• Cocoa Charter and Action Plan build on achievement of 100% sustainably sourced cocoa via third party programs and 96% traceability to farm level
  • The company commits to further action to address deforestation, child labour, and sustainable livelihoods

Ferrero today publishes its Cocoa Charter and Cocoa Action Plan, which set out its continued ambition for a cocoa industry that is good for people and nature. The Charter and Action Plan reaffirm Ferrero’s long-standing support for income generation for farmers, protecting children and developing communities, and promoting sustainable agroforestry.

Ferrero began its efforts towards responsibly sourced cocoa in 2005, by joining the World Cocoa Foundation and subsequently the International Cocoa Initiative. Today, Ferrero’s cocoa is 100% sustainably sourced via independently managed standards such as Rainforest Alliance, Fairtrade and others. As the company is sourcing cocoa almost entirely from known farmer groups, it is also performing very strongly on both traceability and supply chain visibility. Already today, Ferrero’s cocoa supply chain is 96% traceable to farm level.

In publishing the Cocoa Charter, Ferrero recognises that the cocoa supply chain’s issues are complex and must be addressed through partnership with farmers, industry, communities, NGOs and governments. The ambitions outlined in the charter are grouped under four pillars:

  • Sustainable Livelihoods: provide targeted support to farmers to improve productivity and diversify income
  • Human Rights and Social Practices: protect the rights of children in cocoa growing communities
  • Environmental Protection: supporting farmers to convert to agroforesty systems
  • Transparency: supply-chain traceability, risk assessments and progress disclosure

Ferrero’s Cocoa Action Plan outlines how the company will work towards these ambitions. Initiatives already in place include:

  • Farm Development Plans and Income-Generating Activities, paying a cash premium to farmers on top of the commercial price, to support cocoa farmers to prosper
  • Partnerships to implement Child Protection Systems and Community Development Plans to address child labour
  • Working with the Cocoa and Forests Initiative (CFI) to end deforestation in the cocoa sector and promote sustainable agroforestry
  • Strengthening supplier partnerships and building a platform that gives visibility over Ferrero’s entire supply chain

Each year a report will be published on the progress made against the Action Plan. The first progress report is expected to be published in Q2 2022.

Marco Gonçalves, Chief Procurement & Hazelnut Company Officer: “The Cocoa Charter and Action Plan underline Ferrero’s ambition to be a driving force behind a cocoa sector where cocoa production creates value for people and the environment. Through our distinct sourcing approach, we know the farmers and communities we source from, and this enables us to support them in a targeted way. We are now strengthening our activities to bring about lasting change for the sector.”

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