Cargill has set what it describes as a ‘new global benchmark for more sustainable cocoa supply chains‘, following an overhaul of its cocoa supply structure.
The food and ingredients giant has introduced a series of interconnected investments aimed at reducing carbon emissions, eliminating waste, and improving efficiency from cocoa-producing countries in West Africa to processing centers in Europe.
For example, cocoa shells that were previously discarded in Côte d’Ivoire are now used to power biomass boilets, while a solar power plant has been installed to support its operations in Tema, Ghana.
‘How we operate’
“Sustainability isn’t a single project at Cargill – it’s how we operate,” commented Emiel van Dijk, managing director of Cocoa & Chocolate Europe and West Africa.
“From circular waste reuse to renewable transport and clean energy, we’re showing that climate action can scale, without compromise.”
Continuing the process
Once the cocoa beans and semi-finished products reach Europe, they are stored in solar-powered warehouses near Amsterdam, before being transported by fully electric barges to Cargill’s factory in Zaandam, a process that reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 190,000 kilograms annually.
The electricity for Cargill’s Dutch facilities, including its barges, comes from Windpark Hanze, a renewable energy partnership with Vattenfall.
Once the cocoa is processed, the cocoa shells are re-used again, this time to fuel a biomass boiler in Amsterdam, cutting greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 19,000 tonnes each year, while semi-finished cocoa products are shipped to Wormer, home to the world’s largest cocoa processing site, using LNG-powered trucks.
The finished cocoa powder is stored in a warehouse in Zaandam featuring solar panels, automated vehicles, and intermodal rail and barge connections to minimise last-mile environmental impact.
Cargill’s semi-finished cocoa products are then delivered to its own chocolate processing sites and its customers across Europe using renewable fuels and short sea shipping, supporting the company’s global target to reduce supply chain emissions by 30% per tonne of product by 2030.
“This is what sustainability at scale looks like,” van Dijk added. “It’s measurable, circular, and designed to serve both people and the planet.” Read more here.
