Barry Callebaut’s Sustainability Drive Faces Cocoa and Child Labour Hurdles

Takeaways

• Barry Callebaut’s latest ESG report shows progress on sustainability and deforestation prevention goals.
• Child labour cases have risen despite wider remediation systems across its cocoa supply chain.
• The company acknowledges climate, market, and regulatory challenges but reaffirms its long-term sustainability vision.

Swiss chocolate manufacturer Barry Callebaut has released its latest ESG report, outlining notable progress on its sustainability goals but also highlighting persistent challenges in tackling child labour and supporting cocoa farmers.

The report marks continued advancement toward the company’s 2030 sustainability targets. Among the key achievements, Barry Callebaut said it has helped raise earnings for 557,739 agricultural workers above the poverty line of $3 per day, spanning nearly 36,000 hectares of farmland.

On the environmental front, the company has traced more than 1.5 million cocoa farms, meeting compliance standards for the EU’s deforestation regulation (EUDR). It also mapped 725,000 plots and promoted 24,000 hectares of agroforestry to combat deforestation, an effort made more urgent by illegal mining and the spread of the swollen shoot virus (CSSV), a major crop disease affecting West Africa’s cocoa regions.

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To curb the virus’s spread, Barry Callebaut launched an initiative clearing infected plots and planting barrier crops that prevent mealybugs, the disease’s primary vector, from advancing. The company plans to replant new cocoa seedlings next year as part of its recovery strategy.

Child Labour Concerns Persist

While the company reported that 99.3% of its direct supply chain now has child labour monitoring and remediation systems (CLMRS), it also recorded an increase in identified cases. The number of child labour instances rose to 25,288 in 2024–2025 from 19,389 the previous year.

However, the company said that remediation efforts are also increasing, with 30,080 cases addressed during the same period, up from 26,530 a year earlier. Despite this progress, the total number of farmers working under CLMRS coverage dropped from 517,613 to 411,045, underscoring the scale of the challenge.

Navigating Volatile Cocoa Markets

Barry Callebaut acknowledged “historic levels of volatility” in cocoa markets, driven by climate change and economic pressures in major producing nations such as the Ivory Coast and Ghana. The company expressed concern that some governments and corporations are scaling back sustainability agendas, reinforcing the need for private-sector leadership.

The company’s long-term program, Forever Chocolate, remains the cornerstone of its ESG strategy. It focuses on four key pillars: Prospering Farmers, Human Rights, Thriving Nature, and Sustainable Ingredients to drive systemic change in the cocoa and chocolate supply chain.

Human rights remain central to this vision. By 2030, Barry Callebaut aims for all direct sourcing communities to be empowered to protect children’s rights. The company emphasized that its due diligence approach aligns with international frameworks such as the UN Guiding Principles, OECD Guidelines, and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

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As the ESG report concludes, the company reiterated that sustainable cocoa production depends on business-led solutions and on stronger collaboration with local governments, NGOs, and international organizations.

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Source: CONFECTIONERY PRODUCTION