TCHO Chocolate has earned recognition as a Certified B Corporation.
The Berkeley, California-based company announced in a blog post that it achieved the certification through ongoing sustainability efforts and work to improve the lives of its partners, employees, customers, suppliers and its local community.
“B Corp truly casts a wide lens looking at every intersectional aspect of doing business,” the blog reads. “We pay attention to every detail; how ingredients are sourced, how products are packaged, how workers at every stage are treated, how the environment is impacted and more. We are up to the challenge of reckoning with improving all aspects of our business with public accountability and B Corp is the only certification evaluating impact on this level.”
After an extensive application process, TCHO received the certification on its first attempt. On average, companies taking the assessment receive a score of 50.9. The threshold to earn the certification is 80 points.
TCHO says that among the actions that caught the certifier’s attention were the company’s installation of 10 Flavor Labs all over the world to improve the cocoa supply chain and its maintenance of long-term relationships with the same cacao farmers, co-ops, and agronomists since TCHO was founded in 2008.
“Not only does the B Corp Certification hold us accountable for every action we take moving forward, we are also joining a movement to be more inclusive and more equitable, as well as continuing to support a regenerative economic system for all people and the planet,” the blog post reads.
TCHO has undertaken initiatives that support all five of B Corp’s evaluation categories. They include:
Governance: As a Certified B Corp, TCHO has signed a Declaration of Interdependence to uphold its commitment to be model economic leaders in the industry and aspiring “to do no harm and benefit all.”
Workers: Despite the many challenges brought on by the pandemic in 2020, TCHO has kept all of its workers employed full-time. TCHO says it has a high retention rate and has kept many tenured employees since it was founded in 2008. It also pays above minimum wage and offers an array of worker benefits.
Community: TCHO says most of its suppliers are small-scale family farmers that it’s partnered with through long-standing relationships, educational opportunities, and financial assistance. To this day, each unique source of cocoa is visited directly by members of the TCHO team to ensure they have the resources they need to make the best cacao. In addition, TCHO has donated $10,000 annually to the African Cocoa Initiative II, a project focused on improving West African cocoa supply chains.
Environment: TCHO chocolate is certified Fair Trade and certified USDA Organic. The company has been involved in intercropping, reforestation, and biodiversity efforts. And now that it has achieved this certificate, it is able to initiate a tracking system to start sharing carbon calculations with the public. Reducing its carbon footprint is one of TCHO’s top priority goals in the coming years.
Customers: TCHO’s work with customers extends to the culinary community through the TCHO Pro Initiative. The company has identified, promoted, and invested in chef partnerships with a variety of creative minds throughout the food industry. The result is a constantly growing collection of content developed to inspire the world’s chocolate enthusiasts.
