Barry Callebaut discloses direct cocoa suppliers in bid to boost transparency

07 Sep 2020 --- Barry Callebaut has reached a new milestone in its plan to build a sustainable cocoa supply chain by disclosing its direct cocoa suppliers in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Cameroon. The map shows the location of cooperatives and buying stations where Barry Callebaut is directly sourcing cocoa. By publicly sharing this information, the cocoa and chocolate giant says it’s boosting transparency and traceability in its cocoa supply chain. 

The map includes geographical data on cooperatives and districts in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Cameroon. Each pin point on the map details the geographical location, cooperative or district name, certification scheme and the number of farmers Barry Callebaut is sourcing from in its supply chain. 

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This map displays the location of the cooperatives and buying stations Barry Callebaut is directly sourcing cocoa from in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Cameroon.

Mapping farms to protect forests
Under its Forever Chocolate strategy, Barry Calleabaut wants to make sustainable chocolate the norm by 2025. One important pillar of this plan is the elimination of deforestation from its supply chain. Mapping is a critical step to ending deforestation because it shows if the farm is located in a protected forest area and allows the company to exclude cocoa purchases from farms fully or partly located within a protected area boundary.

Barry Callebaut will continue to update this map as part of its continuing progression towards a more transparent supply chain. “By disclosing our direct cocoa suppliers in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Cameroon, we are driving a transparent and traceable cocoa supply chain,” says Steven Retzlaff, President Global Cocoa.

“The opening up of the geographical location of the cooperatives and districts we are directly sourcing from to public scrutiny is proof of the robustness of our approach to exclude cocoa grown in protected forest areas from our direct supply chain,” adds Pablo Perversi, Chief Innovation, Sustainability & Quality Officer; Global Head of Gourmet at Barry Callebaut.

Farm data
Barry Callebaut is combining the geographical mapping of cocoa farms with farmer census interviews. This combination provides key insights into the geographical location of the farm, but also the farm size, crops grown, as well as the household composition and income of thousands of cocoa farmers and their farms.

As of the end of 2018/19, Barry Callebaut had mapped the geographical location, as well as the size of 295,383 cocoa farms, which are captured in its Katchilè database. There was also a series of census interviews with 229,142 cocoa farmers, capturing socio-economic and household data. 

This collection of farmer data has also allowed the company to individualize Farm Business Plans, which are designed to enable farmers to develop their cocoa farms into rehabilitated, diverse and professionally run farms over a period of several years. 

The plans offer specific advice on the best mix of seedlings and fertilizers and help farmers to access labor and inputs on credit. In 2018/19, over 16,000 farmers adopted Farm Business Plans.

Making sustainable chocolate the norm
Meanwhile, Forever Chocolate, Barry Callebaut’s plan to make sustainable chocolate the norm, has been recognized by Sustainalytics as the number two sustainability strategy out of 182 assessed companies in the packaged food industry. Sustainalytics assesses industry’s efforts to manage the environmental, social and governance risks in supply chains.

Undertaking the assessment is in response to a growing interest from investors and societal stakeholders to understand whether sustainability strategies are managing supply chain risks and delivering impact. 

Participating annually in Sustainalytics provides the company with a solid and well respected third-party assessment of its investments in sustainability. The rating also has an additional importance for Barry Callebaut as its Sustainalytics score also defines partly the credit margin applicable to its €1 billion (US$1.2 billion) syndicated, revolving credit facility.

By Gaynor Selby

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