Background
Making Belgian chocolate even better and more sustainable. This was the joint ambition of the Belgian chocolate and retail sector, civil society, social impact investors, trade unions and universities. On December 5, 2018, under the impetus of then Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Development Cooperation Alexander De Croo, this diverse group of actors officially signed the Beyond Chocolate partnership, thus kicking an influential multi-stakeholder collaboration.
Commitments
How we reach these commitments
The Beyond Chocolate partnership empowers all stakeholders to have a positive impact on the sustainability level of the cocoa supply chain within their sphere of influence.
The cocoa-processing industry, chocolatiers and companies that are active in the Belgian chocolate sector will substantially intensify their investments into the sustainable development of the cocoa sector in the coming years, retailers take a closer look at their house brands, civil society organizations are encouraged to share learnings and appeal to their networks, universities do research into good practices and make that information publicly available, standard setting organizations keep their standards up to date and follow-up on activities on-field,…
By increasing investments, adopting sustainable business models, testing sustainability approaches and sharing learnings and know-how, Beyond Chocolate will lead to lasting improvements in the living standards and incomes of smallholder cocoa farmers, as well as counter environmental degradation.
Signatories
Beyond Chocolate has over 50 partners, covering about 90% of the Belgian chocolate sector. Every company/organization active in the Belgian sector and willing to commit to the Beyond Chocolate end goals is welcome to join the partnership. No membership fee is required.
On top of the 4 main Beyond Chocolate goals, partners can also take up an extra individual commitment. An overview of these commitments can be found in the Beyond Chocolate Program Document.
An Initiative of
The Beyond Chocolate Program is funded by the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. IDH, the Sustainable Trade Initiative was appointed by the Belgian Ministry for Development Cooperation to coordinate investments, independently monitor progress, measure traceable impacts and communicate transparently on the partners’ mobilization and results.
Download the Beyond Chocolate Program Document here
Publications
Title | Type | Year |
---|---|---|
Download the Beyond Chocolate Program Document here | Brochure | 2020 |
MoU European platforms for sustainable cocoa | Commitment | 2020 |
Brochure Call for Proposals_NL | Brochure | 2020 |
Brochure Call for Proposals_FR | Brochure | 2020 |
Brochure Call for Proposals Beyond Chocolate_ENG | Brochure | 2020 |