By: Julia Ocampo- Sustainability Director at Luker Chocolate
SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2020-2021: RESULTS FROM “THE CHOCOLATE DREAM”
Using chocolate as a tool for change through social welfare programmes
At Luker Chocolate, we firmly believe in the famous saying that "alone we go faster, but together we go further." Collaborative culture is ingrained in our DNA and is part of our company values. We promote social and corporate responsibility through relationships based on trust, respect, and mutual support. These allow us to succeed in the exciting projects we carry out to transform the lives of our communities.
We view collaboration as more than just a mutually-beneficial relationship. Instead, it is a powerful opportunity to foster leadership and act as a catalyst for social change. Today, our collaborative plan is bearing fruit - and lots of it - which we are pleased to show in our sustainability report.
As a company that creates and manufactures at origin, we are able to get to know our farmers very closely. As a company that plants our cocoa, we understand what it takes to help our suppliers flourish. We’re also a family-owned company, so we’ve experienced firsthand how cocoa-bean-producing families can catalyse local development. We go beyond sustainability and fully appreciate the necessity of partnering with other businesses, organisations, foundations, and academic institutions to achieve - and exceed our goals.
This is how our work begins. Building a dream, that we envision with our partners in our different territories, which we call "The Chocolate Dream." This collaborative plan transforms the cocoa value chain for all involved, generating sustainable well-being in Colombia's communities. It uplifts us and guides us toward important small and large accomplishments for everyone.
In the "Chocolate Dream," we participate by creating and sharing value from each of our roles: we are 651 employees of the chocolate factory; 572 employees of the cocoa plantations; more than 20 cocoa associations; 9,000 producers; more than 3,000 suppliers of goods and services; and 30 partner institutions. Together, we have contributed to bolstering social well-being through entrepreneurship, environmental sustainability, and education.
Our customers are also a crucial part of this vibrant dream. We connect the final link in our chocolate's supply chain to the sourcing of cocoa, and we currently have 10 clients who are part of our Dreamers Club. All Dreamers invest directly in projects and get to know first-hand the faces and stories of those who are positively impacted by our initiatives.
Today, we continue to deliver our corporate responsibility plan – and with impressive results. In 2020/21, these results included: improving the quality of life of 2,349 families through social welfare programmes; promoting the productivity of more than 566 cocoa producers in Necoclí, Tumaco, and Huila; and strengthening the education of more than 800 students in rural areas.
Implementing our Entrepreneurship for the Future programme saw us develop 57 local businesses, too. We were able to offer entrepreneurs the support and tools needed to advance their business ideas and diversify their income.
Through environmental protection initiatives, we preserved 2,000 hectares of land, and reduced our carbon emissions by 16%. This represents significant progress towards our goal of being a carbon-neutral company by 2030.
There are not just numbers. It is the manifestation of the power of many who, throughout 2020–2021, worked together to reach the most remote regions of Colombia to deliver sustainable well-being to all. What’s more, we used our combined platforms to attend to the specific needs of local communities, making our cocoa a tool for transformation, development, and hope that transcends time.
A sincere thank you to all our partners and Dreamers who have helped us achieve the results of our new Sustainability Report, and who support us in our projects to build a better and more sustainable future for us all. Thank you for your passion and leadership, investing and believing in this fascinating dream: The Chocolate Dream!.