Our Journey to Ending Deforestation

By joining the Cocoa & Forests Initiative (CFI), we stand with the
world's largest cocoa-producing countries - Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana,
to end cocoa-related deforestation and restore our forests. 
 

Taking the First Step

Recognizing the importance of sustainable cocoa production, we took our first steps into cocoa sustainability by joining the CFI in early 2020. CFI is a public-private partnership launched in 2017 with a goal to end deforestation and restore forest areas. It is organized by the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF), IDH - the Sustainable Trade Initiative, and The Prince of Wales's International Sustainability Unit (ISU), in partnership with the Governments of Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana. 
At GCB, we pride ourselves on being the preferred cocoa supplier and we strongly believe that besides providing quality ingredients to our customers, it is also important to value and work with the farmers who grow our cocoa beans in order to safeguard our shared future. Our Cocoa Sustainability Committee (CSC) worked closely with CFI to align our actions with their three key commitments:

(1) Forest Protection and Restoration,
(2) Sustainable Production and Farmers' Livelihoods,
(3) Community Engagement and Social Inclusion 
 

Our Sustainability Vision and Journey

Cocoa-related deforestation is caused by many complex factors in the cocoa supply chain. Our CFI action plan brings us closer to achieving our sustainability goal of providing 100% Traceable and Sustainable cocoa by 2030 from our Good Cocoa & Beyond direct sourcing network and reinforces our commitment to protecting the environment.

The implementation of our CFI action plan will span two years, from 2020 to 2022. We will take this opportunity to learn and gain experience in cocoa sustainability activities among a smaller group of farmers as we take our first steps towards a sustainable cocoa supply chain. Some key activities from our CFI action plan in Cote d'Ivoire Include:
  • Mapping all farms from our GC&B program by 2021
  • Conducting deforestation risk assessments for these farms
  • Implementing traceability tools to ensure that 100% of our direct sourced cocoa can be traced to the farm level and that none originates from protected areas (national parks, reserves, forest areas)
  • Cooperating with government ministries on relevant policies and actions to prevent deforestation and ensure proper land use planning to benefit the cocoa communities
  • Training all farmers in Good Agricultural Practices and promoting farm-level crop diversification
  • Improving the financial liquidity of farmers by promoting and offering financial literacy and life insurance for farmers
  • Organizing community consultations for all our farmer communities by 2022
  • Developing gender and youth-focused programs in farmer communities
  • Supporting the development of operational guidelines on resettlement and restoring living standards

With the implementation of our CFI Action Plan, we will continue to take confident steps in expanding our scope and activities to create a significant impact for the farmers and the cocoa supply chain for a thriving cocoa sector tomorrow.

Download
GCB's 2021 CFI Report (Cote d'Ivoire)
GCB's 2022 CFI Report (Cote d'Ivoire)