementing our sustainable sourcing programs across all ingredients. Our goal is to integrate these programs into regulatory frameworks, establish strong government partnerships, and positively shape agricultural policies. We firmly believe that this approach is paramount to amplifying the impact of sustainability on a larger scale. Whenever possible we are driving impact on the ground by working directly with farmers and cooperatives. In addition to cocoa, we have various origin-based projects covering dairy, coconut oil, palm oil and cane sugar.
Traceability is key
Traceability is a cornerstone of our Forever Chocolate commitment to making sustainable chocolate the norm. Through our traceability systems, we not only ensure transparency and accountability, we can also accurately track and monitor the origins of our products, promoting ethical practices, safeguarding human rights and reducing environmental impact through deforestation monitoring, education and other programs.
Cocoa Traceability
Traceability to farm level, knowing where the cocoa we source is grown, plays a crucial role in addressing some of the structural sustainability issues in the cocoa supply chain. It provides us with an in-depth understanding of the conditions, challenges and potential of the farms and farmers we work with. We, therefore, aim to collect full data of all farmers we source from, capturing their socioeconomic and household data through census interviews and mapping the geographical location and the size of their farms. Accurate insights gained from polygon mapping and from comparing geo-localization data with satellite images of forest are essential in our efforts to combat deforestation. Additionally, to manage the risk associated with deforestation or illegal production, we closely monitor the volume of cocoa sourced from these mapped areas and compare it to credible yield assumptions.
- We have publicly disclosed the geolocation of our direct suppliers since 2018/19.
- In order to achieve traceability in our indirect supply chain, developing a government-mandated, national traceability system is essential and we are actively supporting the Ghanaian and Ivorian authorities.
- We are also working on transferring our traceability know-how from our direct to our indirect supply chain, collaborating with indirect suppliers in Côte d'Ivoire and training them on how to effectively implement our traceability procedures.
Supporting customers with sustainable cocoa solutions
We are constantly seeking to unlock more sustainable chocolate products and uses of the cacao fruit. Next to various innovations such as plant-based chocolate solutions or the use of the entire cacaofruit our global Gourmet brands are at the forefront, having successfully transitioned to 100% certified or verified cocoa or ingredients.
We also work with, and implement, various sustainable cocoa programs to improve cocoa farmer livelihoods and farming practices. Among them is Cocoa Horizons, our preferred vehicle to drive impact and deliver on our Forever Chocolate ambition while addressing customer needs.
Sustainable Dairy Sourcing
Dairy products are a key ingredient in many of Barry Callebaut's chocolate products. Our VisionDairy Charter focuses on 15 principles for sustainability in dairy farming covering animal welfare, farm governance, and the environment. We actively foster collaboration within the industry as a member of the SAI Platform's Dairy Working Group. Taking the lead in various initiatives we are constantly working towards reducing our carbon footprint across our entire supply chain and engage directly with processors and farmers to source decarbonized dairy products while ensuring our corporate GHG footprint is minimized.
Sustainable Coconut Sourcing
In response to the rapid growth of the global coconut market and its sustainability challenges, we partnered with USAID Green Invest Asia to create The Sustainable Coconut & Coconut Oil Roundtable in 2019. This industry movement aims to promote sustainable coconut production. In April 2023, the Roundtable was formalized into “The Sustainable Coconut Partnership'', an industry-led multi-stakeholder platform. Barry Callebaut is a founding member and currently sits on its Steering Committee. We are also striving to make an impact through projects at origin, currently via two projects in the Philippines.
Sustainable palm oil sourcing
For palm oil, we are, on the foundation of traceability, focused on implementing our No Deforestation, No Peat, and No Exploitation (NDPE) policy. We continue to work towards achieving full traceability to mill (TTM) and traceability to plantation (TTP). Our mill list is verified by Earthqualizer and we collaborate with Palmoil.io to monitor deforestation and supply chain relationships in near real-time, from plantation to refinery. Addressing key challenges in our palm oil supply chain requires collaboration with other stakeholders. We actively seek opportunities to collaborate with industry partners through our membership in the Palm Oil Collaboration Group (POCG) and as a member of the Singapore Alliance for Sustainable Palm Oil (SASPO). We are also active in projects both in Kutai Timur and in North Sumatra and Aceh, Indonesia.
Sustainable vanilla sourcing
In our pursuit of industry-wide change for vanilla production, Barry Callebaut is actively engaged in the Sustainable Vanilla Initiative (SVI) and we have implemented our own joint program to improve the livelihoods of vanilla producers, promote good agricultural practices, diversify income through cocoa farming, and professionalize farm management of vanilla farmers in Madagascar.
Sustainable nuts sourcing
We source Farm Sustainability Assessment (FSA) verified hazelnuts, support suppliers in conducting audits of their sustainable farming practices and remain committed to sourcing Rainforest Alliance hazelnuts. La Morella Nuts, a part of the Barry Callebaut Group, also co-finances a program that aims to mitigate water scarcity and provide crop management tools for hazelnut farmers in Spain. We also work towards sourcing Bee Friendly certified almonds and FSA-verified pistachios.
Our progress and measured impact
Turning sustainability commitments into reality is our goal as a partner to our customers. Growing consumer awareness of sustainability issues has led to growing demand for sustainable and traceable cocoa products in recent years. Demand from our customers for sustainable cocoa therefore increases as well.
We recognize that certification is only a starting point for building a sustainable cocoa and chocolate supply chain, we therefore continuously benchmark the certification and verification criteria we apply to ensure the standards remain meaningful.
We report every year on the progress of our time-bound, measurable targets, and these reports are verified by an independent, third-party assurance provider.
