Having been a certified B Corporation® since January 2020, Valrhona is proud to have secured this demanding certification for the second time in December 2023. B Corporation rewards the world’s most committed companies that put equal emphasis on economic, societal, and environmental performance. This distinction serves as recognition of Valrhona’s sustainable development strategy shaped by their determination to co-create a model which has a positive impact on producers, employees, makers and everyone who loves chocolate.
B Corp: A movement of companies making a Positive Impact
Being a B Corp means being part of a community of the world’s most ethically conscious companies which all belong to a global movement for a more inclusive, equitable, and regenerative economy movement and that are finding ways of being the best not only in the world but for the world. To secure certification, they have to meet extremely high standards in terms of their social and environmental performance, legal responsibilities, and transparency across five areas: governance, workers, customers, community, and the environment.
Today, nearly 6,900 companies worldwide are B Corp certified. Companies such as Patagonia, Danone, Nespresso, Veja, and Chloé are all part of this movement.
Valrhona fits with this certification as its principal values are based on creating a fair and sustainable sector, reducing its environmental impact, making gastronomy creative and ethical and being endowed by a driving force behind its business.
This certification recognizes Valrhona’s commitment and all the initiatives they have implemented over the years to create a fair and sustainable cocoa sector and a gastronomy world that does good and tastes great.
For example, 100% of Valrhona’s cocoa is traceable to their producers with whom the company has set long-term partnerships. Why is that game-changing? Because these long-term commitments (an average of more than 8 years), agreed on a case-by-case basis with each of our partners, give cocoa producers security by guaranteeing fixed prices, minimum purchase quantities or even zero-interest advance funding. These conditions enable them to look to the future with confidence and benefit from a stable income, which is not commonplace in our industry.
Another example is Valrhona’s efforts to protect and regenerate ecosystems: 52 hectares of plantations have been regenerated in Haiti, nine hectares have been developed using agroforestry principles in the Dominican Republic and Peru’s endemic cocoa variety, Gran Blanco, has been protected for over 30 years. In addition to helping the planet, these actions improve Valrhona’s cocoa producers’ living conditions by protecting and improving their incomes, making for a fairer, more sustainable cocoa industry.
Valrhona has also drastically reduced (by 49%) their chocolate factory’s greenhouse gas emissions between 2013 and 2022 which represents 2,574 tons of CO2. As part of Valrhona’s Climate Plan, they are committed to contributing to worldwide net zero efforts by reducing their direct and indirect emissions by 50% between now and 2030.
The culmination of a long collaborative process
Certification is the culmination of long-standing collaborative efforts by all of Valrhona’s employees. B Corp is also a great human adventure that has inspired all their staff to get involved.
For over a year, 35 staff members worked on the B Corp recertification process, answering and documenting evidence for 325 questions, then taking part in a three-day audit. This long and demanding procedure gets tougher every year, with standards rising every time a company wants to retain its B Corp certification. The aim is to encourage companies to improve every day, break their own boundaries, and challenge themselves to continue to improve.
About the B-Corp Certification
B Corp Certification is a designation that a business is meeting high standards of verified performance, accountability, and transparency on factors from employee benefits and charitable giving to supply chain practices and input materials.
It is based on several principles:
-Demonstrate high social and environmental performance by achieving a B Impact Assessment score of 80 or above and passing their risk review. In addition, multinational corporations must also meet baseline requirement standards.
-Make a legal commitment by changing their corporate governance structure to be accountable to all stakeholders, not just shareholders, and achieve benefit corporation status if available in their jurisdiction.
-Exhibit transparency by allowing information about their performance measured against B Lab’s standards to be publicly available on their B Corp profile on B Lab’s website.
About Valrhona Inc.
As a partner to pastry professionals since 1922 and a pioneer in the world of chocolate, Valrhona imagines the best of chocolate by working tirelessly to perfect its expertise, pushing the creative boundaries with a constantly growing aromatic palette and inventing the next revolution in the world of chocolate.
Founded as a small chocolate manufacturer in the French village of Tain l’Hermitage, Valrhona oversees every aspect of its chocolate’s sustainable sourcing in more than 30 terroirs and 20 origins.
With its employees, chefs and cacao producers, Valrhona works to create a just and sustainable cocoa sector and to inspire pastry that is delicious and cutting-edge. Building direct and long-term relationships with producers, searching for the next innovations in chocolate, and sharing expertise all bring Valrhona’s missions to life on a daily basis.
Valrhona supports chefs by sharing the artisanal expertise of the company’s L’École Valrhona pastry chefs and by continuously pushing the limits of creativity, helping chefs to find their individual style and voice in the culinary industry.
In 2020, Valrhona earned the demanding B Corporation® certification, which distinguishes the most committed companies in the world who consider social and environmental impact equal to economic performance.
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