Nestlé's newly-published Cocoa & Forests Initiative report has highlighted the significant progress made and targets reached in the company’s efforts to help end deforestation in its cocoa supply chain in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana.
In 2017, Nestlé joined the Cocoa Forests Initiative, aimed at working towards ending deforestation. The initiative brings the governments of Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana together in a partnership with the cocoa and chocolate industry.
Nestlé Cocoa Plan
In March 2019, Nestlé released a detailed plan, the Nestlé Cocoa Plan, to support these efforts in its supply chain.
In recent months, Nestlé has mapped over 75% of the 120,000 cocoa farms it sources from in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana to ensure that they are not located in protected forests.
Nestlé has also increased the number of native forest and fruit trees it has planted in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana from 32,000 in 2018 to a current total of more than 560,000. These trees make farms more climate-resilient by casting shade on the cocoa trees.
The company also started two agroforestry projects, working with communities to maximise shade-tree density on farms in an effort to improve yields.
Farmer Training
In 2019, Nestlé trained over 85,000 farmers in good agricultural practices and forest protection, and has contributed to financial support for communities through the creation of village savings and loan associations for over 9,400 people.
Commenting on the report, Alexander von Maillot, senior vice president and head of the confectionery strategic business unit at Nestlé S.A. said, ”We have made good progress across all the primary objectives we set out under our Cocoa & Forests Initiative action plan.
“Sustainable cocoa requires thriving communities. Our actions take into account the need to balance forest protection and communities; livelihoods. As we forge ahead with our efforts to embed sustainability in the cocoa sector, we will continue to focus on providing farmers with viable alternatives to grow the same amount or even more cocoa on less land.”
© 2020 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Elizabeth Schroeder. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
