Sustainability at GODIVA
For GODIVA, being a responsible corporate citizen is a way of doing business – going back to 1926 when we were founded by Pierre Draps in his humble home-workshop in Belgium; it has remained at the heart of our brand as we’ve expanded distribution into more than 100 countries across the globe and continue spreading the wonder of GODIVA to more people than ever before.
To optimize our impact, and in alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, we focus our efforts on two key areas: Women’s Empowerment and Sustainability – with a prominent focus on our cocoa value chain to the latter point.
Our Mission and Partners
GODIVA is dedicated to our vision for a sustainable and thriving cocoa industry where farmers prosper, communities are empowered, human rights are respected, and the environment is conserved. We have been proud to partner with the Earthworm Foundation, a global non-profit that strives to positively impact the relationship between companies like GODIVA and nature. To learn more details on our partnership with the Earthworm Foundation, click here.
OUR JOURNEY
As a brand committed to producing premium chocolate, GODIVA understands that we have an important role in driving change across the entire cocoa industry. We are making progress by working with our partners to implement responsible practices that support our vision of a word where farmers prosper, communities are empowered, human rights are respected, and the environment is conserved and enhanced through regenerative practices.
GODIVA published our Responsible Cocoa Commitment in 2020, which is publicly accessible on GODIVA.com. This pledge is centered on three pillars: securing human rights & responsible social practices, working to ensure environmental protection and regeneration in the regions where we operate, and promoting transparency and collaboration along the supply chain.
GODIVA recognizes traceability & transparency as a key element for ensuring a responsible cocoa supply chain. To date, we have been able to trace country of origin for 99% of our cocoa supply: with 88% coming from Côte d'Ivoire, 11% from Ghana, and 1% from other origins.
OUR SUPPLIERS
GODIVA has two main cocoa suppliers – Onem and Barry Callebaut. In partnership with the former, we have established the GODIVA & Onem Together Beyond Cocoa Program, which has helped us deliver on our commitments to protecting people and planet in cocoa growing communities.
The Beyond Cocoa Program works with cocoa farmers in Côte d'Ivoire from three cooperatives (COODID, DAKUA, ECAKOOG). As this program with Onem continues to develop, GODIVA also continues to drive our other suppliers to ensure their cocoa practices are aligned with our Responsible Cocoa Commitment -- especially in areas of living income, child labor, and deforestation and regeneration.
TAKING ACTION
Over the past two years as we have worked to improve our traceability to farm level and our supply chain transparency, GODIVA as a global company is becoming more aware and conscious of our reliance on and the entire cocoa industry’s reliance on Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana’s supply of cocoa.
To this end, GODIVA looks to support a transformational approach through our backing of Earthworm Foundation’s Soubre Landscape program, which has reached over 1300 farmers with programs to strengthen resilience, including through training in Good Agricultural Practices, farm management and agroforestry, establishing village savings and loan associations, and supporting reforestation in the Mount Kourabahi Forest reserve.