HIGHLIGHTS FROM OUR 15TH SUSTAINABILITY REPORT
Our 15th Sustainability Report shows the continual progress we are making in meeting our Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) objectives and targets.
As a global brand, we are aware of the influence and impact we have in our industry, and we want to lead the way in pushing boundaries, always improving how we operate. Our annual reports are a way to look back, take stock, and then look forward, so we can keep moving the needle and push for even more progress each year.
The latest report highlights the sustainability programmes, partnerships and initiatives our company put in place for the 2022/23 financial year. We want Ferrero to have a positive impact on all parties who come into contact with the company, regardless of where they encounter us in our value chain. Our achievements are therefore broken down into four sustainability pillars: Protecting the Environment, Sourcing Ingredients Responsibly, Promoting Responsible Consumption and Empowering People.
We’re pleased to say that this year’s report shows important progress across all these areas.
PROGRESS AGAINST OUR KEY PILLARS
Protecting the Environment
Throughout the 2022/23 financial year, Ferrero continued to invest in procedures, programmes and practices to prevent, manage and reduce our environmental impact across our value chain. Examples of key progress made during this period are:
90.7% of our packaging is now designed to be recyclable, reusable, or compostable.
20% less water was used at Ferrero plants, through reduction and reuse initiatives, since base year 2017/18 (9.6% vs 2021/2022).
86.6% of the energy used in our plants worldwide is now renewable (100% in the EU)
Sourcing Ingredients Responsibly
As well as pushing for greater transparency across our supply chains, the Ferrero Group is committed to responsible sourcing through a series of programmes and partnerships which benefit farmers’ livelihoods and communities, as well as protecting people and nature. Stand-out highlights from our responsible sourcing initiatives this year include:
- At least 90% traceability of key ingredients – cocoa, hazelnuts and palm oil.
- In 2023, 100% of cocoa was sourced through independent sustainability standards and 100% of palm oil sourced was RSPO-certified.
- We covered all 1.6 million hectares of our palm-oil sourcing areas with satellite monitoring to address deforestation.
Empowering People
Ferrero is committed to creating the best environment for anyone who comes into contact with the company. Whether they are an employee, a farmer, a family who enjoys getting active or a member of a farming community, we have continued to invest in global programmes and partnerships which build a culture of trust, respect, diversity and opportunity for all. Key figures of progress in this area include:
- Encouraging kids to get active, Kinder Joy of Moving to date reached 60 million children, since its launch in 2005 (3.4 million only in 22/23).
- 33.4% of managerial positions are held by women, and we continue to make progress.
- Our Global Parental Policy offering paid leave and more to new parents and caregivers, regardless of gender, is now available at all Ferrero locations.
Promoting Responsible Consumption
We produce and market some of the world’s best loved confectionary products, and we strive to always offer high quality and fresh products, which requires highest standards of performance and seamless execution. We always endeavour to communicate responsibly to consumers and other stakeholders.
- 86.2% of our products come in serving sizes of less than 130kcal
- We continue working with global science institutes to promote balanced dietary choices and nutrition
- We respect responsible marketing frameworks
We know sustainability is a constantly moving target but we’re proud of the strides this year’s report shows we have made towards reaching our goals. But it also goes a step further – it shows the longer-term changes we will keep making in our long-term commitment to going above and beyond when it comes to sustainability policies and practices. We will push ourselves to keep doing the right thing – in creating value across the value chain as well as, of course, delivering great tasting, fresh, safe, and high-quality products to our consumers.
PARTNERSHIPS ARE PRIME
What really shines through in this year’s report is how valuable partnerships have been in our progress towards meeting our targets. Growing both existing partnerships and forging new ones has contributed to us making a positive impact.
CHILD PROTECTION
To handle the important, but complex issue of child labour, collective action is needed. In the 2022/23 financial year, our partnerships with organisations such as Save the Children, Earthworm and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) have helped us to better engage with the local communities where we source cocoa, palm oil and hazelnuts.
Together with these organisation as well as a number of local NGOs to support our efforts on the ground, we have been able to create fairer and more sustainable supply chains which tackle challenges such as child labour, and social inequalities. Through our partnership with Save the Children in cocoa sourcing areas in Côte d’Ivoire alone, we have helped improve the lives of 37,000 direct beneficiaries – of which 18,000 are children – and over 90,000 indirect beneficiaries across 65 communities.
INNOVATIVE TRACKING TECHNOLOGY
We also continued to grow our technology partnerships, including the important collaboration with Sourcemap, a leading platform which shows the origin of raw materials. With its state-of-the-art technology, we have made headway in our mission to achieve full traceability of our cocoa right back to farm level. We’re now pleased to say we have achieved at least 90% traceability of cocoa, hazelnuts and palm oil.
SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING
Furthermore, partnerships have been critical in our approach to finding more sustainable packaging solutions. We’re pleased to say that we have joined collaborations including the Association of Plastic Recyclers, and the Recycling Partnership’s Polypropylene Recycling Coalition to apply the latest techniques and innovations in finding solutions to increasing material recyclability.
Click here to learn more about our 15th Sustainability Report
