Huel has partnered with Tony’s Chocolonely’s Open Chain to ensure that its entire product range is sourced from sustainable cocoa and meets the highest ethical practices.
The chocolate label’s Open Chain is an industry leading initiative that helps brands transform their cocoa supply chains for the protection of human rights and welfare.
The partnership aims to revolutionise cocoa sourcing practices and ensure that the leading nutrition brand’s products are made from ingredients that support cocoa farmers to earn a living income, eradicate illegal labour and stop deforestation.
Huel is also committed to reaching a net-zero target by reducing greenhouse gas emissions across its business operations, alongside ensuring that the carbon footprint of each individual product is aligned with limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees.
In December last year, Huel secured £20 million in funding from investors to help with its global growth plans – which is now taking effect.
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With the food system responsible for over one third of global greenhouse gas emissions, Huel claims that changing our diets is one of the most straightforward and significant means to effectively decrease emissions.
By ensuring that each meal maintains a carbon footprint of approximately 0.5kg CO2e or less, the brand is committed to making all their meals achieve this objective.
“Huel is super excited to be joining Tony’s Open Chain. We strongly believe that it is possible to create a sustainable food system, and Tony’s mission and work in West Africa is proving what is possible,” sustainability director at Huel, Jess Sansom said.
“The 5 sourcing principles are holistic, the approach is collaborative, and the results speak for themselves.”
Sansom added: “We are looking forward to working alongside other Mission Allies, and calling upon other brands to join Open Chain and make a difference.”
Chief of impact and operations at Tony’s Chocolonely, Pascal Baltussen, commented: “At Tony’s Open Chain we envision a future where cocoa farmers in Cote D’Ivoire and Ghana earn a living income, child labour is eradicated, and deforestation is stopped.
“The five sourcing principles that Tony’s Open Chain has implemented over the past 10 years is showing that this future is feasible, the biggest driver for change is scale.”
“Together we can bring equality and eradicate exploitation in cocoa in West Africa,” Baltussen concluded.
