Ferrero delivers on sustainability despite pandemic

Confectionery manufacturer Ferrero Group has maintained its sustainability initiatives despite the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Published in its 12th Sustainability Report, Ferrero has continued to work towards its 2020 Group sustainability goals, aligned to its four key pillars: protect the environment, source ingredients sustainably, promote responsible consumption and empower people. It has also begun to define new commitments and targets that will drive further progress across the period leading up to 2030.

One of its new targets is to reduce the Group’s carbon footprint by 2030. These are science-based carbon targets, validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) in December 2020, with the following commitments:

• Reduce absolute Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 50% globally by 2030, using 2018 as the base year.
• Reduce Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions intensity by 43% per tonne of product produced at a global level, using 2018 as the base year.

The following are a selection of highlights from the report:

• Achieved goal of sourcing 100% sustainable cocoa beans through independently managed schemes and 100% certified cane sugar through Bonsucro and Altromercato.
• Purchased 100% green electricity for its manufacturing plants in Europe in Fiscal Year 2019/2020, and 71.5% of the electricity purchased globally was from renewable sources.
• In 2019, announced a commitment to make 100% of its packaging to be reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025, as part of its support for the circular economy. As of 2020, it has achieved 82.9%.
• Collaborated with leading experts to identify human rights risks and build out its due diligence approach, as well as entering partnerships to scale positive impact, such as with Save the Children.

“Beyond manufacturing, protecting workers and farmers in agricultural supply chains was a key priority, especially in less developed markets. Our partnerships and collaborations have proved invaluable to reaching those in need of support,” said Lapo Civiletti, Chief Executive Officer of the Ferrero Group.

“As we close out our 2020 goals, we are proud to have met our target to source 100% sustainable cocoa through independently managed standards. We have now extended the target to include outsourced chocolate to provide full transparency of our cocoa supply chain. We continued to source 100% RSPO certified segregated palm oil and we are developing a transition roadmap for the newly acquired Companies toward our responsible sourcing standards.”

Image credit: Ferrero.