AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands – The UTZ Certified Annual Report 2013 is available online as announced in the following media release.
“The UTZ Certified Annual Report 2013 shows that it has been a year of growth and consolidation.
The goal is to work with different stakeholders to create a world where sustainable farming is the norm and our latest data shows we are well on the way, with the UTZ Certified label appearing on more than 10,000 different product packs, in over 116 countries.
Cocoa has seen some of the biggest growth. 13% of the world’s cocoa supply is now UTZ certified, 5 of the top 10 chocolate manufactures have committed to buying UTZ cocoa, and sales grew by 156%. Sales of UTZ certified coffee rose by 19% to 224,028 metric tons and UTZ certified tea sales rose to 4,044 metric tons, an increase of 32%.
Among the other important achievements in 2013 was the work done to publish the Impact Report. It reveals the impact of the UTZ program, with farmers achieving higher yields and improving the quality of their lives and those of their families and workers.
The strengthening of the UTZ Codes of Conduct through a wide public consultation was another achievement that will enhance the rigor and relevance of the Codes.
In 2013 we used new ways of collaborating to extend the reach of our work on topics such as climate change, and a living wage. Also, we began the process of extending UTZ standards to a new crop – hazelnuts.
Of course, none of our achievements would have been possible without the support of our funders, partners, farmers, retailers, governments, NGOs and other stakeholders that are committed to progress in sustainable farming. In the coming year, our focus will be on the quality and consistency of our standards and assurance processes.”
The report can be found at this link.
