Swiss Platform for Sustainable Cocoa

Child Labour in Cocoa: Perspectives and Solutions   Child labour remains a pressing issue in the global cocoa supply chain and is rooted in the poverty of cocoa farmers. To mark today’s #WorldDayAgainstChildLabour, the Swiss Platform for Sustainable Cocoa is releasing a new publication that provides an overview of the complex issue and suggests measures that companies can take to navigate recently adopted legislation at the Swiss and European levels that introduce new human rights due diligence obligations and prevent and remediate child labour. Browse our Issue Brief “Child Labour in the Cocoa Sector. Perspectives and Approaches” below or click on the link to access the document (available in English, German and French) 👇 https://lnkd.in/dxUyV5A4 🤝 We thank our Board, members and partners who have provided invaluable contributions and input to support the development of this Issue Brief. Esther Waldmeier, Sophie Thérèse Tüllmann, Monika Althaus, Magdalena Deixler, Megan Passey, Sarah Dekkiche, Claes Hamilton, Sandra Groth, Deborah Schmidiger, Filippo Veglio, Christoph Oberlack, Vanessa Jaiteh, Martin Peter, Céline Brugger,Darrell High, Lea Eymann, Philippe Saner, Gaudenz Pfranger, Isabel Heidler, Christian Robin, Fabienne Bauer, Nicoletta Lumaldo, Joël Frei #SustainableCocoa, #LivingIncome #Sustainability #FarmGatePrice #ChildLabour #DueDiligence

🗺 Webinar: 𝐌𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐜𝐨𝐚 𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐖𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚. Join our next Cocoa Tertulia organised with Wilma Hart from The University of Queensland / ETH Zürich When? This Thursday, 25th July at 09:30 This event is only for people who: -        have agroforestry commitments, and/or -        are interested in the current situation in Ghana & Côte d'Ivoire and/or -        with to know how to measure shade tree cover & carbon stocks. Register here! 👇 https://lnkd.in/eJVTE7WR In response to our members' requests to exchange insights, the  Swiss Platform for Sustainable Cocoa has introduced the webinar series Cocoa Tertulia.   A Cocoa Tertulia is a one-hour #webinar where our members and partners can showcase findings, progress, insights, or projects relevant to our community. It is a space for connection, sharing, and enriching collective knowledge.   #CocoaTertulia #mapping #shadetrees #carbonstocks #satteliteimagery 

Today, our project “Sustainable Cocoa Sourcing Landscapes 2.0” has officially been launched at the Salón del Cacao y Chocolate Perú 2024! This landscape project helps to protect the country’s forests. It also supports cocoa farmers to comply with EU directives such as the Regulation on Deforestation-Free Products #EUDR. “This project helps consolidate multi-stakeholder articulation in San Martín, the principal cocoa-producing region in Peru. It will promote the management of the cocoa landscape to guarantee a sustainable, #deforestation-free cocoa production”, says Nathalie Gil Bravo, the new Project Manager Helvetas Perú. The project “Sustainable Cocoa Sourcing Landscapes 2.0” aims to achieve sustainably managed, deforestation-free landscapes, fostering improved competitiveness and diversified, climate-resilient cocoa production systems and livelihoods of the local population. The project will  ·       establish multi-stakeholder roundtables to implement actions and set objectives.  ·       join forces with cocoa exporters, manufacturers, cooperatives, and specialised organisations, to tackle the sustainability challenges. ·       work towards a sustainable and deforestation-free landscape. SECO Economic Cooperation and Development , Choba Choba AG, ECOM Agroindustrial Corp. Ltd., HALBA - Division der Coop Genossenschaft, Lindt & Sprüngli, MINKA SCS AG, SUMAQAO S.A.C. S.A.C, PRONATEC AG, Chocolat Stella Bernrain, Earthworm Foundation, Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL, South Pole, APPCACAO Learn more about this project: https://lnkd.in/eDdTq7Ux

Our July newsletter has been published! Our recent Annual General Meeting focused on opportunities and risks of regulations. On the same day, we released our Annual Report. We're proud of our progress last year: we reached our goal of importing 80% sustainable cocoa by 2025 two years ahead of schedule. But we all know there are still challenges to be tackled to make the cocoa sector more sustainable. So, how can we achieve this? How do small and medium-sized businesses handle current market conditions and navigate regulations? Read our interview with Christoph Birchler, CEO of Maestrani Swiss Chocolates, to find out. 👇 https://lnkd.in/ebywQMWv

From 9 to 10 August, SICACAO is organising a Salon of Cacao & Chocolate in Antigua, Guatemala. SICACAO is the Cocoa Committee of Central America and the Dominican Republic. The committee is a multi-stakeholder initiative and is made up of eight national cocoa platforms. Through public policy advocacy and knowledge and information management, SICACAO contributes to strengthening the cocoa sector by influencing public policies and strategies and creating alliances for the sustainable development of the cocoa value chain. Click on this link if you are interested in participating in a round table at the Salon or purchasing products 👇 https://lnkd.in/gZNN2_gM

I am glad to share the second paper from my PhD thesis. In this paper, we argue that due to inherent trade-offs in optimizing sustainability among smallholder organic and conventional farms, tailored approaches are key to managing short-term economic and environmental sustainability decisions. You can read more about it here: https://lnkd.in/gSv9pgNr. I am grateful to my co-authors @Isaac Asante, Irene Egyir Ted Nii Yemoh Annang Johan Blockeel Anja Heidenreich Irene Kadzere Christian Schader for their invaluable contributions. #Sustainability #tradeoffs #synergies #organic

Yesterday we welcomed our members to the Annual General Meeting. It was a day rich in dialogue and encounters. We thank everyone warmly who made the journey to Bern. You can access our annual report 2023 and the media release here 👇 https://lnkd.in/efTHB6dN

The members of the Swiss Platform for Sustainable Cocoa discussed the regulations in sustainability at their annual meeting today. Our members also approved the Annual Report 2023, which summarises the Platform's milestones over the past year. 1️⃣ At the annual meeting, the discussion centred on the opportunities and risks of regulations in the cocoa sector. 2️⃣ The Platform has already achieved in 2023 its goal of importing 80% sustainable cocoa into Switzerland by 2025. Instruments for this are certifications such as Fairtrade Max Havelaar, Rainforest Alliance or company programmes that are independently verified. 3️⃣ However, the discussion about regulation in the cocoa sector shows that further efforts are needed to tackle the challenges in the cocoa-producing countries effectively. #SustainableCocoa #EUDR #CSDDD #ESG #CSR #Sustainability Browse through our annual report below or access it on our website 👇 https://lnkd.in/gFwP8TDX

Rafael Cevallos, founder of Ecuacao Swiss, shares his expectations from joining the Swiss Platform for Sustainable Cocoa. He aims to coordinate organic certifications for Ecuadorian cocoa farmers, promote unique cocoa varieties, and implement #agroforestry systems for better farmer incomes and forest health. By leveraging Swiss collaborations, Cevallos seeks to innovate with cocoa by-products, enhance traceability, and contribute to sustainable agriculture research and education. Ecuacao's new chocolate factory in Switzerland embodies their commitment to sustainable practices from farm to finished product. Welcome to the Swiss Platform for Sustainable Cocoa, Ecuacao! #Sustainablecocoa, #SWISSCO #Ecuacao #Sustainability #EcuadorCocoa Read the full interview with Rafael by clicking on the link below. 👇

So-called Landscape Projects are the best way to sustainably develop an entire sourcing region. However, they are also complex because they involve a large number of stakeholders. What are the challenges and which milestones were reached in the Swiss Platform for Sustainable Cocoa’s project «Climate Resilient Cocoa Landscape» in the Sambirano Valley in northern #Madagascar? In this interview, entrepreneur Philippe L. Mena, Helvetas Regional Project Coordinator Rasolofo Myrs, and Helvetas Senior Advisor for Climate Change, Maya Wolfensberger Malo, provide answers that may surprise you. #SustainableCocoa #Sustainbility #ClimateResilience #Deforestation SECO Wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung, Max Felchlin AG, Lindt & Sprüngli Schweiz, Villars Maître Chocolatier Groupe Savencia, PRONATEC AG, Migros-Gruppe, Walter Matter SA, Touton SA, Centre for Development and Environment (CDE), University of Bern, myclimate.