Forever Chocolate report reflects push towards sustainable chocolate

December 1, 2022

Barry Callebaut has published its Forever Chocolate Progress Report which they say highlights their achievements towards sustainable chocolate, including one in two products sold which contains sustainable chocolate.

The report follows on from the company setting targets for themselves in 2016 in an effort to “make sustainable chocolate the norm”. It covers the fiscal year 2021/2022 and reports one key achievement, increasing the proportion of products sold containing 100% sustainable cocoa or chocolate to 49.4%.

“Forever Chocolate is our plan to make sustainable chocolate the norm, and it is truly becoming a reality! With the support of our customers, one out of two products we sell contain sustainably sourced cocoa or chocolate,” said Peter Boone, CEO of Barry Callebaut.

According to the company, sustainably sourced cocoa includes cocoa which is grown in accordance with sustainable cocoa certification programs, improving farmers’ livelihoods and farming practices. On top of the certification they say they are deploying programs which will tackle child labour and deforestation.

Cocoa Horizons, which was launched in 2015, is Barry Callebaut’s “preferred vehicle” to drive impact and deliver on the Forever Chocolate ambition. The report reflects growth in Cocoa Horizons premiums which, generated by customers, rose by 30% in funds.

The sustainable sourcing target aims to have 100% sustainable ingredients in all products. Half of ingredients sourced consists of cocoa products and the other half of sugar, dairy, palm oil, coconut oil, sweeteners, nuts and vanilla, which they say has “its own unique sustainability challenges”.

Due to the formalisation of the sustainable coconut and coconut oil roundtable – which names Barry Callebaut as a founding member – and a new standard on sweeteners introduced by the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI) sustainability standards have been established for the majority of non-cocoa ingredients.

“We will continue pushing the envelope and setting new standards in sustainable sourcing, offering our customers best-in-class solutions,” explained Massimo Selmo, Chief Procurement Officer at Barry Callebaut.

The next target to achieve is to have 100% sustainable ingredients in all products, and to have more than half a million cocoa farmers lifted out of poverty, eradicate child labour from the supply chain and become carbon positive.

“As the future requirements for a sustainable chocolate supply chain are constantly evolving and transforming, we have assessed where our targets need sharpening. Our conclusion? We want to add fresh ambition to our Forever Chocolate Plan. In spring 2023, we will present a set of sharpened targets, using our ongoing Forever Chocolate targets for 2025 as a springboard,” concluded Peter Boone.

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