Barry Callebaut ranked top for ESG risks management

It is the fifth consecutive year that the chocolate and cocoa supplier has been recognised as ‘Leader’ in both the Environmental and Social categories, and as an ‘Outperformer’ in Governance, and said it reaffirms its standing within the broader food and beverage industry.

The company's overall exposure to ESG risks is rated as 'High', but the overall management of ESG issues is rated as 'Strong', the top management category.

In a statement Barry Callebaut said: “Customers, investors and other stakeholders expect Barry Callebaut to address the key sustainability challenges in our supply chain. As the global sustainability landscape continues to evolve, we are committed to evaluating what priorities and risks our stakeholders in the chocolate and cocoa value chain deem important for us to focus our efforts on. We do this via regularly updating our ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) materiality assessment to align with the evolving needs of our stakeholders and the changing dynamics of our industry​.”

This year Barry Callebaut said it conducted a comprehensive double materiality assessment to better understand and prioritize these areas, which involved extensive engagement with a wide range of stakeholders. Their feedback and insights have been integral to ensuring that its approach aligns with both the realities of the cocoa sector and the expectations of our stakeholders.

Barry Callebaut is due to publish the seventh edition of its Forever Chocolate Progress Report at the end of this month, where it will publicly disclose its approach and progress on key material topics that are verified by an independent, third-party body.

Amr Arafa becomes the new Chief Digital Officer

The Swiss-based chocolate and cocoa supplier has also announced that Amr Arafa is joining the Group as Chief Digital Officer and will be responsible for driving its growth strategy going forward.

He reports directly to CEO Peter Feld, who said: “We are very pleased that Amr joins Barry Callebaut. As part of our BC Next Level program, we have committed to developing an agile, tech-enabled organization. This will not only benefit us internally at Barry Callebaut, but also will enable a seamless integration across our entire value chain - from our customers all the way to the cocoa farmers. With Amr, we have the right person on board to help us advance this digital transformation​.”