Forever Chocolate 2021/22:
One out of two of our products sold contains 100% sustainable cocoa or chocolate
Forever Chocolate 2021/22:
One out of two of our products sold contains 100% sustainable cocoa or chocolate
Today we launched our 6th Forever Chocolate Progress Report, presenting our progress against the target we set ourselves in 2016 to make sustainable chocolate the norm. The Progress Report, covering Fiscal Year 2021/22, ending 30 August 2022, shows that we are continuing to scale up our activities by partnering with customers as well as societal and industry stakeholders to create tangible impact on the ground. One of our key achievements is that with the support of our customers, we increased the proportion of products sold containing 100% sustainable cocoa or chocolate to 49.4%, meaning one in two products.
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).
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 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.
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.