Ferrero publishes Sustainability Report

June 24, 2023

Ferrero Group has announced it is on track to meet its key sustainability objectives and targets, as its progress is documented in its 14th Sustainability Report, which highlights steps taken during the 2021/22 financial year based on four key pillars; protecting the environment, sustainable sourcing, promoting responsible consumption and empowering people.

“The financial year was particularly challenging – war broke out, supply chains were disrupted, energy costs surged, and inflation grew alongside the cost of raw materials,” said Giovanni Ferrero, Executive Chairman of the Ferrero Group. “In the face of these challenges, Ferrero has not only been able to grow, but to also make strong progress with a number of our sustainability targets – and, in some instances, exceed them.”

As part of Ferrero Farming Values (FFV), a cross-commodity framework, the Group is committed to supporting and improving sustainable sourcing of its ingredients, as well as sharing knowledge across the value chain.

In 2021/22, the FFV programme helped deliver one to one coaching to 32% of cocoa farmers on farm and business planning, whilst 155,000 cocoa farmers took part in group training. The report also details how Ferrero is now reaching traceability back to farm level across more than 96% of its cocoa supply volume. In addition, 82% of the entire cocoa volume was sourced from dedicated farmer groups Ferrero supports. Across all sourced hazelnuts, the Group can report overall traceability of 79% despite systemic supply-chain complexities.

Other highlights include 100% of palm oil used in production is RSPO certified segregated, with 99.95% traceable to 146 palm oil mills and 722 plantations; the completion of its four-year Cocoa and Forest Initiative (CFI) plan oversaw the majority of the targets met or even surpassed and the publishing of the company’s first Human Rights report at the end of 2021.

“Across each of the four key pillars of our sustainability framework, the report shows we have made strong progress towards the objectives we have set ourselves,” said Lapo Civiletti, Chief Executive Officer of the Ferrero Group. “Despite a challenging economic and geopolitical environment, the Group increased investments to continue to ensure high levels of quality, freshness and safety across all our products, while reducing our environmental impact.”

Ferrero’s Sustainability Report 2022 can be accessed here.