OUR HAZELNUTS

Ferrero’s activities to achieve sustainability along its hazelnut value chain include the traceability of this ingredient.

Our hazelnuts come mainly from Turkey, Italy, Chile and the USA. Ferrero is committed to achieving full traceability of its sourced hazelnuts in its hazelnut value chain. Traceability in Ferrero’s hazelnut value chain refers to being able to trace the hazelnuts back to their origin, either the individual farm or “farm cluster”. Achieving this commitment has been challenging in some countries where supply chains are larger and more complex. In other countries, higher levels of traceability have been reached. In Chile and the USA, for example, Ferrero has achieved full traceability.

To ensure the availability of quality and fresh hazelnuts, cultivation is also taking place in countries from the Southern Hemisphere, representing an additional harvest from February to March. As part of this approach, Ferrero has established hazelnut farms (Agrifarms) in Chile, Argentina, South Africa and Australia, in addition to Georgia and Serbia. Through these Agrifarms, Ferrero is developing a sustainable business model with local farmers, sharing and promoting good agricultural practices (nurseries, training, agronomic assistance, etc.). Discover more inside Ferrero's latest CSR report here.

Sustainability in hazelnut sourcing

Ferrero’s vision towards sustainability aims to improve the conditions of the hazelnut communities where it operates.

Turkey:

The Ferrero Farming Values (FFV) program for hazelnuts has been operating in Turkey since 2012. Within this program Ferrero developed a hazelnut Production Standard in collaboration with SCS (Scientific Certification Systems) Global Services, a leading global certification and sustainability services provider. The standard encompasses four major areas: Good Social Practices (GSP), Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), Post Harvest Quality and Traceability. Through the Ferrero Farming Values (FFV) program, Ferrero works with farmers, mostly smallholders, to empower them with knowledge of good agricultural and social practices. Every year SCS Global Services, together with local auditing firms, carries out specific audits of farmers chosen at random. Across 2019 growing season, our teams visited more than 400 orchards a day and met 21,211 farmers. The orchards that participated increased their yields by an average of 40-45% compared to the others orchards in the same areas. Ferrero has also collaborated with GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH) to develop a Monitoring & Evaluation System in order to assess and report the progress and impact of social activities and interventions on the ground. This system reflects the collected data from different stakeholders including farmers, workers, labour brokers and community opinion leaders.

Italy:

One of the countries where the hazelnuts that meet our high-quality standards are cultivated is Italy, and historically this has been in the regions of Piedmont, Lazio and Campania, therefore taking care of the sustainable value chain development and preservation in these areas is key. As part of its responsible sourcing plan, Ferrero has collaborated with the global assurance provider DNV GL since 2015. This partnership is helping Ferrero to develop concrete actions on the ground with both farmers and associations, including training and field assistance.

Chile:

Ferrero’s first agrifarm, Agrichile, was established in 1991 in Chile, which has a favourable climate for hazelnut cultivation. The result of more than 25 years of Agrichile activity, combining the expertise of our agronomists and the high skills of Chilean farmers, has been the creation of a full value chain. Ferrero’s own production processes in Chile have been certified in 2019 under the Sustainably Grown standard by SCS Global Services, an accredited certification program. It provides assurance that hazelnuts meet several environmental standards, that farm workers and farm communities are protected and engaged, and that the farm is economically resilient.

Hazelnuts Harvest Bucket Farmer | Nutella

Joining forces with key stakeholders

At Ferrero, we take ethical practices, including better employment practices within the hazelnut value chain, very seriously. Ferrero actively participates in an extended Public-Private Partnership with CAOBISCO (European Association of Chocolate, Biscuits & Confectionery Industries) and the ILO (International Labour Organization) in Turkey, through a project that aims to contribute to the elimination of the worst forms of child labour in seasonal agriculture in hazelnut harvesting. Ferrero is also partnering with Earthworm Foundation, a non-profit organisation focused on positively improving value chains, on its responsible sourcing program for hazelnuts.