2018 has been a turning point for sustainability in the global cocoa industry and now Cargill has outlined its plan to eliminate deforestation from its cocoa supply chain.
The ‘Protect Our Planet’ plan outlines how the company will achieve 100% cocoa bean traceability and eliminate deforestation.
This includes a commitment of “no further conversion” of any forest land in Ghana and Ivory Coast for cocoa production.
It also expands the company’s forest efforts to five origin countries – Brazil, Indonesia, Cameroon, Ivory Coast and Ghana – as well as the indirect cocoa supply chain, while securing the future livelihoods and resilience of smallholder cocoa farmers.
In October 2017, Cargill introduced five sustainability goals for a thriving and sustainable cocoa sector, aligned with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
‘Protect Our Planet’, which will be implemented in five origin countries where Cargill sources cocoa and throughout the company’s indirect supply chain, outlines how the company will achieve those goals and eliminate deforestation from its supply chain by 2030.
This includes:
Supply chain transparency
Cargill will map its entire cocoa supply chain, using GPS and polygon farm mapping globally, to identify the exact location of the farms and accurately assess farm size.
It will also continue to introduce traceability technology to cooperatives and farmers such as a Coop Management System (CMS) and bar-coding of bags enabling us to trace beans back to individual farms.
The company says it has already achieved 100% traceability from farm-to-factory in Ghana using these technologies. It is therefore aiming to achieve the same in Ivory Coast in 2020, where it mapped over 80,000 of the 120,000 farms in our direct supply chain.
Cargill ‘Cocoa Promise’
Cargill is also integrating environmental protection projects into its ‘Cocoa Promise’ program – includes expanding existing programs related to growing more cocoa on less land, economics and labour issues to include agroforestry, and conservation.
Supplier engagement
The company is committed to managing the risk of deforestation not only in the ‘Cargill Cocoa Promise’ supply chain, but also within indirect cocoa and chocolate ingredient supply chains.
This includes raising standards for third-party suppliers to advance their own transparency and build their capacity to address common challenges.
Transformation, together
The journey towards sustainable business practices is far greater than the actions or interests of any one company. Last year, Cargill co-signed the Cocoa & Forests Initiative (CFI) alongside thirty-four other chocolate and cocoa companies, the World Cocoa Foundation, and the IDH Sustainable Trade Initiative to achieve a fair and secure cocoa supply chain.
‘Protect Our Planet’ also includes collaborative arrangements with (sub)national & landscapes initiatives, and support of stronger legal enforcement mechanisms.
Reporting & sharing
Cargill has committed to reporting annually to all its stakeholders, including customers, CFI, NGOs and others.
By sharing progress and learnings with stakeholders around the globe, participants in the cocoa supply chain and beyond can learn from each other on this journey to end deforestation.
