Sustainability
EU Chocolate, Biscuits and Confectionery companies have a crucial role to play in ensuring sustainability of their supply chains. CAOBISCO is committed to supporting its members in implementing sustainable practices across the three pillars of sustainability: environmental, social and economic.
Responsible Sourcing:
CAOBISCO members are committed to ensuring that their products are manufactured responsibly and to the highest standards, minimising environmental impact and respecting the human rights of those in their value chains.
Many members have private initiatives that empower farmers and their communities to improve their income, become more productive and climate-resilient, protect the environment, combat deforestation, and respect human rights in the supply chain.
CAOBISCO welcomes the European Commission’s intention to put forward a proposal for a sector-specific deforestation regulation and mandatory due diligence legislation, that will cover all sectors and all commodities. The two pieces of legislation will create a common framework for a transparency, and accountability.
If these frameworks are coupled with appropriate sector guidance, rules and incentives, it could provide an opportunity to create a level playing field, ensure legal certainty, further drive transparency in the sector and share best practices. This will help to drive positive change in the sector’s supply chains and serve as an example for other relevant commodities.
CAOBISCO is also involved in commodity specific responsible sourcing projects:
AOBISCO-ILO Public-Private-Partnership to combat child labour in seasonal hazelnut harvesting in Turkey
Since 2013 CAOBISCO has been working in Public-Private Partnership (PPP) to improve the labour conditions in the Turkish hazelnut sector. In 2021, e ILO and CAOBISCO agreed to continue their efforts and have signed an extension of the PPP project “An Integrated Model for Elimination of Worst Forms of Child Labour (WFCL) in Seasonal Agriculture in Hazelnut Harvesting in Turkey” until the end of 2023.
The ongoing partnership between CAOBISCO and the ILO contributes to overall policy advocacy and implementation, expansion of the knowledge base and improvement of institutional capacity for the elimination of child labour in seasonal agriculture, especially in the hazelnut sector. The project facilitates the exchange of experiences between government, private sector, social partners and civil society in addressing child labour, particularly in the hazelnut supply chain. It also maximizes collective learning opportunities among the project stakeholders.
Cocoa Sustainability:
CAOBISCO and its partners in the cocoa supply chain, including origin country governments and local authorities, are working together to ensure that cocoa is sourced, and products are manufactured in a responsible manner from an economic, environmental and social point of view.
The goal is to allow cocoa growing communities to sustainably improve their livelihoods and well-being, while producing cocoa in the quantity and quality that is needed by the cocoa and chocolate industry, to manufacture products that meet the demands of the consumers.
CAOBISCO, in partnership with key stakeholders such as origin country governments, remain committed to fulfil the ambition of sustainable cocoa farming, helping farmers, families and children to achieve a better life.
To address these complex challenges, COABISCO, along with ECA (the European Cocoa Association) manage the Joint Cocoa Research Fund. This research fund run aims to fund research that will improve the quality, productivity and sustainability of cocoa in the long term. It is financed through the membership fees paid by the member companies. Core research areas include cocoa bean quality and food safety, integrated pest and disease management and resilient cropping systems.
Farm to Fork:
CAOBISCO is fully committed to addressing today’s global challenges and improving European consumers’ health and environment. Over the past year, we have been actively working to ensure that the objectives and opportunities reflected in the Commission’s Farm to Fork Strategy are met.
There is a need to secure fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly food, a message that our sector fully endorses. We also emphasize that it is key for the viability of our sector that the envisaged measures aimed at creating a more efficient, healthy and sustainable food system are developed following a pragmatic, science-based and realistic approach.
As the measures announced in the Farm to Fork Strategy are further developed, CAOBISCO will continue its role as a leading partner on sustainability, taking actions to address challenges such as deforestation, to improve transparency and traceability and to build fairer and more environmentally friendly supply chains.