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Responsibly farmed cocoa

Cocoa is a precious commodity that passes through many hands and travels over multiple continents on its journey from the farm to the finished product. One topic is becoming increasingly important in this process: sustainability in all its dimensions—the welfare of cocoa farmers and their families, the preservation of biodiversity, and the protection of forests and the climate.

The answer: cocoa commitment

With the cocoa commitment sustainability program, we are dedicated to developing and implementing solutions to the challenges of sustainability in cocoa farming.

The program builds on established standards such as the Rainforest Alliance and Fairtrade, supplementing them with further measures such as the promotion of Good Agricultural Practice (GAP), training programs in sustainable agroforestry, the reforesting of croplands and the protection of primeval forests. This is accompanied by an improvement in the income and living situations of families, especially of women, and the prevention of exploitative child labor.

We have made a good start, but there is still a long way to go. Products that bear the cocoa commitment seal are manufactured in part with cocoa grown from the cocoa commitment sustainability program. The cocoa from the program is certified by the Rainforest Alliance or Fairtrade, and additionally fulfills the sustainability measures of cocoa commitment. By 2030, all cocoa-containing brand-name products of the KRÜGER GROUP will be required to obtain their cocoa through cocoa commitment.

Learn more about the cocoa commitment sustainability program

Our report: the first year of the program

Cocoa cultivation is faced with pervasive challenges. Our cocoa commitment program to address these challenges and enable us to continue purchasing this raw material in a responsible manner entered its first year in October 2022 in Côte d’Ivoire. Cocoa commitment works to implement tailor-made solutions to problems concerning cocoa farming and its related environmental and social issues, including the living conditions of the farmers.

Results in numbers

Our three pillars

Cocoa commitment is the KRÜGER GROUP’s solution-oriented sustainability program for fair trade. It takes into account the entire cocoa supply chain—from the living conditions of farmers to eco-friendly farming methods, and right through to the end product. The entire journey is vertically integrated and completely traceable—from the farms to the KRÜGER GROUP’s own cocoa-processing factory in Germany, where cocoa powder, cocoa butter, and cocoa mass are made from the cocoa beans.

© Krüger GmbH & Co. KG

Unsere
drei Säulen

cocoa commitment ist ein lösungsorientiertes Nachhaltigkeitsprogramm, das die gesamte Kakao-Wertschöpfungskette betrachtet, von den Lebensbedingungen der Menschen über den umweltschonenden Anbau und dem Klimaschutz bis zum Endprodukt.

Für die
Umwelt

Stopp der Entwaldung für Anbauflächen, weniger Pestizide und Dünger. Mehr gesunde Natur, Biodiversität und
Klimaschutz.

Mehr erfahren

für die
produktivität

Förderung nachhaltiger und unternehmerischer Landwirtschaft: höhere Erträge für ein höheres Einkommen der Farmerinnen und Farmer.

Mehr erfahren

für die
gemeinschaft

Faire Erlöse für die Farmer, Verhinderung von Kinderarbeit, Förderung von Frauenrechten und Menschenrechten, bessere Lebensbedingungen.

Mehr erfahren

How cocoa commitment works

To tackle the challenges of sustainability, we develop and implement effective measures tailor-made for the respective growing regions, as the situation varies considerably from one area to another. These measures improve the financial and social conditions on the farms and in the village communities while also protecting nature and the climate.

Defining effective
practices

Cocoa commitment takes the cocoa certifications of the Rainforest Alliance and Fairtrade as a basis. We have gone a step further, however, by defining additional standards on top of these. Ambitious, actionable, effective, verifiable, and binding criteria and measures have been developed specially for cocoa farming. The participating cocoa farms and cocoa cooperatives are required to comply with these.

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Supporting
cocoa farmers

Through training programs and individual coaching, we support and guide cocoa farmers in successively converting to sustainable farming methods and achieving higher socioeconomic standards.

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Monitoring
success

Checklists are good, on-site checks are better. We therefore make sure that the farms, cooperatives, and local traders are monitored by experts at regular intervals. This also enables the people on-site to learn how to apply management and monitoring techniques.

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Ensuring
traceability

A central element of the cocoa commitment sustainability program is the end-to-end traceability of the raw cocoa – from the farms to the KRÜGER GROUP’s own cocoa-processing factory in Germany, where cocoa powder, cocoa butter, and cocoa mass are made from the cocoa beans.

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Our mission
and vision

Together, we are making the future of cocoa more sustainable.

Through long-term partnerships with cocoa farmers, cocoa commitment ensures a sustainable cocoa supply chain. Together we work on diversified cocoa cultivation with the goal of sustainable agriculture and community empowerment. In this way, we permanently improve the income and living situation of the farmers and their families, so that a positive impact on people and nature is achieved.

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Better
together

All cocoa sustainability programs aim to make the world a better place. With cocoa commitment, we, too, want to make an important contribution to this.

 

cocoa commitment
for your (retail) brands

Participation in cocoa commitment is open to the entire food industry. What sets it apart is that it makes the purchase of certified cocoa products the basis for participation, thereby ensuring complete traceability.

Learn more

Cocoa commitment
for your (retail) brands

Participation in cocoa commitment is open to the entire food industry. What sets it apart is that it makes the purchase of certified cocoa products the basis for participation, thereby ensuring complete traceability.

Learn more

Available for
brand manufacturers

Available for
retail chains

Available for
processing companies

The commodity cocoa:
special features

Why is cocoa only grown in tropical countries along the equator? How is cocoa farmed? What varieties are there? What are the special characteristics of the cocoa fruit and what are the best fruit-bearing conditions for cocoa trees?

Learn more

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