Ferrero releases 2024 Sustainability Report

The Ferrero Group has announced the latest progress in its sustainability journey, with the release of its 16th Sustainability Report.

Guided by the company’s commitment to having a positive impact throughout its value chain, the report shares the progress the business has made across its key sustainability priorities.

“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,” said Giovanni Ferrero, Executive Chairman of the Ferrero Group. “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.”

The company’s latest Sustainability Report highlights continued progress in traceability across its global supply chains, with more than 90% of key ingredients now mapped to origin. Strategic partnerships with Sourcemap and Starling are strengthening precision tracking of key commodities — achieving 97% traceability for both cocoa and palm oil, and 94% for hazelnuts.

“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,” said Lapo Civiletti, Chief Executive Officer of the Ferrero Group. “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.”

The company has made progress toward its 2030 goal of halving greenhouse gas emissions, with reductions already achieved compared to its 2017–18 baseline:

• 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.

With 92.1% of its packaging designed to be recyclable, the company has maintained its commitment to ensuring more than 90% of packaging materials are reusable, recyclable or compostable.

Progress has also been 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.

Other changes include the launch of Nutella Plant-Based in jars made from 60% recycled glass and the rollout of Kinder Joy’s paper spoon.

Other highlights from the Sustainability Report include:

• 100% of Ferrero plants certified against the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) Standard.
• 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.

The full Ferrero Sustainability Report can be found online.

Image credit: iStock.com/MagicColors