FDBusiness.com

Global edible oils firm IOI Loders Croklaan has launched a campaign showing that their Shea nuts supply chain from West Africa is transparent and sustainable. As a first in the industry, IOI Loders Croklaan teamed up with the Rainforest Alliance and invited them to conduct a study into their Shea nuts supply chain. “There are no major critical issues along the supply chain for Shea nuts with regards to sustainability standards,” says Olaf Paulsen, who executed the study for the Rainforest Alliance. Together with the report, IOI Loders Croklaan has published a magazine and a video to explain to customers and external stakeholders more about their responsible Shea nuts supply chain.

The specific qualities of Shea make it a popular ingredient for chocolate confectionery, cosmetics and other products. Shea nuts are a wild crop, picked in the fields by women in rural communities in different countries in Africa, amongst others Burkina Faso, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Mali. Being a wild crop, the collection of the nuts could not be certified against any sustainable agricultural standard. “This assessment gives our customers the assurance they can responsibly use our Shea nuts in their products,” says Patrick Cobussen, business unit manager and commercially responsible for Shea containing products at IOI Loders Croklaan.

The study included visits to Shea processing facilities as well as to rural communities that depend on Shea harvesting. The report indicated a few areas for improvement that IOI Loders Croklaan commits to tackle. “Taking a leadership role based on long established Shea operations inWest Africa, we will co-operate in this effort with experts in this field and institutes supporting the development of Shea and the Shea industry,” says Hidde van Kersen, sustainability director at IOI Loders Croklaan. Already, the company has teamed with NGO’s such as SNV, running local projects to deliver better income for the rural communities collecting the nuts.