• Barry Callebaut joins the main food and drinks industry initiative on sustainable agriculture worldwide – the SAI platform
• The AIM PROGRESS forum welcomes Barry Callebaut to collaborate on promoting responsible sourcing practices
• Barry Callebaut joins the Global Social Compliance Programme (GSCP)
• Move emphasizes Barry Callebaut’s commitment to strengthen its work on sustainability in global supply chains

The Barry Callebaut Group, the world’s leading manufacturer of high-quality chocolate and cocoa products, today announced its engagement in three key industry initiatives strengthening its engagement in the development of sustainable global supply chains and agriculture.

“Becoming a member of SAI Platform and AIM PROGRESS is an important step for us in working towards sustainability in our supply chains, particularly in sugar and dairy products”, commented Massimo Selmo, Head of Global Sourcing at the Barry Callebaut Group. “We have also reinforced our sourcing team to foster this work.”

The Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI) Platform brings together over 75 international companies in the food and drink sector.  In order to mainstream sustainability in agriculture, the platform develops recommendations and tools as well as disseminates knowledge across the food value chain on a pre-competitive basis. Barry Callebaut will engage in the SAI Platform’s sugar project, its dairy working group and the farm sustainability assessment IT work stream. Peter-Erik Ywema, General Manager of the SAI Platform, says: “We are delighted to welcome Barry Callebaut as an active member of the SAI Platform. We look forward to the Group’s involvement to jointly advance sustainable agriculture.”

At the same time, Barry Callebaut became a member of AIM PROGRESS, a forum of leading FMCG manufacturers, assembled to enable and promote responsible sourcing practices and sustainable supply chains. Barry Callebaut has committed to participate in the environmental working group of AIM PROGRESS. David Lawrence, Executive Director of AIM PROGRESS said: “We are pleased that Barry Callebaut is now part of our work to promote responsible sourcing practices and sustainable supply chains through closer collaboration and exchange of knowledge and experiences.”

In addition, the Barry Callebaut Group is joining the Global Social Compliance Programme (GSCP) which aims to build comparability and transparency between existing social and environmental compliance systems through the exchange of knowledge and best practices.

Barry Callebaut has a long history of working with suppliers of cocoa, and has already committed to sourcing RSPO palm oil. Joining the SAI Platform, AIM PROGRESS and GSCP will allow the company to take its engagement in sustainability to the next level.

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Barry Callebaut:
With annual sales of about CHF 5.9 billion (EUR 4.8 billion / USD 6.5 billion) in fiscal year 2013/14, the Zurich-based Barry Callebaut Group is the world’s leading manufacturer of high-quality chocolate and cocoa products – from the origination 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 9,300 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.