Barry Callebaut, the Swiss supplier of much of the world’s chocolate, will make its production entirely sustainable by 2025 with the help of bean-tracking technology created by SAP, the German software group.
The company on Monday will reveal a plan to make its production both economically and environmentally sustainable in the next nine years to lift the incomes of some of the world’s poorest farmers and eradicate child labour.
Barry Callebaut will use a computer app-based system that allows chocolate beans produced in remote African locations to be tracked by mobile phone, which Antoine de Saint-Affrique, the group’s chief executive, said was essential to ensuring the group achieved its sustainability goals. “[If] you know, you can act,” he said.
Barry Callebaut is the world’s largest maker of chocolate and cocoa products by volume, but is relatively unknown by consumers as it serves food industry clients.
Currently just 23 per cent of Barry Callebaut’s cocoa beans are from sustainable sources. Non-profit organisations have warned that without reforms, farmers will be driven out of the business.
Under a programme to be launched on Monday, it will set a goal of having all of its chocolate and ingredients from sustainable sources by 2025, which would include stamping out child labour and boosting the incomes of cocoa farmers. Its production process would also have to be “carbon and forest positive”.
Mr de Saint-Affrique said the sustainability initiative was “about ensuring the durability of our business,” but argued Barry Callebaut had more flexibility to set ambitious goals because of its ownership structure.
Just over half of Barry Callebaut’s shares are owned on behalf of the Jacobs foundation, which promotes child and youth development. The foundation was set up in 1989 by Klaus Jacobs, a member of the Jacobs coffee family, who created Zürich-based Barry Callebaut.
Historically, many of the world’s chocolate companies such as Hershey in the US and the Cadbury and Rowntree families in the UK have had charitable connections.
Resolving such sustainability issues and their very real human impact is long over due
Barry Callebaut’s plans were welcomed by Fairtrade, which promotes better conditions for farmers. “Resolving such sustainability issues and their very real human impact is long over due. It is not right that cocoa farmers and their families are living on $2 a day or less,” said Jon Walker, who works with cocoa farmers and commercial partners on behalf of the Fairtrade foundation.
Mr de Saint-Affrique said Barry Callebaut would publish an annual report on progress towards reaching its targets. Farmers’ incomes could be boosted by increasing productivity through training programmes and using microcredit schemes, for instance to fund fertilisers and seedlings.
Barry Callebaut’s market position meant its sustainability initiative would set higher industry standards without making chocolate more expensive, according to Mr de Saint-Affrique, but would need others to support its initiative.
“We intend to start a movement that also includes governments, non-governmental organisations, consumers and our customers,” Mr de Saint-Affrique said.
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