Cadbury Schweppes plc
Cadbury Schweppes joined our Corporate Environmental Responsibility Group (CERG) in 1999 and directly funded the Earthwatch project ‘Mexican Puma' for five years.
In December 2004 Cadbury Schweppes launched the Earthshare programme. The Earthshare programme creates a partnership between all stakeholders: Earthwatch, Cadbury Schweppes staff and business units, early careers Ghanaian scientists, researchers, local communities in Ghana, universities and NGOs.
The Earthshare programme is a fine example of a successful Business/NGO partnership, the Earthshare programme has engaged individuals from both Cadbury businesses and from local communities, in scientific research to investigate key issues around biodiversity and cocoa productivity in cocoa growing regions of Ghana.
The programme has to date focused on scientific research to inform strategies that aim to increase understanding and promote action for sustainable cocoa production in Ghana. The programme has led to a better scientific understanding of cocoa sustainability issues, a plan for eco tourism at the cocoa farm in the Eastern Region of Ghana, and the engagement of over 100 Cadbury Schweppes stakeholders in scientific field research and associated personal development.
Partnership Elements
Stakeholder Involvement
Cadbury Schweppes has been an active member of the Corporate Environmental Responsibility Group (CERG), the group of companies that works in partnership with Earthwatch. Most recently it supported the research and publication of ‘Business and Ecosystems: Ecosystem Challenges and Business Implications', a joint publication of the World Business Council on Sustainable Development (WBCSD), The World Resources Institute (WRI) and IUCN (The World Conservation Union).
Employee Engagement
Cadbury Schweppes and Earthwatch have worked together from 2005-2007 to offer 70 Cadbury Schweppes employees the opportunity to participate in the Cocoa Farming and Biodiversity in Ghana project. These employees worked with local scientists to assist with data collection and to learn about cocoa farming practices. Their participation on the project is designed to educate and raise awareness among Cadbury Schweppes employees of sustainable cocoa issues, rural livelihoods and ethical sourcing.
The employee ‘Fellows' take part in the project for a fortnight and on their return from the field, Employee Fellows will contribute to the initiatives of the Cadbury Schweppes' environmental management team. Earthwatch aims to help Fellows consider their own role in adopting more environmentally friendly ways of working in order to help drive forward positive environmental change in their workplace.
Community Investment
During the 3 year partnership, 30 young ‘Capacity Building' scientists were selected to participate in the project by NCRC, our NGO partner in the field, from universities in Ghana. They were selected because of their potential to become the conservationists of the future. They have all since joined our Capacity Building alumni, many report life changing outcomes from their experience and one young scientist joined the Earthwatch research team as a member of staff for future projects.
Cadbury Schweppes funds have been important in the building of a visitor centre in the village of Adjeikrom, and in providing environmental interpretation material (such as posters about how chocolate is produced) to the local community. Through the programme The Nature Conservation Research Centre (NCRC) has collaborated with the project community to develop a comprehensive Tourism Development Plan, which provides details of projected visitor numbers to Bonsu, Adjeikrom and Abompe, targetting audiences ranging from the local research community to foreign visitors.
2007 marked the start of new ecotourism initiatives at Bonsu, Abompe and Adjeikrom, which has generated interest from tour companies and international universities wanting to use the facilities as a field school location.
Environmental Research
Since 2005 Cadbury Schweppes has been working in partnership with Earthwatch to implement a sustainable cocoa and biodiversity research project in Ghana. In the first three years the project studied cocoa production and biodiversity, in this fourth year (2008) the research will primarily focus on adding to valuable data sets on cocoa productivity on farms in and around the community of Adjeikrom in the Eastern region of Ghana. The aim is to use the results from the four years of research to make recommendations for increasing the number of cocoa farmers in the project communities managing their farms to conserve biodiversity and to better improve sustainable cocoa cultivation. The project has also developed a cocoa eco-tourism initiative to help diversify the Ghanaian economy in the cocoa growing areas and bring awareness to the local communities and visitors of the need for sustainable cocoa production and livelihoods.
Research teams collect data on the productivity of cocoa trees, nutrient cycling and biodiversity along a gradient of cocoa production from remnant native forest without cocoa trees (control), through extensive shaded cocoa farms with native trees to intensive un-shaded farms almost devoid of other trees.