Our partnership with our supply chain partner, ofi, and Société Coopérative Solidarité Agricole de Côte d’Ivoire (SCOSA CI), our Fair Trade cooperative partner in Sassandra, Ivory Coast is a good example where Fair Trade premiums matched with farmer labor and investment are supporting the building of elevated drying mats, a necessary investment to assure cocoa quality and flavor. 

At Guittard we are committed to minimizing our environmental impact and reducing carbon footprint. In 2021 we commissioned a 1MW solar project at our Fairfield facility. During 2022 the system produced 1,778,301 KWH of renewable energy representing 52% of the facility’s usage. The balance comes from community choice aggregator, MCE as 100% GHG-free energy. In 2023, we expanded the Fairfield solar-renewable energy project by another 750 kW.

We’ve joined forces with other industry members to tackle deforestation and ensure the protection and restoration of forests for a thriving cocoa community. The Cocoa & Forests Initiative is a public-private partnership based on frameworks for action. Our commitment to this important work is based on the values of our 5th-generation family-owned businessour viewpoint is one of longevity, value creation and relationships. CFI is our commitment to building zero-deforestation - agroforestry systems throughout our cocoa supply chains globally.

On January 1st, 2022, we began producing 650Kw of clean energy through a Bloom Energy fuel cell system on-site at our Burlingame facility. These fuel cells convert natural gas to electricity without burning it reducing our carbon footprint relative to the average energy mix in California. In May of 2023 the second phase of the Bloom Energy project went live with an additional 750 Kw for a total of 1.4MW of clean 24/7 energy.

Village Savings & Loan Associations (VSLAs) are where communities come together to save small amounts of money every week. Those savings are then loaned out to members at accessible interest rates. At the end of a year, savings and interest are distributed back to the members. These savings and loans allow members to address basic financial needs or start micro-businesses that can become important complements to cocoa incomes. Our Cultivate Better programs now have 41 VSLAs across Ivory Coast and Ghana with 1,334 members, 73% women.

For 20+ years, we've donated chocolate to the kitchens of participating high schools and contribute to the scholarships given out at the annual C-CAP award ceremonies across Chicago, DC, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, New York City, and Phoenix.

In 2017 Guittard joined as a member of the Round Table on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), the leading organization dedicated to addressing the challenges around palm oil production. 

As part of our ongoing efforts to transition to sustainable packaging, we have shifted our flexible film to 24% post-consumer recycled (PCR) materials. This material enables us to maintain product integrity and shelf life while minimizing our environmental footprint. The PCR solution reduces our material consumption and lowers our CO2 footprint across the board.

The Guittard team actively supports The Boys and Girls Club of America helping future generations access the training and opportunity they need to achieve success. The Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco inspires and enables all young people, especially those from disadvantaged circumstances, to realize their full potential as productive, responsible, and caring citizens.

Our program with ofi in Valle del Sade Ecuador is focused on this country’s traditional Nacional variety. Farmers identify the “elite” Nacional trees are their farms that they know to be good producers, well adapted to their local conditions with classic, floral aromas. These trees are then pruned back to generate “budwood” to graft less productive trees. During 2023, 17% of the Valle del Sade Nacional farmers had identified elite Nacional trees and begun grafting

We’re fortunate to work with dairy suppliers who are committed to sustainable agriculture and dairy production...

The Heirloom Cacao Preservation Fund (HCP) greatly expanded activities to focus its mission to identify, preserve, and empower farming communities through fine-flavor, Heirloom cacao. Two new Heirloom farmers were designated: VO Thanh Phuoc (HCP18) in Tien Giang, Vietnam, and Helen de Vista Choco Farm (HCP19) in the Philippines. The new designees were honored at the Chocolate Makers Unconference in Seattle, Washington. The HCP continued grant-funded programs, such as the "Heirloom Excellence: PERU" initiative with the Lesley Family Foundation, focusing on research and training for farmers in regions like Amazonas, Piura, and San Martín, and the "Cacao for Peace Program: Colombia," which aimed to identify Colombia's first Heirloom Designees and provide technical support with a grant from USAID. 

In 2022, we advanced a new water chiller system that has helped reduce our water usage overall and per pound of chocolate produced.

All of the paper used for our corrugated materials come from “SFI Allocated Paper”, meaning that is made at mills that are Sustainable Forestry Initiative certified and most importantly, come from SFI certified tree farms.

In 2021/22, we installed EV charging stations, building on our first in 2014, offering this benefit free of charge to help employees move to eclectic and plugin hybrid vehicles for commuting, reducing our carbon footprint and our Scope 2 mobile emissions. FAIRFIELD 1. 40 Amp, Level 2 Single charger, 2014 2. 50 Amp, Level 2 Shared dual chargers, 2022 BURLINGAME 1. 40 Amp, Level 2 Shared dual chargers, 2021 2. 50 Amp, Level 2 Shared dual chargers, 2022

We are proud to have supported Cacao of Excellence, hosted by Bioversity International, since its inception in 2008. The Cacao of Excellence awards celebrate bi-annually the cacao farmers producing the best cacao in the world through their craft and dedication. During the reporting peiod, the Cacao of Excellence program published the Guide for the Assessment of Cacao Quality and Flavour in English, Spanish, French and Italian, held the Cacao of Excellence Ceremonies for the 2023 Best 50 cacao producers at Chocoa in Amsterdam, and presented findings from the Cacao of Excellence–FAO Market Intelligence Study on Cacao Quality at the World Cocoa Conference 2024. During this period, the program trained 17 professionals from Ecuadorian cacao cooperatives, Côte d’Ivoire’s National Centre for Agronomic Research, and Barry Callebaut, and recruited a new Laboratory and Training Centre Team Lead and Cacao Researcher, Dr. Sebastian Escobar Parra.