Sustainable Procurement of Shea Kernels

Sustainability
Management

Material ESG Issues

Sustainable Procurement

Sustainability Areas

Priority Actions

Related issue area (policy, governance, strategy, and risk management)

This priority action relates to the sustainability area of Sustainable Procurement.
For information on policy, governance, strategy, and risk management, see the Sustainable Procurement page.

Issue recognitionGRI: 2-6

Shea trees are an important native species that grows throughout the Sahel region of sub-Saharan West Africa (Burkina Faso, Mali, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, Togo, and Nigeria). Shea butter, extracted from shea kernels, is a vegetable fat used worldwide in a wide range of applications, including food, confectionery, and skincare products.
At the same time, the natural range of shea trees is shrinking as agricultural land expands and land use changes. Shea fruit collection and initial processing are carried out largely by hand, mainly by women in rural communities, making the work physically demanding and raising occupational health and safety concerns. These challenges affect both local livelihoods and the long-term sustainability of the communities involved.
Against this backdrop, our Group uses shea butter derived from shea kernels as one of the key raw materials in our Vegetable Oils and Fats Business. Shea butter is widely used in particular as a cocoa butter equivalent (CBE), and we recognize that securing a stable and sustainable supply directly affects business continuity and maintaining product value.

Shea fruits growing naturally in West Africa

Figure: Our Group’s shea value chain in West Africa

Risk management initiativesGRI: 203-1,203-2

To help secure a stable supply of shea butter over the long term, our Group is actively working to address the decline of naturally occurring shea trees and improve working conditions for the women involved in collecting and processing shea fruit.
To counter the decline in wild shea trees, we support conservation and restoration through regular planting, ongoing cultivation and maintenance, and the protection of surrounding parklands.
We also work with local cooperatives to advance the Tebma-Kandu program. Besides empowering women engaged in shea fruit collection and processing, the program contributes to rural development and promotes more environmentally responsible cultivation and production practices.
Our Group is committed to these activities and will steadily continue to advance them.

The Tebma-Kandu program(location/scope: Ghana)

To advance the objectives of our Responsible Shea Kernel Sourcing Policy, our Group launched the Tebma-Kandu program* in 2021. With one of the main aims being to empower women in rural communities, it provides training designed to strengthen management and business skills, improve quality and safety, and increase operational efficiency.
In addition to training, the program provides practical equipment and infrastructure, including weighing scales, bags, pallets, and storage facilities. Some Tebma-Kandu cooperatives have also received motorized tricycles and shelling machines, together with the necessary personal protective equipment (PPE).

Before the start of the harvest season, the program provides advance financing without special conditions or restrictions. This helps prevent shea nut collectors from being forced to sell to intermediaries at unfairly low prices.
In addition to capacity building for cooperative members, the program includes forest restoration projects and initiatives to reduce its environmental footprint.

The program began in 2021 with 23 women’s cooperatives in northern Ghana and has expanded steadily since then. As of May 2026, 48,290 women were participating in the program through 126 cooperatives. Initially, the program focused on improving the quality of shea nuts and increasing operational efficiency between harvest and processing. It has since broadened its scope to include income-generating opportunities for rural communities outside the harvest season.
Interest in participating in the program remains remarkably high. The Group has expanded the framework and now also collaborates with several external partners operating under similar principles to support additional women’s cooperatives.
At Fuji Oil Ghana Ltd., the Group’s production site in West Africa, shea butter is fractionated and processed into shea stearin and shea olein. The company provides local employees with training in plant operations, quality control, and safety management, contributing to local value creation and employment.

Child labor due diligence project in the shea supply chainGRI: 408-1

Since 2021, Fuji Oil Ghana Ltd. has joined the project on child labour risk due diligence in Shea,* together with industry peers, the Netherlands Oils and Fats Industry (MVO), and the Netherlands-based NGO Cordaid, with support from the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO). The project aims to assess the risks and root causes of child labor in shea-producing regions of West Africa, including Ghana, Burkina Faso, and Mali, as well as approaches for mitigating those risks.
Our Group will use the project’s findings to further strengthen its sustainability initiatives across the shea supply chain.

Workshop held as part of the project

Metrics and targets

: At least 90% complete, : At least 60% complete, : Less than 60% complete

Medium- to long-term goals KPI FY2025 Goals FY2025 Results Self-assessment
2030 2025
Forest conservation,
support to women’s empowerment		 6,000 trees planted/year 6,000 trees planted/year 6,000 trees planted/year 12,325 trees planted/year
(Total number since 2021: 37,215)
Traceability to the regional level, including procurement from Tebma-Kandu cooperatives*1: 75% 70% 70% 97%
Procurement of shea kernels from Tebma-Kandu program*2: 50% 30% 30% 30%
Percentage of shea kernels crushed and fractionated (separated) in West Africa: 100% 100% 100% 100%
Non-fossil fuel energy*3 used by Fuji Oil Ghana Ltd. (for steam generation): 100% 100% 100% 98%
Percentage of Group-donated storage buildings being used to generate alternative income for Tebma-Kandu cooperatives: 80%*4 20% 20% 90%
  • *1 Cooperatives registered in the Tebma-Kandu program and partners that are operating in accordance with Tebma-Kandu principles.
  • *2 The KPI was changed from “direct procurement of shea kernels from Tebma-Kandu cooperatives” to “procurement of shea kernels from the Tebma-Kandu program.” This includes procurement volumes from new partners who have aligned with the aims of Tebma-Kandu, in addition to the cooperatives that have been active from the outset based on the concept of the Tebma-Kandu program.
  • *3 We use shea olein, a by-product obtained when fractionating shea butter, as biomass fuel.
  • *4 Because the KPI for value creation in local communities, “permanent, direct employees at Fuji Oil Ghana Ltd.: 50% increase (base year: 2017),” was achieved as of FY2022, we set a new KPI to replace it from FY2024. Percentage of storage buildings for shea kernel storage donated by Fuji Oil Ghana Ltd. that are generating income through the use of vacant space or periods outside the shea season to store harvests other than shea.

Analysis

The market for shea-related products was significantly affected by two factors in FY2025.
The first was the suspension of shea kernel exports by several West African countries. Exports of raw shea kernels were halted, while exports were permitted only after the kernels had been processed into shea butter. Because the countries with the largest shea kernel harvests are not necessarily those with large-scale processing facilities, significant price disparities emerged within the region. This led to smuggling and posed challenges for traceability.
The second factor was the unprecedented rise in shea kernel prices accompanying the sharp increase in cocoa prices. While this benefited rural communities, it reduced the competitiveness of cocoa butter equivalents (CBEs) made with shea butter.
Despite these market conditions, our Group achieved 97% traceability through collaboration with agents, Tebma-Kandu cooperatives, and other partners. We also sourced 30% of our total shea kernel procurement volume from Tebma-Kandu cooperatives or other partners, meeting the target set at the beginning of the fiscal year.

Next steps

In sustainable shea procurement efforts, our Group aims not only to empower women in producing communities, but also to increase the share of shea kernels sourced through the Tebma-Kandu program.
In FY2026, we will continue working to expand the number of cooperatives newly participating in the program.
We will also improve coordination with the existing 126 cooperatives to strengthen the transport of shea kernels from rural communities.

  • Plant 6,000 trees/year
  • Traceability to the regional level: 75% by the end of FY2026
  • Procurement rate of shea kernels from Tebma-Kandu program and partners operating in accordance with its principles: 30%

Discussions with women’s cooperatives, Tebma-Kandu program

Specific initiativesGRI: 203-1,203-2

Collaboration with external organizations

Participation in Global Shea Alliance (GSA) and Shea Network Ghana

Fuji Oil Ghana Ltd. joined the Global Shea Alliance (GSA) in 2013, and the Shea Network Ghana in 2015. The primary activities of these organizations are:

  • Providing storage buildings to store shea kernels and create other sources of income
  • Business training for women
  • International development of shea products
  • Occupational health and safety initiatives
  • Training on the management of shea parkland conservation
  • Research and development of afforestation materials
  • Pilot projects for shea parkland conservation

Joint project with IFPRI to improve community well-being

In 2024, Fuji Oil Ghana Ltd. launched a joint project with the Washington, D.C.-based International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). The project aims to improve the well-being of members of Tebma-Kandu cooperatives by providing tools and mobility to increase efficiency and added value.

Conserving shea parklands(location/scope: Ghana)

In northern Ghana, shea trees are being felled at a critical pace in order to clear land, and are also being cut down for charcoal production.
In FY2025, we worked with local company Eco Restore to plant 12,325 saplings of shea and other native trees.
Training in appropriate cultivation techniques is important to improve the survival rate of the saplings. In FY2026 we plan to plant at least 6,000 saplings, and also to provide training. We have confirmed the sapling survival rate has been very high to date.

Trainees in a sapling nursery

Reducing environmental impact by shifting energy sources(location/scope: Ghana)

Fuji Oil Ghana Ltd. is shifting its production energy use from mineral oils to non-fossil fuels, such as by converting a portion of shea kernel meal and other by-products of the shea butter production process into fuel, in order to reduce CO2 emissions and waste during shea kernel and shea butter processing. Using fuel from by-products also helps reduce the use of firewood, leading to less deforestation, water savings, and reduced energy costs. The company’s ultimate goal is to use 100% non-fossil fuel energy, and a large share of its electricity needs are supplied by the company’s own solar park.