Cargill unveils sustainable cocoa butter series sourced from West Africa
Cargill’s beauty division has moved to create a sustainable cocoa butter series, as part of the company’s Cocoa Promise initiative supporting farmers and their communities, enabling them to achieve better incomes and living standards, reports Neill Barston.
As the company explained, its latest series is certified as ethically sourced by the Rainforest Alliance, and sourced from Ghana, Cameroon and Ivory is readily biodegradable, and 100% natural, and represent a further revenue stream from crops typical destination for the confectionery sector.
According to Cargill, the new range’s unique crystal structure differentiates it from other emollients such as shea butter, which results in a comparative light sensory experience. The richness of the Sustainable Cocoa Butter has been developed for dry skin, while allowing consumers to have a better environmental impact.
The Sustainable Cocoa is sourced through Cargill’s direct network in West Africa and from known farmers and farmer organisations benefitting from the Cargill Cocoa Promise activities.
Launched in 2012, the programme represents its commitment to securing a sustainable supply of cocoa now and in the future, whilst supporting farmers, communities, and the environment.
Sourcing from that network, Cargill provides greater supply chain transparency to its customers. Its ambition is to accelerate progress towards a transparent global cocoa supply chain, to enable cocoa farmers and their communities to strengthen their socioeconomic resilience, and to deliver a sustainable supply of cocoa and chocolate products from bean to cosmetic & food end-products.
Cargill aims to reach 100% farm to factory traceability of our cocoa beans in its direct sourcing networks by 2030. Indeed, traceability is key to achieving a more transparent cocoa supply chain. To do so, Cargill starts at the beginning of the cocoa value chain, because this is where the cocoa sector faces the key socioeconomic and environmental challenges and where the company is uniquely placed to make a difference. With the use of technologies to physically track the cocoa bags, 50% of sustainable cocoa beans in the global direct supply chain are now traceable from farm-to-factory. Already 100% of the digitalisation of the supply chain is achieved in Ghana, and 74% in Ivory Coast.
In 2017, Cargill introduced five Sustainability Goals cementing our commitment to further improving farmer and community livelihoods. Our ambitions and targets under these Goals guide all our sustainability efforts. These include improving farmer livelihoods through enhancing agricultural practices, as well as engaging with community wellbeing and tackling deforestation.
