Roughly 17 million hectares of forest worldwide are lost or environmentally degraded by poor cultivation practices every year. This reduces biodiversity and accelerates climate change. Therefore, part of HALBA’s sustainability efforts focus on avoiding deforestation and the conversion of natural ecosystems. The objectives pursued and steps taken by HALBA in this respect are listed in the Deforastation and Conversion Policy.
Forests, particularly rainforests, are being cut down worldwide for agriculture, converting natural ecosystems into farmland. In the tropics in particular, poverty and social inequality drive people in search of farmland into forested areas, where forests are cleared and subsequently used for agriculture. Timber, cocoa, coffee, soya, rubber and palm oil production, along with cattle farming, are among the main causes of global rainforest deforestation. Out of the raw materials used in Switzerland which contribute most to global deforestation, cocoa ranks second. The preservation of biodiversity, the protection of natural resources, and environment and climate protection are anchored in the Coop Sustainability Strategy and taken very seriously by HALBA. Public debate has triggered discussions among policymakers and legislative proposals for deforestation-free supply chains. In the EU, the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) came into force on 29 June 2023. A ban on the sale and trade of raw materials and products that contribute to deforestation or conversion will come into force on 30 December 2025. The EUDR applies to wood, cocoa, coffee, soy, cattle, rubber, palm oil and some derivative products (e.g. chocolate, furniture).
As a division of the Coop Group, HALBA is committed to the overriding objective of establishing completely deforestation- and conversion-free supply chains for all «critical raw materials» by the end of 2026. HALBA is aiming to achieve a 100 % deforestation- and conversion-free supply chain for its cocoa by mid-2025 in order to comply with the EUDR. The reference date is 31 December 2018, in accordance with the Fairtrade Standard for Cocoa, which goes beyond the requirements of the EUDR. This means that areas cannot be used for cultivation if they were deforested or converted after this date. The precise procurement location must be known so HALBA can make sure there is no forest conversion in the supply chain. HALBA relies on certifications from independent sustainability standards to ensure traceable, transparent and deforestation-free supply chains. This goal has been achieved since 2018 in the procurement of cocoa beans, which HALBA sources 100 % certified and segregated in accordance with the Fairtrade standard.
In 2025, HALBA will also switch completely from Fairtrade or Rainforest Alliance mass balance to segregated supply chains for the procurement of cocoa butter, cocoa powder and cocoa mass. As of 2024, 53 % of these supply chains are segregated. Compared to mass balance, this ensures that cocoa products can be fully traced back to the certified farms and guarantees deforestation-free, conversion-free supply chains.
HALBA also records the exact GPS location and polygons of all the cocoa farms in the supply chains. This data and satellite images are used to check and monitor whether the cocoa cultivation areas are actually free from deforestation and conversion.
In addition to this, HALBA aims to restore part of the ecosystem with dynamic agroforestry systems in cocoa cultivation areas that were deforested, converted or degraded before 31 December 2018. By 2040, HALBA wants to procure at least 50 % of the cocoa beans it processes from dynamic agroforestry or similar production systems.
