Cacao Action Plan
- Sustainability
- Efforts for sustainable procurement (action plans)
- Cacao Action Plan
We work as a Group to resolve issues in line with our Cacao Procurement Policy, which we established in July 2022.
Daito Cacao, a commercial-use chocolate manufacturer and wholesaler, and a consolidated subsidiary of the Group, has joined the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) and acquired Rainforest Alliance and other certifications for responsible cacao procurement in an effort to resolve societal and environmental issues in the cacao supply chain. In March 2024, we formulated our Cacao Action Plan to promote sustainable procurement of cacao.
Cacao Action Plan
Action plan and progress
| Activities | Progress in FY2025 (including some results to date) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Establish new procurement routes that ensure traceability | Establish cacao suppliers that ensure traceability to plantations, and implement support measures for farmers and society to eradicate poverty and child labor, and prevent deforestation |
In Nigeria, Daito Cacao has participated in a program to implement the following support measures and is promoting procurement from plantations that can ensure traceability. The company will continue to procure Nigerian cacao in FY2026.
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| 2 | Expand certified cacao products | Improve the lives of plantation residents and workers and prevent deforestation by procuring certified cacao | To improve the lives of plantation residents and workers and to prevent deforestation, since 2023, Daito Cacao has been selling the ANTHEM series of chocolate products for commercial use made from certified cocoa beans. |
| 3 | Conduct flavor sustainability activities | Conserve rare Ecuadorian Arriba cacao beans and contribute to the cacao industry by improving work environments and productivity | Since 2021, in San Jose Plantation in Ecuador, Daito Cacao has participated in activities to conserve the Arriba variety, which has grown in Ecuador since ancient times. In October 2022, at plantations outfitted with state-of-the-art facilities, the company started grafting cuttings from Arriba cacao trees onto disease-resistant rootstock in an effort to maintain flavor and quality and stabilize yields. An overview of this project is posted on Daito Cacao’s website under the title “Flavor sustainability activities” (in Japanese only). |
Examples of Cacao Action Plan initiatives
Daito Cacao has participated in activities to conserve the Arriba (Nacional) cacao variety* at the San Jose Plantation in Ecuador since 2021.
In October 2022, Daito Cacao began grafting cuttings from carefully selected Arriba cacao trees onto rootstock for the purpose of preserving the traditional Ecuadorian flavor.
These activities will continue with the aim of transferring the traditional flavor of cacao to the next generation.
* Arriba variety of cacao: Endemic to Ecuador, believed to be closest to the indigenous variety of cacao.
For more information, please visit Daito Cacao’s website (in Japanese).