Swiss Ethics Award: Sweet temptations without moral blame
Coop & Chocolats Halba win the Swiss Ethics Award with their joint project "Sustainable chocolate from Ecuador". Today, Chocolats Halba is the sustainability pioneer in the Swiss chocolate industry. With the support of its parent company Coop, Chocolats Halba has launched ambitious projects for sustainable cocoa cultivation. The project in Ecuador was honored with the Swiss Ethics Award.
The Swiss Ethics Award was presented on 26 April 2018 by the Swiss Excellence Forum as part of the Ethical Leadership Conference at the KKL Lucerne. The Swiss Ethics Award honours projects that set new ethical standards in the field of business. After Weleda AG, Coop & Chocolats Halba won the award with their joint project "Sustainable chocolate from Ecuador". Other nominees included Clinica Luganese Moncucco, Ikea and Swisscom.
Sustainable chocolate
The Coop & Chocolats Halba project aims at sustainable cocoa production and thus addresses a whole range of deep-seated problems. Poverty, small acreages, low market prices, poor infrastructures and a lack of knowledge are all problems for small farmers. Child labor, illiteracy, malnutrition and gender inequality are a consequence.
In many regions, intact ecosystems fall victim to cocoa cultivation: rainforests are cleared, water bodies are polluted, soil erosion increases and biodiversity is severely impaired. Monocultures promise better yields, but their susceptibility to diseases and pests requires the use of vast amounts of pesticides. The plants are weakened and yields are reduced.
Young people hardly see any prospects in cocoa cultivation. For the small farmers, this creates a vicious circle of hopelessness. This is where the Coop & Chocolats Halba project comes in.
"Sustainable Chocolate from Ecuador" pursues economic, ecological and social goals: among others, the increase of living standards, biodiversity and the integration and promotion of young farmers. The project is based on the "Train th Trainer" principle. Cocoa farmers (especially women and young people) are trained in the methods of dynamic agroforestry.
As Facilitadores you pass on your knowledge and become ambassadors for sustainable cocoa cultivation. This lays the foundation for a sustainable livelihood for small farmers in Ecuador. This project, which is comprehensive in its impact, was awarded the Swiss Ethics Award by the jury.
The names of the jury: Stephan Baer, Entrepreneur, Baer-Ammann GmbH, Prof. Dr. Hans Ruh, Social Ethicist, Prof. Dr. Markus Huppenbauer, Ethicist, Centre for Religion, Economy and Politics, Paola Ghillani, Managing Director, Paola Ghillani & Friends Ltd, Prof. Dr. Peter Schaber, Professor of Applied Ethics, University of Zurich, Corina Eichenberger, National Councillor, Dr. Christoph Weber-Berg, Business Ethicist, Reformed Church Aargau
