ChoViva - an eco-friendly treat for people and the planet
With ChoViva, climate protection becomes a delightful experience—without any compromises. Our delicious chocolate alternative generates approximately 80% less CO₂ emissions¹ compared to chocolate. To achieve these outstanding results, we've pulled out all the stops—not just in the product itself, but throughout ChoViva’s entire production and supply chain. Here, you can learn everything about ChoViva’s climate footprint, the complex calculations, and the tracking behind it.
Sources
¹ Evaluations according to CarbonCloud, as of 09/2024 (average values for chocolate compared to the climate footprint of ChoViva)
Carbon Cloud x ChoViva
CarbonCloud analyzes each ChoViva formulation using the LCA method, also known as Life Cycle Assessment. This method measures the climate impact of a product at one or more stages of its lifecycle.
In our case, ChoViva's footprint is assessed from “the producer to us as the food manufacturer,” meaning from the oat and/or sunflower fields to the production of our ChoViva mass.
ChoViva Milk Climate Footprint as per CarbonCloud
The use of ChoViva is always precisely tailored to the end product
The climate footprint of ChoViva varies slightly depending on the recipe, though the CO₂ reduction compared to chocolate is always signifcant.
Since ChoViva is just one ingredient among many in cookies, wafers, or cereals, additional factors must be considered for the climate footprint of the final product, such as the production process and the transportation from our partners' factories to the supermarket.
However, these factors can be calculated only by the end product manufacturer themselves.
In the table below, you find an overview of how much CO₂ is saved compared to chocolate for the different ChoViva recipes we offer.
| ChoViva values | Chocolate values | CO₂ reduction | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Milk Recipes | 13.5 | 2.3 | -83.0% |
| Dark Recipes | 15.3 | 1.4 | -90.9% |
| White Recipes | 13.3 | 2.4 | -82.0% |
| Vegan Recipes | 9.61 | 1.3 | -82.7% |
| Milk Recipes | |
|---|---|
| ChoViva values | 13.5 |
| Chocolate values | 2.3 |
| CO₂ reduction | -83.0% |
| Dark Recipes | |
|---|---|
| ChoViva values | 15.3 |
| Chocolate values | 1.4 |
| CO₂ reduction | -90.9% |
| White Recipes | |
|---|---|
| ChoViva values | 13.3 |
| Chocolate values | 2.4 |
| CO₂ reduction | -82.0% |
| Vegan Recipes | |
|---|---|
| ChoViva values | 9.61 |
| Chocolate values | 1.3 |
| CO₂ reduction | -82.7% |
Sources
¹ Evaluations according to CarbonCloud, as of 10/2024 (average values for chocolate compared to the climate footprint of ChoViva)
Why do we calculate the climate footprint of ChoViva?
Climate protection and indulgence in one? Sold.
The food industry has a massive impact on the climate: Everything we eat produces greenhouse gases. This is especially true for chocolate production, which generates a significant amount of CO₂ emissions. With ChoViva, we’ve found a way to reduce the climate footprint of products that use chocolate, without sacrificing enjoyment. The idea behind it: to offer consumers like you a real alternative to help protect the climate—easily achieved through your everyday shopping.
CO₂ – an issue that concerns us all.
Climate change is a threat to the environment, ecosystems, and people. It is primarily driven by greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide (CO₂), which are measured in kg CO₂e (carbon dioxide equivalents). About 20-30%¹ of human-generated greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) come from the food supply chain, amounting to over 10 billion tons. Chocolate, in particular, produces more CO₂ per kilogram than many other foods—its climate footprint is, for example, six times larger than that of milk².
Sources
¹ R. Gaillac, S. Marbach; The carbon footprint of meat and dairy proteins: a practical perspective to guide low carbon footprint dietary choices, J. Clean. Prod., 321 (2021)
² https://www.visualcapitalist.com/visualising-the-greenhouse-gas-impact-of-each-food/, last accessed 07/2024
Climate footprint of chocolate compared to other foods (in CO₂e/kg)
Cocoa is grown on land where rainforests have been cleared—important CO₂ sinks.
The cultivation of cocoa plants has led to the deforestation of tropical rainforests¹: Between 1988 and 2008, 3 million hectares of this unique habitat were lost worldwide²; in Ghana³, a major cocoa-producing region, the rainforest loss amounts to over 80%.
This loss of forests is an environmental issue, as tropical rainforests store more than twice the amount of carbon dioxide per hectare compared to cocoa plantations. During deforestation, the stored carbon is released into the atmosphere, increasing the overall emissions for one kilogram of chocolate: Of the average 19 kg CO₂e/kg, 16.1 kg CO₂e/kg⁴ is attributed solely to land use changes.
Sources
¹ 7. Newton P., Agrawal A., Wollenberg L. Enhancing the sustainability of commodity supply chains in tropical forest and agricultural landscapes. Glob. Environ. Chang. 2013;23:1761–1772
² https://resourcetrade.earth/publications/cocoa-trade-climate-change-and-deforestation, last accessed 07/2024
³ https://international.nwf.org/cocoa-and-deforestation/, last accessed 07/2024
⁴ Poore, J., & Nemecek, T. (2018). Reducing food's environmental impacts through producers and consumers. Science, 360(6392), 987–992. https://science.sciencemag.org/content/360/6392/987
On January 1, 2025, the Supply Chain Act for deforestation-free supply chains¹ will come into effect:
From this date onward, only cocoa from non-deforested areas may be imported into the EU; this applies only to areas deforested after December 2020. Cocoa from areas deforested before this date will still be eligible for import.
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Climate footprint - What is it actually?
Greenhouse gases in numbers
When it comes to measuring the climate-friendliness of products, you'll primarily encounter two terms: CO₂ and CO₂e. Here's how they are related.
CO₂ – Carbon dioxide emissions
The CO₂ balance¹, also known as the climate footprint, measures the total amount of carbon dioxide emissions that occur directly or indirectly during the lifecycle of a product. This provides a detailed picture of how climate-impacting a product is—from the cultivation of ingredients to its arrival at the supermarket.
Sources
¹ Thomas Wiedmann, Jan Minx: A Definition of ‘Carbon Footprint’. Hrsg.: ISA UK Research and Consulting (= ISAUK Research Report. Nr. 07-01). June 2007, S. 4 (Volltext [PDF; 278 kB]).
CO₂e – Carbon dioxide equivalents
This unit¹ is used to determine a climate footprint; it quantifies the total of all greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere during a product's lifecycle: carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), and nitrous oxide (N₂O). In the calculation, these emissions are aggregated, taking into account the amount of each greenhouse gas and its global warming potential (GWP) over a 100-year period compared to carbon dioxide (CO₂).
Sources
¹ https://carboncloud.com/extended-methodology/, last accessed 07/2024
We calculate the climate footprint of our products in CO₂e/kg:
This number reflects the climate impact of ChoViva recipes.
You can learn more about the calculation method from our partner CarbonCloud.
How is ChoViva’s climate footprint calculated?
A partnership for climate protection
To determine our climate footprint, we collaborate with CarbonCloud: This online platform specializes in analyzing and managing the CO₂ footprint of companies and products.
CarbonCloud’s online tool is based on 20 years of research, has been validated through numerous scientific publications, and has been used by agencies such as the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency. CarbonCloud works with international partners like Princeton University and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.
CarbonCloud monitors trends and actively collaborates with research institutions to stay at the forefront of scientific advancements in climate calculations. Many established companies also partner with CarbonCloud.
CarbonCloud analyzes each ChoViva formulation using the LCA method, also known as Life Cycle Assessment. This method measures the climate impact of a product at one or more stages of its lifecycle.
What is the LCA method?
A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) includes the climate footprint and greenhouse gas emissions in the following areas:
Agriculture
Cultivation of ingredients, including soil emissions, emissions from land use changes, use of machinery, energy for processing, and the application of fertilizers or pesticides.
Transport
Emissions that occur during the transportation from the field to the factory, such as when raw materials are transported from the farm to the processing facility.
Refinement
Electricity and gas consumption during the production process.
Packaging
Production and transportation of packaging materials.
All other energy sources
By-products of production
What is not included in ChoViva’s climate footprint and why?
Since ChoViva is used as an ingredient in products (e.g., as a filling or glaze), the climate footprint of ChoViva does not include the CO₂ emissions associated with the creation of the end product or the transport to our customer's factory or to the supermarket. These factors are covered in the climate footprint calculations of the end product manufacturers.
We do not know how you transport your ChoViva product home after purchasing it—whether by car, bicycle, or on foot. We also cannot track how the packaging is ultimately disposed of.
Currently, we do not account for emissions from the production facility that are independent of production, the commuting of our employees, or general business activities such as product development, marketing, or research. These aspects are difficult to attribute to a single product and are considered minimal.
Why is ChoViva CO₂-reduced?
The mentioned figures are primarily based on the fact that a large portion of our ingredients can be grown in Europe. Shorter supply chains and the avoidance of deforestation contribute, among other factors, to a lower CO₂ footprint compared to chocolate.
Here’s a concrete example: If everyone in the country were to consume ChoViva instead of chocolate (currently an average of 9.2 kg per person per year)¹, up to 161 kg of CO₂ per person per year could be saved. This would result in a reduction of approximately 13.5 billion kg of CO₂ for Germany alone.
Sources
Approximately 80% lower emissions than chocolate
The climate footprint of ChoViva depends on the specific recipe used. It ranges from 1.3 kg CO₂e/kg¹ (vegan recipe) to 2.4 kg CO₂e/kg¹ (white recipe). In comparison: the climate footprint of chocolate is roughly in the range of 9.6 kg CO₂e/kg² (vegan chocolate) to 15.3 kg CO₂e/kg² (dark chocolate).
Sources
¹ ChoViva carbon footprint according to CarbonCloud, as of 09/2024
² Average evaluations for the carbon footprint of chocolate according to CarbonCloud, as of 09/2024
CO2 reduction in CO2e/kg
Chocolate compared to ChoViva
Sustainable land use
ChoViva avoids deforestation of vital, carbon-sequestering tropical rainforests. Instead, we source our oat and/or sunflower seeds from regional production, coming from existing agricultural lands.
Additionally¹, ChoViva generally requires less land: the average land use for 1 kg of dark chocolate is approximately 68 m² per year, often involving land use changes that remove rainforest (an important CO₂ sink).
Using the same source, ChoViva’s ingredients require only about 3.25 m² of land per year. The production of ChoViva uses approximately 21 times less land than chocolate production, representing a reduction of up to 95%.
Sources
¹Poore, J., & Nemecek, T. (2018). Reducing food's environmental impacts through producers and consumers. Science, 360(6392), 987–992. https://science.sciencemag.org/content/360/6392/987, last accessed April 26, 2024.
Land use in m² per year
Chocolate compared to ChoViva
Lower water consumption
Chocolate production requires a significant amount of water¹—approximately 24,000 liters per kilogram.
ChoViva uses only 1,400 liters per kilogram², as the cultivation of our ingredients consumes much less water. In terms of water footprint, ChoViva is over 17 times more sustainable than chocolate.
Sources
¹ Poore, J., & Nemecek, T. (2018). Reducing food's environmental impacts through producers and consumers. Science, 360(6392), 987–992. https://science.sciencemag.org/content/360/6392/987, last accessed April 26, 2024.
² Mekonnen, M. M., & Hoekstra, A. Y. (2010). The green, blue and grey water footprint of farm animals and animal products. Value of Water Research Report Series No.48. UNESCO-IHE. https://www.waterfootprint.org/resources/Report-48-WaterFootprint-AnimalProducts-Vol1.pdf
Water consumption in liters per kg
Chocolate compared to ChoViva
