How Barilla brings sustainable sourcing closer to consumers
Consumers encounter sustainability claims every day, as they appear on product packaging, websites and advertisements. But what remains largely invisible is the work taking place behind the scenes: the farmers growing raw materials, the processors transforming them and the systems used to verify that sustainability commitments are being met.
For Barilla, making this connection visible has become an important part of its sustainability journey. As a global food company headquartered in Parma and a world leader in pasta production, Barilla works with strategic agricultural raw materials including durum wheat, soft wheat, rye and basil. Through its Value Chain strategy, the company aims to build responsible and resilient supply chains that use high-quality raw materials from sustainable agriculture while respecting the environment, people, and local communities. ISCC PLUS provides the sustainability framework, traceability and third-party verification that support the implementation of this strategy.
Building the business case for certified sourcing
Barilla is a frontrunner in ISCC PLUS certification for food and feed. The company’s journey began in 2018 with Carta del Mulino, Barilla’s sustainability programme with the Mulino Bianco brand, supported by ISCC PLUS certification and designed to promote more sustainable soft wheat cultivation, support biodiversity, and create value for farmers. In 2021, Barilla expanded this approach with Carta del Basilico, applying similar principles to another of its strategic raw materials.
The two sustainability programmes’ common objective is to connect sustainable agricultural practices with transparent and verifiable supply chains at scale and to strengthen the credibility of Barilla’s sustainability commitments. For Barilla, ISCC PLUS provided a solution to bring these ambitions together under a credible, globally applicable certification framework. By opting for physical segregation in their certified supply chains, they maintain a direct link between certified raw materials and final products. Evidence of Mulino Bianco’s success is that Carta del Mulino grew into a major sourcing programme involving thousands of certified farms and a wide range of consumer products.
For brand owners, the value of certification extends beyond traceability. Barilla’s experience shows how a recognised certification framework can help transform a company’s sustainability initiatives into credible programmes that create value for farmers, strengthen the supply chain, and support communication with customers and consumers.
Making sustainability visible to consumers
Today’s consumers increasingly care about sustainability, trust third-party certification, and believe in the power of their purchasing decisions. At the same time, they are confronted with a growing number of sustainability claims and labels, making it difficult to distinguish between verified commitments and unsubstantiated marketing messages.
Barilla addressed this challenge by combining their own sustainability programmes with third-party certification, each serving a complementary role. The programmes provide the story. Certification provides the evidence.
From 2018 onwards, the company invested in its certification-backed sustainability programmes that consumers can easily understand and relate to, supported by clear messages about the agricultural practices behind its products. Over the years, initiatives such as Carta del Mulino and Carta del Basilico have become established touchpoints for consumers.
Through dedicated claims, product packaging, website communication, and sustainability reporting, Barilla communicates the efforts taking place throughout the supply chain, from biodiversity measures in wheat cultivation to responsible basil sourcing.
What is ISCC PLUS?
ISCC PLUS is an international standard recognised on a global scale, providing certification that involves all steps of the supply chain, with traceability as a key requirement.
This distinction is becoming increasingly important in light of evolving legislation, such as the EU Empowering Consumers Directive (EmpCo), which places greater emphasis on substantiating sustainability claims and providing transparent, verifiable information to consumers. Reflecting this regulatory shift, an independent legal assessment found that ISCC certification scheme, its associated sustainability labels and claims comply with the requirements of the EmpCo directive.
Barilla’s experience demonstrates that the certification’s value lies in providing the trusted foundation that allows brands to communicate sustainability commitments with confidence and credibility.
Looking ahead: collaborating for verified biodiversity
Carta del Mulino and ISCC PLUS have laid a solid foundation for continuous improvement and opened new pathways towards regenerative agriculture.
Further, and building on its long-standing commitment to biodiversity, Barilla is currently collaborating with ISCC, Food for Biodiversity (FfB), and biodiversity experts from the Lake Constance Foundation to support wheat farmers in Italy and France in implementing biodiversity measures. Over the past three years, the partners have tested the FfB Biodiversity Performance Tool, helping to inform the development of the future ISCC Biodiversity add-on.
