How Ferrero is Making its Value Chain Sustainable
Ferrero, one of the largest sweet-packaged food companies in the world, is driven by its efforts to have a positive impact throughout its value chain when it comes to sustainability.
In its 16th sustainability report, the company has showcased how it is making continued progress across a number of the business' key sustainability priorities.
Giovanni Ferrero, Executive Chairman of the Ferrero Group, says: "Sustainability is deeply embedded in Ferrero's long-term strategy. It's a fundamental driver of business resilience and shapes the decisions we make, as we grow responsibly. In the face of global challenges, particularly climate change, our commitment remains clear: to source responsibly, innovate boldly and safeguard the natural world for future generations.
"This progress is made possible by embracing collective action, leveraging innovation, research and development, and continuously learning from experience to deliver measurable, meaningful impact."
There is also continued progress in its traceability across its global supply chain. More than 90% of its key ingredients are mapped to their origins – with a partnership with Sourcemap and Starling allowing for more precision in the tracking of key commodities. This helps it to achieve 97% traceability for both cocoa and palm oil, while hazelnuts have reached 94%.
Carbon emissions cut by over 20%
This is all helping towards its 2030 goals of halving greenhouse gas emissions – as it has seen significant reductions already compared to the baseline from 2017/18.
These include:
Scope 1 and 2 emissions were reduced by 21.7%.
For Scope 3, FLAG (Forest, Land and Agriculture) and non-FLAG emissions were disaggregated to improve carbon accounting and enhance data reliability and accuracy.
90% of electricity for manufacturing and warehousing is now sourced from renewables.
92.1% of its packaging now designed to be recyclable, the company has maintained its commitment to ensuring more than 90% of packaging materials are reusable, recyclable or compostable.
Plastic packaging revolution saves tonnes
There has also been notable progress made in reducing virgin plastic, including a 13% decrease in the plastic-to-product ratio. This includes the conversion of Ferrero Rocher boxes from polystyrene to polypropylene in North America and China, resulting in an estimated saving of approximately 11,000 tonnes of plastic.
The company also released its Nutella Plant-Based in jars made from 60% recycled glass and rolled out Kinder Joy's paper spoon.
Ferrero has also seen 100% of its plants certified against the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) Standard.
In the area of responsible consumption it has maintained focus on carefully defined serving sizes. 85% of marketed volumes had a serving size of 130 kcal or less, 63% were 100 kcal or less, and 91% were below 150 kcal per serving.
Lapo Civiletti, Chief Executive Officer of the Ferrero Group, adds: "We made steady progress on our sustainability agenda during fiscal year 2023/2024. I am particularly proud of the ongoing steps we are taking to achieve our long-term commitments.
"We have successfully advanced our sustainability journey while maintaining strong financial stewardship across the company. We are making great efforts on the traceability of our key ingredients and improving supply chain visibility, while advancing our commitments to promoting human rights and continuing our work on decarbonisation across the business."
Ferror is dedicated to empowering people. The company is also working on its long-standing sourcing relationships with partnerships with both international and local organisations, including the International Labour Organization (ILO) and Save the Children.
Last year, Ferrero partnered with the Organization of American States (OAS) to promote inclusion, equity and access to rights through sports and physical activity, particularly for children, adolescents and women in the Americas.