ZURICH, Switerland – Barry Callebaut has for the fourth consecutive year earned a place on CDP’s prestigious Supplier Engagement Leaderboard. This recognition places the company in the top 8% of companies who disclosed their environmental data through CDP in 2021. This news follows Barry Callebaut’s recent CDP Forest A-rating for being a leader in corporate action and transparency on deforestation announced in December 2021.
CDP’s Supplier Engagement Leaderboard recognizes the companies, which have received the highest ratings in CDP’s Supplier Engagement Rating (SER). The SER provides a rating for how effectively companies are engaging their suppliers on climate change. CDP assesses performance on supplier engagement using a company’s response to selected questions on governance, targets, scope 3 emissions, and value chain engagement in the CDP climate change questionnaire.
According to CDP, carbon emissions in a food company’s supply chain are, on average, 87% of the total emissions. At Barry Callebaut, supplier engagement is therefore vital to achieving the ambitious Forever Chocolate target to be carbon and forest positive by 2025.
“Engagement with our extended supply chain and partners is key for Barry Callebaut’s Forever Chocolate strategy,” said Pablo Perversi, Chief Innovation, Sustainability & Quality Officer, Global Head of Gourmet. “We are once again proud to be recognized by CDP for our collaboration with suppliers in reducing emissions and implementing climate-positive actions. We look forward to working with our supply chain partners and driving impact as Barry Callebaut works towards meeting our 2025 science-based targets. The recognition by CDP is also testimony to the dedication of our people who continue to focus on approaches to innovate and scale our sustainability efforts. Initiatives such as Seeds for Change, our global employee engagement program, allow all our people to implement creative solutions to reduce our carbon footprint.”
“Our data shows that companies currently have blinkers on when it comes to assessing their indirect impacts and engaging with suppliers to reduce them,” Sonya Bhonsle, Global Head of Value Chains & Regional Director Corporations, CDP. “Companies must act urgently to cascade action and manage environmental impacts throughout their supply chains to scale the level of action to secure a 1.5°C future. Many congratulations to the 500+ companies earning a place on CDP’s 2021 Supplier Engagement Leaderboard. As a Supplier Engagement Leader, Barry Callebaut is a trailblazer driving the transition towards a sustainable net-zero future.”
