Blommer Chocolate Company
Blommer Chocolate Company is the largest cocoa processor and ingredient chocolate supplier in North America. With four strategically located manufacturing facilities in North America, the company provides comprehensive business solutions for domestic and international customers of all sizes in the confectionery, baking and dairy industries. Among Blommer’s core competencies are cocoa bean processing, chocolate manufacturing, commodity risk management, and product and process R&D.
The company is a leader in advancing sustainable cocoa farming, playing an active role in the World Cocoa Foundation and promoting sustainable farming practices through its privately managed programs in Côte d’Ivoire, Indonesia and Ecuador. Founded in 1939, the family owned and operated company maintains an outstanding reputation for customer service and quality.
Sustainable Origins™
Sustainable Origins™ demonstrates Blommer’s strongly held philosophy that the cocoa farming community is a crucial partner in ensuring the long-term sustainability of the cocoa industry. Blommer is involved in several private sustainability programs in Southeast Asia, Latin America and West Africa. More than 60,000 farmers are participating through our sustainability programs in which farmers have experienced better crop yields and premium pricing.
Blommer plans to invest an incremental $45 million in cocoa sustainability efforts by 2020. Driven by an effort to meet rising consumer demand and help our customers achieve their sustainability goals, Blommer is committed to expanding our partnership with farming communities to more than 100,000 growers worldwide.
Olam International
Olam International is a leading global integrated supply chain manager and processor of agricultural products and food ingredients, supplying various products across 16 platforms in 65 countries.
Olam has a direct sourcing and processing presence in most major producing countries catering to 12,300 customers across the world. Our global team of 18,000+ has built a leadership position in many of their businesses – including cocoa, coffee, cashew, sesame, rice, cotton and wood products.
The company handled 10.7 million tonnes of products for a sales revenue of S$17.1 billion in FY 2012. Headquartered in Singapore and listed on the SGX-ST in 2005, Olam currently ranks among the top 40 largest listed companies in Singapore in terms of market capitalisation and is a component stock in the Straits Times Index (STI), MSCI Singapore Free, S&P Agribusiness Index and the DAXglobal Agribusiness Index.
Olam Livelihood Charter
Launched in 2010, the Olam Livelihood Charter (OLC) has structured and formalized our activities drawing from experience gained in emerging countries. As part of the Olam Sustainability Standard, which covers the length and breadth of Olam’s operations, the OLC aspires to improve the well-being of smallholders and viability of their farms through eight principles:
- Finance
- Improved yield
- Market access
- Quality
- Social investment
- Labor practices
- Environmental impact
- Traceability
The Charter is stringent, only allowing initiatives that meet all eight principles to merit OLC status. Now the goal is to bring as many smallholders as possible into the Charter. With over 670 extension workers on the ground and through working via cooperatives we are achieving strong success rates where we have direct contact in areas such as productivity and yields, female inclusion and environmental certification. Over the last three years we have increased the number of qualifying initiatives from six to twenty and the number of farmers involved in the OLC has increased 388% from 64,290 to 313,476 as we manage to align an increasing number of our programs against all eight of the Principles. This could not be achieved without partners.
Our efforts and that of our partners to positively impact the lives of farmers and communities were recognized in 2012 when we were awarded the ‘Leadership in Sustainable Investment in Africa’ Award and the Guardian Sustainable Business Award in 2013.
