Divine Chocolate is proud to be a Certified B Corporation® since 2016. B Corporations are leaders of the global movement of people using business as a force for good. There are over 2,500 Certified B Corporations from more than 130 industries in 50 countries with 1 unifying goal – to redefine success in business.
B Corps are important because they inspire all businesses to compete not only to be the best in the world, but to be the best for the world.
Why Certified B Corporations Matter
Certified B Corporations like Divine Chocolate are leading a global movement to redefine success in business, and we are distinguishing ourselves in a saturated marketplace by offering a positive vision of a better way to do business.
- Individually, B Corps meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability, and aspire to use the power of markets to solve social and environmental problems.These standards measure a company’s impact on all its stakeholders (e.g. workers, suppliers, community, customers and the environment).
- Collectively, B Corps lead a growing global movement of people using business as a force for good. Through the power of their collective voice, one day all companies will compete to be best for the world, and society will enjoy a more shared and durable prosperity for all.
Some of the names we know well are Patagonia, Ecover, Ben & Jerry’s, COOK, The Big Issue, Mindful Chef, Abel & Cole, Cafe Direct, Innocent, Danone, PUKKA, Jo Jo Maman Bebe, Ella's Kitchen and Lily's Kitchen.
Why We Became a B Corp
Our B Corp Certification is an important third-party validation of our business practices, reflecting not only our total commitment to Fairtrade and co-operative values, but also demonstrating that these values are embedded within our company. These practices include the way we do business and our impact on the environment, our workers, and the communities where we operate. It’s our assurance to consumers and partners that they can feel as confident about the way we run our business as they do about the benefits our products deliver to farmers around the globe.
As a Certified B Corp, Divine Chocolate joins a fast-growing global network of certified businesses that have made a commitment to managing, measuring and reporting their social and environmental impact while driving sound profitability. Divine Chocolate will champion Certified B Corps in the UK and in the USA and looks forward to the mutually rewarding partnerships certification will bring. We're also excited to join a network that collectively aims to push for fairer and more sustainable business policy and trade deals in the future.
Our CEO Sophi Tranchell notes,
"We remain 100% committed to Fairtrade and the social enterprise movement. We see B Corp certification as a demonstration that these values run throughout our business, and we believe that it is part of our leadership role to embrace systems that drive businesses to behave better and empower consumers to make informed choices."
The Change We Seek
We seek to change the way the global chocolate industry does business and we are demonstrating that it is possible. Divine Chocolate’s success proves that a business driven by a commitment to trading fairly and sustainably – with a social mission at its core – can achieve scale. We can lead the way.
We are challenging the terms of world trade and showing that, by owning the largest share of Divine, smallholder farming families are not only sustainably remunerated as suppliers, they are also empowered to invest in their own families, farms and communities, making their own decisions about their future, and in turn making cocoa farming more attractive to the next generation.
In addition to trading with Divine Chocolate on Fairtrade terms, ensuring the Fairtrade minimum price for cocoa and the Fairtrade premium per metric tonne, Kuapa Kokoo also benefits from two additional income streams: the share of distributed profits (through co-ownership) and the Producer Support and Development Fund (PS&D). To date, over £2.5 million has been invested in PS&D – finance that is directed specifically towards chosen projects co-managed by Kuapa Kokoo and an NGO partner. The projects are aimed particularly at the empowerment of women, maintaining good governance, and testing different farming techniques.
Best for the World
In 2017 and 2018 Divine Chocolate won the B Corporation ‘Best for the World’ honour for delivering best impact for communities. Read these articles for more information on the award itself:
To learn more about the B Corp movement, follow these links:
- Explore our B Impact Report
- B Corporation Website (US)
- B Corporation Website (UK)
- B the Change Media Website
Waitrose now has a B Corp page on their grocery webshop which is great recognition for the B Corp community, take a look here.
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