Sustainability

Within Guylian

At Guylian, we do not only want to produce tasty and high-quality products, but also raise the bar with regard to responsible craftsmanship. Several years ago, Guylian chose to concentrate on sustainability and on an ethically responsible production chain. We are proud to announce that Guylian is now the pioneer within the Belgian chocolate industry thanks to the use of 100% Fairtrade cacao in all our chocolates.

Devoted to chocolate, we care to protect our planet, people and communities.

Fairtrade Cacao

Since 2022, Guylian is a member of the Fairtrade family and we only work with Fairtrade certified cocoa. By choosing 100% Fairtrade cacao, we guarantee – as first major Belgian chocolate producer – an honest and fixed price for the cacao farmers. Would you like to learn more about the Fairtrade project? Then you should certainly take a look at 100% Fairtrade purchased cacao below.

100% ingredients of natural origin

Sustainability naturally begins with the ingredients. The raw materials we use in our delicious products are of 100% natural origin. This means that they are used directly in the process or undergo a physical process whereby no chemical substances are used in their extraction.

We have placed sustainability high on our new agenda. With this development, we want to set the tone for all chocolate brands. Guylian has consciously chosen a pioneering role by focusing fully on sustainability in the area of Fairtrade, raw materials, packaging and CO2 emissions.

Palm and soy free

Palm oil is one of the greatest culprits in deforestation and poses a threat for local biodiversity. In 2018, Guylian decided to combat this and replaced palm oil with shea butter and sunflower oil. All our products are thus palm oil free and also free of soya. Would you like more information about our products? Then click here.

100% Ingredients of natural origin

All our products are made with ingredients of 100% natural origin.

Palm and soya free

All our products are palm and soya free.

GMO free

We do not use genetically modified organisms in any of our products.

No preservatives and colourants

Our products do not contain any preservatives and/or colourants. (Since the start in 1958)

100% Fairtrade purchased cocoa.

Since 2022, Guylian is a member of the Fairtrade family and we only work with Fairtrade certified cocoa. By choosing 100% Fairtrade cocoa, we guarantee – as first major Belgian chocolate producer – an honest and fixed price for the cocoa farmers. They receive a guaranteed minimum price which covers the costs of sustainable agriculture.
By offering a Fairtrade premium, Guylian also invests in the production process of the farmers and in their local community. Thanks to this premium – which comes on top of the market price – producers can invest in a more efficient production with improved agricultural techniques, and can also build schools or hospitals which can lead to better education and better healthcare.
Fairtrade is the most recognised and trusted sustainability brand and tries to focus on:
  • Better prices
  • Decent work conditions
  • More trade for small-scale producers
  • Combating deforestation
“It is fantastic to see the characteristic Fairtrade logo appearing on Guylian’s packaging in shops throughout the country, which gives chocolate lovers another reason to enjoy a delicious, ethically responsible sweet treat that is produced with the planet in mind and where cacao farmers are treated fairly.”
– Michael Gidney, CEO of the Fairtrade Foundation

Beyond Chocolate

In addition to our collaboration with Fairtrade, we, at Guylian, are also proud to be one of the partners who signed the Beyond Chocolate Charter in 2018. Beyond Chocolate is a partnership for sustainable Belgian chocolate with the aim of preventing deforestation, stimulating education for future generations and ensuring a liveable income for cacao farmers. As partner of the Charter, we have made the commitment that we shall, by 2025, only make chocolate that is produced with sustainable cacao. Guylian is proud to announce that we have already achieved this aim 3 years before the deadline, thanks to our collaboration with Fairtrade for cacao.
By 2025, the agreements of the Cocoa & Forests Initiative programme must also be respected. Deforestation in Ghana and the Ivory Coast as a result of cacao production for chocolate must end no later than 2030. By then, all cacao farmers must receive a liveable income from their cacao. This is an aim in which Guylian, thanks to its collaboration with Fairtrade, is already doing its bit.

Other collaborations

Guylian supports the vision and the programmes of the Belgian Association of Chocolates, Biscuits, Confectionery (Choprabisco) and the European Association of Chocolate Manufacturers (Caobisco) to which we belong as manufacturer of Belgian chocolate. Both associations work closely with the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) and the “International cocoa initiative” to prevent child labour in cacao growing and at the same time to offer cacao farming families and their communities more opportunities for economic development, to teach farmers about acceptable labour practices and to ensure access to quality education. More information about both organisations can be found at  www.cocoainitiative.org and www.worldcocoafoundation.org.

 

 

 

0% Food Waste

Thanks to various initiatives, such as optimising our production process, we at Guylian have only 0.1% (!) food waste. We are striving to reach 0% in the future.

100% Recyclable packaging

All our packaging is 100% recycable.

CO2 neutral

In 2022, we received a CO2-neutral label from CO2logic. Since then, all our electricity is renewable, offset through green power certificates. The remaining carbon emissions are offset through a forest conservation project in Brazil VCS, in partnership with CO2logic, a collaboration that began in 2020.

Green energy & water reduction

Since 2019, we at Guylian use 67,3% less water. Since 2022, we also produce everything at Guylian with 100% renewable energy.