The Lindt & Sprüngli
Farming Program
What is the Lindt & Sprüngli Farming Program about?
Responsible sourcing, especially of our cocoa, is of great concern to us. That is why Lindt & Sprüngli launched its own sustainability program for the sourcing of its cocoa in 2008: The Lindt & Sprüngli Farming Program. The Farming Program is aimed at three main outcomes: increasing the income and resilience of farming households, reducing the risk of child labor, and conserving biodiversity and natural ecosystems. We aim to achieve this by facilitating higher productivity of farms, supporting diversification of household incomes, and improving community infrastructure.
After achieving our goal to source 100% of our cocoa beans through the Farming Program, we extended the Program to include cocoa butter in 2021 and cocoa powder in 2022. Since then, we have continuously included new suppliers in the program, leading to increasing numbers of farmers, hectares, and scale of activities again in 2023.
In the reporting year 2023, we sourced a total of 68.2% of cocoa bean equivalents through our Farming Program. We aim to source 100% of cocoa products – beans, butter, powder, and chocolate mass – through the Lindt & Sprüngli Farming Program or other sustainability programs by 2025.
Challenges & Our Objectives
In cocoa producing countries, cocoa production faces deep-rooted challenges. Small farms and old and diseased cocoa trees can result in low yields and insufficient income for farmers and their families. Poor infrastructure and a lack of access to farming equipment can make production even more difficult. Finally, environmental challenges such as climate change and deforestation are impacting cocoa producing countries. The principal goal of the Farming Program is to address these challenges with the following main objectives:
Our Approach – 4 Pillars
The Lindt & Sprüngli Farming Program builds on four pillars:
Tracing our beans
We register cocoa farmers, map the cocoa farms and trace the journey of the cocoa beans all the way to our chocolate factories. Knowing where our beans come from helps us connect better with the farmers and understand their local environment and community needs.
Registering farmers
Gathering baseline data about farms (incl. Farm GPS coordinates and farm polygons), farmers, and communities to assess their needs and design the Program
Establishing a sound traceability system of cocoa beans from the cocoa farmers all the way to our factory doors
Training the farmers
We train farmers in cultivation techniques that respect the environment and people. This empowers the farmers and helps them develop their skills and practices.
Agricultural practices, including planting, maintenance, harvesting, fermentation, and drying of cocoa beans
Environmental practices, such as protection of biodiversity and the environment
Social practices and sensitization to topics such as health, safety, labor standards, and child labor
Business practices, including bookkeeping, farm management, and income diversification
Investments for farmers and communities
We invest to support cocoa farmers, their families, and their communities. This includes:
Productive and disease-resistant cocoa seedlings, as well as multi-purpose shade trees and farming equipment, to increase farm productivity
Cash or in-kind premiums for farmers in addition to paying the market price for cocoa (e.g., farming tools and inputs)
Access to financial knowledge and services including support of Village Saving & Loan Associations
Support for generating additional income through trainings and starting capital
Access to drinking water through construction of water systems and boreholes
Child Labour Monitoring and Remediation System (CLMRS), including investments in education infrastructure
Independently verifying our program
Our Farming Program activities get evaluated by an independent external organization. This objective view helps us evaluate the Program’s effectiveness and continuously improve.
Annual internal monitoring of all cocoa farmers to assess their compliance with Farming Program requirements and evaluate their progress
Annual external assessment by an independent third party
Identification, discussion, and implementation of corrective actions based on data gathered for continuous improvement of the Program
Periodically assess the impact of the Farming Program with the KIT Royal Tropical Institute
