Sustainability as the mission of the Chocolate Museum
The topic of sustainability is becoming increasingly important to us and we are making considerable resources available to achieve greater success in less time. We are guided by the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the UN in 2015, which we can and want to help achieve.
To achieve our goals, we rely on three pillars that fall within our direct sphere of influence:
1. Education for Sustainable Development
It has become clear that in a world with limited resources and a growing population, it is essential to develop ways to live together responsibly and sustainably. Our actions today have an impact on future generations.
As a chocolate museum that welcomes more than 550,000 guests from around the world each year, we see it as our responsibility to convey knowledge and context in an accessible way and to inspire sustainable development. We want to encourage our guests to reflect on the consequences of their actions.
This approach is summarized under the term “Education for Sustainable Development” (ESD) and is considered a key building block for societal transformation processes.
That is why we are making targeted investments in this area. As a result, we have been recognized as an educational institution in the field of sustainable development by both UNESCO (2019) and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (2018).
2. Reducing Our Own Greenhouse Gas Emissions
It is now clear: In a world with limited resources and a growing population, it is necessary to develop ways to live together responsibly and sustainably. Our actions today have an impact on future generations.
As a chocolate museum that welcomes more than 550,000 guests from around the world each year, we see it as our responsibility to convey knowledge and context in an accessible way and to inspire sustainable development. We want to encourage our guests to reflect on the impact of their actions.
This approach is summarized under the term “Education for Sustainable Development” (ESD) and is considered a key building block for societal transformation processes.
That is why we are making targeted investments in this area. As a result, we have been recognized as an educational institution in the field of sustainable development by both UNESCO (2019) and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (2018).
3. Addressing Remaining Emissions
In 2018, we set ourselves the goal of comprehensively reducing the museum’s greenhouse gas emissions and offsetting any remaining emissions.
We were able to achieve this goal ahead of schedule: Since 2019, we have maintained a net-zero greenhouse gas balance—and even exceeded it—for our museum operations.
Since emissions cannot currently be completely avoided, we offset remaining amounts by purchasing certified emission reduction credits in accordance with recognized standards (e.g., the Gold Standard).
In addition, together with our partner Plant-for-the-Planet, we support reforestation projects, currently on the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico.
These measures help offset emissions and reduce them in the long term. At the same time, we are continuously working to further reduce our own emissions.
Even though these topics are currently receiving less attention in public reporting, they remain a central part of our ongoing development.
We hope you enjoy reading our report and look forward to your feedback.
Cologne, 2018
With warm regards
Annette Imhoff and Dr. Christian Unterberg-Imhoff
