A cocoa exporter, Sunbeth Global Concepts (SGC), has launched an ambitious sustainability programme that it says will reshape how the crop is grown, traded, and sourced across Nigeria — with binding targets stretching to 2050.

SGC, an African-owned cocoa exporting firm, unveiled Orange Cocoa, a long-term framework built around three pillars: the quality of the crop itself, the welfare of those who grow it, and the health of the land on which it is farmed. The announcement sets out some of the most specific commitments yet made by a mid-sized exporter operating directly out of origin communities in West Africa.

Under the programme, SGC has pledged to train 100,000 farmers in good agricultural and environmental practices by 2040, distribute one million hybrid cocoa seedlings across its sourcing regions, and establish three regional cocoa quality testing hubs.

This year alone, the company says it will put more than 60,000 hybrid seedlings into the hands of farmers within its network.

SGC’s Sustainability Director, Oyinkansola Owoyemi, said the programme was designed to meet several pressures simultaneously rather than address them one at a time. “We are not dealing with one problem. We are dealing with a convergence — regulatory change, climate pressure, farms that are ageing faster than they are being renewed, and communities that have carried this industry for generations without receiving what they are owed.Orange Cocoa takes the values we have always operated by and gives them structure, measurable targets, and accountability that can be tracked and reported,” she said.

SGC has committed to implementing a Child Labour Monitoring and Remediation System, with a requirement that every child identified as being at risk receives and completes an approved remediation plan within twelve months of identification.

Owoyemi noted . “You can invest in the finest planting materials and build a technically sound traceability system, but if the farmer on the other end of that system cannot keep his children in school, then you have to be honest about what you are actually sustaining,” she said. “A farmer who is economically stable, who is supported by his community, and who is investing in his land — that is the farmer who produces consistently and stays in the industry. Social impact and supply chain security are not two different goals. They are the same goal, seen from different angles.”

On the environmental side, SGC has pledged to plant 300,000 shade trees by 2040, a measure the company says will restore biodiversity and improve soil fertility across its cocoa farms.

The EU Deforestation Regulation, which places the burden of proof on exporters, now requires verified geolocation data, documented due diligence, and traceability down to farm level. For exporters who have not built that infrastructure, the regulation poses a genuine threat to European market access. Orange Cocoa’s environmental pillar commits SGC to exactly the kind of digital traceability the regulation demands — a deliberate positioning, the company says, ahead of requirements rather than in reaction to them.

SGC argued that its approach carries a different weight from sustainability strategies designed at a distance and delivered through intermediaries. The company says Orange Cocoa is being built from the origin itself, with direct accountability to the farmers, cooperatives, and communities that underpin its supply chain.

Beyond regulatory compliance, the framework is intended to attract impact investors, unlock climate financing, and open the door to premium markets and longer-term contracts — goals that, the company argues, are inseparable from the welfare of the people growing the crop in the first place.