The Ferrero Group has published its 12th Sustainability Report updating on its progress towards its sustainability goals of protecting the environment, sourcing ingredients sustainably, promoting responsible consumption, and empowering people.
The global leader in the sweet packaged foods market 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 continue to significantly 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.
Ferrero has committed to reducing absolute Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 50 per cent globally by 2030, using 2018 as the base year. It will also reduce Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions intensity by 43 per cent per tonne of product produced at a global level, using 2018 as the base year.
Despite the challenges presented by the global pandemic, Ferrero has adapted successfully, putting the health and safety of its employees and consumers at the forefront of its efforts.
A critical focus has been to protect workers and farmers in its agricultural supply chains, especially in less developed markets. Among many other initiatives, Ferrero has extensively distributed information on preventative measures to stop the virus from spreading and provided access to protective and hygiene equipment.
Giovanni Ferrero, Executive Chairman of the Ferrero Group, said the impacts of Covid-19 have changed the business and industry, and they continue to be felt globally.
“Despite these challenges, the Ferrero Group successfully adapted, and prioritised consumer and employee health and safety. I would like to thank all the Ferrero employees and partners who have pulled together over the last year to continue to deliver for our customers while supporting the communities we are proud to be part of,” he said.
Highlights from the 2020 sustainability report
Ferrero reached and closed out several its 2020 targets having made substantial progress, for instance it has achieved its goal of sourcing 100 per cent sustainable cocoa beans through independently managed schemes and 100 per cent certified cane sugar through Bonsucro and Altromercato.
Renewable energy is critical to Ferrero’s efforts to achieving its carbon reduction goals and it purchased 100 per cent green electricity for its manufacturing plants in Europe in Fiscal Year 2019/2020, and 71.5 per cent of the electricity purchased globally was from renewable sources.
In 2019, Ferrero announced a commitment to make 100 per cent of its packaging to be reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025, as part of its support for the circular economy. As of 2020, the business has achieved 82.9 per cent and continues with its strong commitment to fulfilling this journey.
Ferrero has continued to build on its efforts over the past decade to enhance its human rights approach. This has been delivered through collaboration 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.
Lapo Civiletti, CEO of the Ferrero Group, said: “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. As we close out our 2020 goals, we are proud to have met our target to source 100 per cent 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 per cent RSPO certified segregated palm oil and we are developing a transition roadmap for the newly acquired Companies toward our responsible sourcing standards.”
