Fazer achieves its goal – 100% of our cocoa comes from responsible sources

Sustainable cocoa production is vital for the future of manufacturing chocolate. This is why Fazer has engaged in long-term work to improve both the availability of our most important raw material and the livelihood of cocoa farmers. In 2017, we will achieve our goal, and all of the cocoa we use will be traceable. In addition to direct farmer programmes, Fazer buys cocoa certified by UTZ, the Rainforest Alliance and the Fairtrade Cocoa Program.

Fazer’s cocoa sourcing programme has progressed according to our goals. In 2016, about 85 per cent of all the cocoa we used met the criteria for responsibility. Of this amount, 60 per cent was certified cocoa, while 25 per cent was cocoa sourced through direct farmer programmes. In 2017, all of the cocoa used by Fazer will be responsibly produced and traceable. A quarter of the cocoa we buy comes from Ecuador, while the other three quarters come from West Africa.

Cocoa is the most important ingredient in chocolate. Fazer's chocolate factory in Vantaa produces some 100,000 kilogrammes of chocolate every day. In addition, cocoa is used in our bakeries in Finland, Sweden, Russia, Latvia and Lithuania, as well as in our cafés and restaurants in Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Norway.

Packages also to include an indication of responsible cocoa sourcing

In the autumn of 2016, we added a marking to Karl Fazer Milk Chocolate bars showing the responsible sourcing of cocoa and opened a website for consumers at www.forbettercocoa.com. The packaging mark will also be added to other Karl Fazer products during 2017, and beyond that, in stages, to our other products as well.

“Our products do not have a certification marking because we've wanted to avoid choosing one system over all the others. It has been estimated that up to 80 per cent of the world's cocoa farmers do not belong in the scope of any certification system. We want to develop responsible cocoa farming with these farmers as well, and this is why Fazer's programme for responsible cocoa sourcing, Fazer for Better Cocoa, comprises both certified cocoa and cocoa bought through farming communities. We provide direct support to more than 6,000 farmers in Nigeria and Ecuador. Direct farmer programmes allow us to trace cocoa right down to the farm it originates from,” says Rolf Ladau, Managing Director of Fazer Confectionery.

Only a fifth of all cocoa farmers are currently certified farmers

There are approximately five million cocoa farms in the world. Cocoa farms are usually family farms a few hectares in size and are farmed by the same family from one generation to the next. Up to 70 per cent of these farms are in West Africa, where cocoa farmers face a myriad of challenges.

Only a fifth of all cocoa farmers are currently certified farmers. This is why the vast majority of the world's cocoa farmers need support to advance responsible cocoa farming. The objective of the direct farmer programmes is to make cocoa farming increasingly rewarding work that offers farmers and their families a path to a better income. Because a better income is based on crops with a higher yield, the programmes focus on training and education. When farmers learn modern cultivation practices, they can improve the productivity of their cocoa farms.

“Cocoa is one of the finest ingredients in the world, and we at Fazer are proud to have the opportunity to work with it. We value cocoa farmers and their work, and together with the farmers, we want to carry out precisely the measures that most benefit the farmers in the countries of origin. Only through cooperation with cocoa farmers can we promote the availability and quality of cocoa in the future,” says Majlen Fazer, Fazer's chocolate and cocoa expert.

The premiums paid in Fazer's farmer programmes are on par with those paid in the certification programmes. In addition, farmers are offered training and new, better cocoa tree seedlings. The programme also includes support for the entire community in the form of the construction of schools and wells, for instance. The projects are selected in cooperation with the farmers. In addition to advancing responsible cocoa farming, it is important to support the entire farming community and to improve opportunities for raising income levels in the future. 

Audit concerning the farmer programme in Nigeria yields good results

Fazer's farmer programmes are monitored with the help of third-party audits. In 2016, the audit of the farmer programme in Nigeria was performed by the certification and private inspection company Ecocert. Ecocert has also audited Fazer's model for responsible cocoa sourcing in its entirety.

Based on the results of the audit, issues emphasised in the training provided to farmers – such as farming practices, the protection of the environment and social conventions – were visible in farmers' ways of working. We also achieved good results in the prevention of child labour. In Nigeria, one person from within each farming community has been selected and trained, in cooperation with Nigeria's Federal Ministry of Justice, to monitor child labour. There are approximately 50 people responsible for such monitoring. One of the development targets identified in the audit was the lack of protective gear, due to which 400 items of protective gear were delivered in the autumn, in addition to which some farmers were trained to specialise in the issue and assumed responsibility for it.

Our work to promote responsible cocoa and cocoa farming will continue. In 2017, related measures will include an audit of the farmer programme in Ecuador as well as farmer training and community development projects in Nigeria and Ecuador.

Further information:

www.forbettercocoa.com

Liisa Eerola, Director, Confectionery Communications and Group Partnerships, tel. +358 44 710 8860

Fazer's media phone line is open Mon–Fri from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., tel. +358 40 668 2998

Email address format: firstname.lastname@fazer.com

Fazer Group

Fazer is an international family-owned company offering quality bakery, confectionery, biscuit and grain products as well as food and café services. Fazer operates in eight countries and exports to around 40 countries. Fazer’s mission is to create taste sensations. Fazer’s success, ever since its establishment in 1891, has been based on the best product and service quality, beloved brands, the passion of its skilful people and the Group’s responsible ways of working. This year marks Fazer’s 125th anniversary and 150 years from the birth of Karl Fazer, the founder of this successful Group. In 2015, Fazer Group had net sales of more than 1.5 billion euros and nearly 15,000 employees. Fazer’s operations comply with ethical principles that are based on the Group’s values and the UN Global Compact.

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