Airbus fosters Barry Callebaut`s efforts to develop a deforestation-free supply chain

Toulouse, France, 09 December 2025 – Airbus Defence and Space supports global chocolate and cocoa manufacturer Barry Callebaut, with satellite-based deforestation monitoring across Barry Callebaut`s entire cocoa supply chain using the space imagery-enabled Starling solution. This collaboration supports Barry Callebaut's efforts to develop a deforestation-free supply chain and includes a comprehensive risk assessment throughout the chocolate manufacturer`s global operations.

“Beyond being a trusted, data-driven solution provider, Airbus is a strategic partner for Barry Callebaut in monitoring deforestation risks,” said Juliette Cody, Director for Global Sustainability Programs at Barry Callebaut. “The insights provided by Starling have become a cornerstone of our strategy to advance our forest positive commitments.”

Eric Even, Head of Space Digital at Airbus Defence and Space, said: “We are pleased to support Barry Callebaut through the Starling solution, providing optical satellite imagery at various resolutions ranging from 10m to Pléiades Neo’s 30cm resolution. With real eyes in the sky, satellite imagery empowers organisations to make informed decisions and maintain transparency across global supply chains.”

As part of its ‘Forever Chocolate’ programme, Barry Callebaut has made a strong commitment to sustainable sourcing. By integrating Starling, the cocoa and chocolate trader proactively monitors and seeks to mitigate environmental risks within and around cocoa farms, supporting both internal controls and compliance.

Starling automatically analyses Barry Callebaut’s supply chain to provide information about all cocoa plots. It produces global detailed land-cover maps that differentiate between natural forest, plantation, agroforestry, and other land types, reducing the number of false positive alerts. AI-powered algorithms continuously monitor changes in forest cover to spot any deforestation and conversion alerts that would be in breach with the company’s forest policy or regulations. In addition, Starling provides evidence verification based on high-resolution satellite imagery at the plot level, thus limiting the burden of field investigation along with fostering discussions with buyers and suppliers. Finally, the solution conducts risk assessments to identify areas at risk of future deforestation based on historical land use and practices. 

By using Starling, Barry Callebaut gains reliable, up-to-date insights to engage its suppliers with the aim of meeting its sustainability commitments effectively.

Starling, launched in 2016 as a joint initiative between Airbus and Earthworm Foundation, is a geospatial solution designed to measure environmental impact across entire supply chains, supporting deforestation and conversion-free commitments. The initiative combines high-resolution satellite data with open-source Sentinel imagery and Airbus constellations, tracking vegetation-cover changes worldwide.

Evolution of cocoa plantations in Ecuador (March 2023 / May 2023 / August 2023) using Pléiades Neo 30cm resolution satellite imagery. @Pléiades Neo Airbus DS 2023

@BarryCallebaut @EarthwormFoundation 

#Sustainability #Starling #PleiadesNeo #EarthObservation