Sustainable cocoa powder, cocoa mass & cocoa butterSustainable chocolateSustainable palm oilSustainable packaging
I-CSR
(International) Corporate Social Responsibility
That businesses are expected to prevent or mitigate an adverse impact which is directly linked to their operations, products or services via a business relation, doesn’t mean that the responsibility for causing or contributing to an adverse impact is passed on to the business with which they have a relationship.
(OECD 2011, Chapter II, par. 12)
Raw materials
Sustainable Chocolate
Delicia uses liquid chocolate for the production of chocolate-coated products, we also try to purchase this liquid chocolate as sustainably as possible (UTZ / fair trade). Our goal is to purchase this liquid chocolate completely sustainably in 2025 and we are on the right track with this, in 2019 we purchased 47% sustainably, and in 2020 already 59%.
Joint sustainability initiatives
in cocoa producing regions
Living income, ending deforestation, ending child labor
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The organisation The Hunger Project has been working to end hunger for more than 40 years. With an approach that works, tackling all the causes of hunger at once. Not with food aid, but with real solutions. The Hunger Project believes that hunger is about much more than just food - ending hunger starts with people, with daring to dream, with resilience and self-reliance. The Hunger Project invests in the power of people in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Towards the end of hunger for everyone.
Delicia has established a 3-year cooperation with The Hunger Project’ , which focuses on one place: Adomfe (Ghana). A hub of 10 villages in the cocoa growing area in the south of Ghana. Of the almost 20,000 inhabitants, more than 7,500 produce cocoa. The people in Adomfe work to reduce hunger and poverty autonomously - with special attention to better incomes, better living conditions for children and reforestation.
If you are interested in reading more about this great initiative, please click here to go to The Hunger Project website.
Sustainable cocoa raw materials
100% in 2020
2020 Our target: 100% of the purchased raw materials (including, powder, butter and mass) of choco and crackles are either UTZ or Fairtrade certified.
How it started
In 2006, Oxfam Novib started campaigning against unfair cocoa (https://www.oxfamnovib.nl/verhalen/de-groene-sint). This campaign was mainly targeted at the Sinterklaas festivities and the chocolate letter. Slowly, the industry and supermarket chains started to support these campaigns which resulted in the UTZ certification of most chocolate letters in 2010.
Following this, a Dutch competitor and colleague from the chocolate vermicelli industry promised at the end of 2010 to purchase a part of his raw materials UTZ certified. At Delicia we went even further in 2011; instead of processing 10% or 15% UTZ certified cocoa in our brands, we immediately went for the full 100% UTZ in our licensed brands. And thus, chocolate vermicelli brands like K3, Piet Piraat and Kabouter Plop were showing off their UTZ logo on the supermarket shelves. Soon, retailers got in touch with us and by 2012 all supermarket chains had made the switch; UTZ was introduced to the Dutch chocolate vermicelli house brands. The impact of this movement caused the A-brands to speed up their switch to 100% UTZ certified. 'Green' chocolate vermicelli was born.
But the switch to UTZ, Rainforest Alliance or Fairtrade happens a lot slower abroad. The Netherlands is a real frontrunner. In 2019, Delicia decided that from 1 January 2020 all sales of chocolate vermicelli, flakes and crispies are produced and sold using certified cocoa mass, cocoa powder and cocoa butter, whether the customer wants to pay for it or not.
Our plan for the coming years is to switch all of our chocolate coated products to UTZ/Rainforest Alliance, Fairtrade or something similar. This way we are doing everything we can to make life more pleasant for everybody we, directly or indirectly, get in touch with.
We make life delicious!
► To the UTZ website.
► UTZ becomes Rainforest Alliance.
► To the Fairtrade website.
Sustainable palm oil
More than 5 years of 100% RSPO
2012 From April 2012 we switched to RSPO mass balance certified palm oil.
2015 From January 2015 we buy 100% RSPO segregated certified palm oil (raw material).
2020 Our target: 100% of the palm oil in our purchased combined products is at least RSPO mass balance certified.
► To the RSPO website.
Packaging
Sustainable product packaging
100% FSC certified cardboard
2016 100% FSC certified corrugated cardboard
2018 100% FSC certified corrugated cardboard, folding carton and pallet sheets
2021 Our target: 100% FSC certified product packaging. Stickers and paper bags will also be 100% FSC certified.
► To the FSC website.
Working Clothes
New Corporate Clothing
After a long waiting time, we announce with pride that our new clothing will arrive at December 2nd. Delicia is the first company, as far as we know, that uses recycled polyester combined with Lyocel as a material for our clothing. Lyocel is so environmentally friendly that it has been awarded with a European Ecolabel.
We have also made a sustainable choice for the production and cleaning of our outfits. Our clothing will be made by Havep in Goirle, on locations where they pay their workers a living income. The cleaning of our outfits will be the responsibility of Elis, a company that in 2018 was named the most sustainable textile carer worldwide.
To continue sustainability also in the usage of our clothing, we made the decision not to use individual clothing anymore, but size-bound instead. Our clothing will no longer contain logos for Emergency Response Team and/or Forklift. To indicate that you are part of the Emergency Response Team, you will be asked to choose a green hairnet. Red hairnets will also be available for visitors, like external engineers, customers, and suppliers.
CO2 footprint
Sustainable energy
Delicia's full transition to green energy from 2020.
The green energy we buy is generated by Dutch wind. We also generate our own energy using the solar panels which we installed on our roof in 2018. In 2019, these solar panels were responsible for 5% of our consumed energy.
Grey energy is generated from coal, oil, gas or nuclear power. This produces CO2. Green energy is a collective name for energy that has been generated using sustainable inexhaustible systems, like wind, sun, water and biomass.
Choosing for green energy that has been generated in the Netherlands or by yourself, gives you the assurance that CO2 output will be reduced.
We purchase certificates for all the energy we buy. It provides transparency about the sources, origin and generating technology of all the energy that’s on the market and proves that this energy is truly sustainably generated.
Community
Soon you’ll find information here about "Community".
Employees
Employees
Sustainable employability
We make Life Delicious. Delicia was founded in 1938 for this purpose. Every day we are working to achieve this goal for our customers, suppliers and employees. This is only possible with well-trained employees, who are enthusiastic to contribute to the development of Delicia, their colleagues and themselves. Employees who feel at home at Delicia and work under good working conditions.
Our employees are the foundation of the organization. Together we create a safe and healthy working environment in the following ways:
- Through an intern vitality program, we stimulate our employees to live a healthy and active life. We do this by organizing workshops where we give
advice about nutrition, sufficient movement and good sleep. In addition, employees receive a financial
compensation if they make use of our fitness arrangement.
- In order to provide more clarity about career development and financial insight, Delicia provides a development coach with whom our employees
can have a conversation.
- Delicia tries to prevent employees from becoming ill and being absent for a long time by means of absenteeism prevention. Therefore, a absence
protocol with guidelines has been drawn up. Besides, we have conversations about absenteeism with our employees regularly.
- With the aid of our employee satisfaction survey, we examine the experiences of our employees yearly. The results of this survey are internally
published, points for improvement are inventoried and necessary actions are taken.
- Delicia has 6 prevention employees concerned with health and safety at work. This role includes working to prevent work-related absenteeism and
occupational accidents. They have a coordinating and monitoring role in keeping the (already existing) Risk Inventory & Evaluation up to date,
including the implementation of these measures.
Party Committee
Fun and relaxing together
Our Party Committee ensures interconnectedness by organising various activities. In a fun and informal way you make contact with your colleagues from different departments and get to know each other better. This contributes to a good working environment.
Our colleagues from the Party Committee also arrange discounted tickets for cinemas and cultural performances! Frequently we, employees, can even win (free) tickets.
Our magazine: Korrelatie
Nearly 50 years!
Three times a year we, an enthusiastic team of 6 editors, publish a full-colour paper magazine for all our staff members and veteran colleagues. We have been doing this for a long time together with design company Seña Ontwerpers in Eindhoven.
Korrelatie contains a lot of personal stories from our staff; what’s your favourite book, restaurant, film, etc.? What are your most beautiful pictures? Do you recognise your colleagues from this children’s picture? What’s your passion? New colleagues and trainees introducing themselves. We celebrate anniversaries together.
We also write about important business subjects: our latest strategy, a new corporate image, important projects and more. We become acquainted with suppliers and customers. And we like to announce well in advance what our Party Committee is organising.
Our Korrelatie magazine can be found at our reception desk for everybody to read.