our 4 pillars
of sustainability

Our efforts towards a better future follow the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. Since 2023 we are a certified SDG Pioneer.

Sustainable Sourcing

We go beyond Fairtrade with Route de Cacao, our own sustainable and socially responsible cocoa sourcing program.
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Sustainable Packaging

We are making great efforts to make our packaging more sustainable. It’s an ongoing process of continious improvement.
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Sustainable Production

Our business strategy is focused on increasing value for society, the environment and the company. It’s our moral duty to take every necessary measure to combat climate change and its impacts.
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Let's make people happy

Belfine values the happiness and wellbeing of everybody in its chocolate journey. Our motto 'Let’s Make People Happy' applies to everybody involved in this journey: cocoa farmers, suppliers, customers, consumers, employees
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our focus as pioneer

We aim to further all Sustainable Development Goals. But for these 7 SDG's we go above and beyond. They are an important factor in every decision we make and are embedded in our company mission.

As a result of our efforts in these domains our company, Chocdecor, was certified by the United Nations as an SDG Pioneer.

1. Sustainable Sourcing (Route de cacao)


All Belfine lollipops are Fairtrade cocoa certified. Our farmers are paid a Fairtrade Minimum Price for their goods, which acts as a safeguard when market prices drop. On top of this, farmer organizations also receive a Fairtrade Premium which they invest in projects of their choice. Many farmers have used the Premium to improve their businesses and production, replacing old trees and investing in better facilities for crop collection, storage, transport, or processing.

But with Route De Cacao, we go beyond Fairtrade. We created our own sustainable cocoa sourcing program supporting 112 cocoa farmers in the village Tigorikro in Ivory Coast. In our post-harvest center located close to our cocoa farmers, expert fermenters monitor and improve the fermentation process. This ensures a consistent superior taste for chocolate lovers, and more income for farmers.

Training and premium pricing for cocoa farmers are part of our program but we are always looking for new ways to improve their lives. With the Chocolate Bonus, we share the value of a higher quality chocolate, directly back with the cocoa farming communities we work with.

How? By building school infrastructure, providing school kits to kids and teachers, all with a focus to ensure equal access to quality education in Tigorikro.

By constructing sanitary facilities and dry toilets at the school and by building health centers and offering drinkable water equipment. Every month we check-up with a community head and two local families to see how our social projects are advancing and if we need to adjust our approach.

2. Sustainable Packaging

The following actions have been taken towards less and fully recyclable packaging:
We switched to biodegradable paper lollipop sticks
The transparent bag & ingredient label is 100% mono material (PP) making it 100% recyclable
We changed to cardboard trays instead of plastic
We use paper tape instead of plastic to close our boxes
We changed from synthetic foam to paper cushions to protect our lollipops
All cardboard is FSC certified
But we keep on researching more eco-friendly packaging solutions. Recently we switched to flap around displays. This means we use 30% less cardboard and by doing this we can ship 30% more packages per pallet reducing CO2 in our entire supply chain. Our goal is to have all packaging 100% recyclable by 2025.

3. Sustainable Production


We take our responsabilities in the fight against climate change. Latest climate science from the IPCC described by the UN states a "code red for humanity". But it also shows that it is still possible to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C.

Our target is to emit 42% less greenhouse gasses (Scope 1 & 2) by 2030 compared to 2020. Our greenhouse reducing efforts follow the system of the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). Our greenhouse gas footprint mapping and emission reduction targets are approved by SBTi.

We have an emission plan that we are implementing and that we monitor, review and update periodically. Until we reach zero greenhouse gas emissions, remaining CO₂ emissions are compensated through investment in several Gold standard projects: renewable energy projects, afforestation and reforestation projects, effficient cookstoves in Africa.

After third-party audit, we are certified against the Climate Activator Certification Standard of Anthesis B.V. for greenhouse gas emissions of scope 1, scope 2 and specific aspects of scope 3, being business travel and employee commuting. We are therefore proudly using the Climate Activator trademark.

For more information, see:
www.climateactivator.org

4. Let's Make People Happy!

Empowered people can reach their full potential. They feel connected, are engaged and are more committed to long-term collaborations. That’s why we invest a lot in both our employees and in our cocoa farmers.
Every week we bring a sport coach to work
We offer language courses for non-native Dutch speakers during working hours
We have our own company psychologist – Every employee has the right to 5 one-hour sessions
1 extra day of holliday for all employees – The Lucky Day
Annual Satisfaction survey
Regular training and workshops
Fresh fruit every week
We offer free flue vaccines
We promote a healthy work/life balance (Flexible Work Shedule, Working from Home)
We are a certified 'Great Place to Work'
We are committed to making the lives of our cocoa farmers better by training them in order to get higher quality cocoa and paying them a chocolate bonus and quality premium for the better quality cocoa, thereby increasing their income . We also improve the environment and living conditions of our farmers' communities. Check out our Route de Cacao programme for more info.