OUR SERVICES

TRADITION AND TRANSITION

IN THE WORLD OF COCOA

COCOA

Since the middle of the 19th Century the company Albrecht & Dill Trading is importing raw cocoa beans and we still do. Long lasting and close business relationships to producers and exporters around the equator enable us to intensively consult our clients.

We supply our customers with bulk cocoa from West Africa and Asia as well as with flavour cocoa from Ecuador, Venezuela, Indonesia (Java), the Caribbean and other origins.

DIN EN ISO 9001:2015
Certified

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A & D SUSTAINABILITY

The world of cocoa looks very different today than it did years ago. Stronger regulations, a need for more traceability, and increased consumer awareness require continued strides in sustainability. This is of significant importance for Albrecht & Dill.

Sustainability project in Ecuador

Albrecht & Dill was one of the first in the industry to implement a sustainability project (including full traceability) in Ecuador in 2011 with partner Lindt und Sprüngli. In the past decade since, hundreds of farmers have passed through our training programs, which has helped them to professionalize their farms and increase their income. The program continues to date, and we have taken the lessons learned in Ecuador to West Africa for further implementation. We are working closely with our clients and partner organizations to promote good cocoa, as it takes a joint effort with shared responsibility.

Certified cocoa

Albrecht & Dill offers certified cocoa beans from Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, and Madagascar to name a few. We work with the following certifications: Organic, UTZ, Fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance.  Traceable cocoa beans (with or without) official certification comprise a large part of Albrecht & Dill’s portfolio in addition.

Our goal

We want to have a positive impact on the quality of life of cocoa famers, as well as on the environment in countries of origin. Our long-term goal is to have a cocoa sector in which farming communities, cocoa businesses and the environment thrives hand in hand. We believe that education and collaboration play a crucial role in bringing about the required positive change.

Our sustainability strategy

In 2020 Albrecht & Dill took a continued step in furthering sustainability efforts. We started by mapping out the risks in our supply chains on social, economic and environmental levels. We then chose to prioritize our focus in 3 areas after which we defined our commitments for the coming years.

• Resilient farmers & communities

At Albrecht & Dill we believe that farmers are entrepreneurs, who aim to make a profit and need to invest in the future. We want to empower farmers by helping them to increase entrepreneurial capacity. We believe that education is a great way to do so. By promoting gender equality, tackling the root causes of child labour, and by motivating young adults to get involved in the agricultural sector, we want to improve the living situation of cocoa farming communities. Our aim is to have a sustainable farm schooling program in place across our supply chains by 2030, similar to what we have accomplished in Ecuador.

• Improve income

We see that farming cocoa has its financial challenges, but we also recognize that there are many complexities at play here beyond our control. We support farmers by looking at diversification of their income, lowering production costs, assisting them with making financial budgets, empowering cooperatives, and strengthening our supplier relations all to better aid them in becoming economically more stable. Transparency is hereby of utmost importance. Our aim is to double our traceable sourcing volume by 2030.

• Enhanced Farming Practices and Lowering the Negative Impact Cocoa can have on the environment

We want to lower the negative impact from cocoa farming by lessening farmer dependency on the use of pesticides, look at ways to reduce cadmium levels in cadmium-rich areas, provide tools and education on smarter farming, and support organizations who are working to halt deforestation linked to cocoa production. We aim to reduce our carbon footprint by 50% come 2030 by championing agroforestry practices.

Our commitments are connected to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s). These serve as a guiding compass for implementation and reporting on impact & performance.

If you would like to know more about our activities on the ground, hear about the progress that we are making in delivering our goals, or to collaborate, please contact us.

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