From 26 August, KLM will be offering its World Business Class passengers a new, more sustainable version of the famous chocolate houses. The cocoa used for this purpose not only has a tasty, but also an environmentally friendly tale to it. The cocoa used comes from fincas (farms) in Panama that participate in the CO2OL Tropical Mix project in which KLM invests.
Investing in CO2 reduction
The project combines reforestation activities with cocoa production and forms part of KLM’s CO2ZERO service. For the past ten years, this service has enabled passengers to compensate for their CO2 emissions by investing in a CO2 reduction project. In addition to CO2 storage, the CO2OL Tropical Mix project also provides for the small-scale, sustainable production of cocoa and wood, creating more jobs for the local population.
UTZ-certified chocolate
The CO2OL Tropical Mix farms in Bocas del Toro planted the cocoa trees in 2010. Now, almost ten years later, the cocoa fields of the project stretch out across the lower hills of the cocoa town in Panama. The chocolate derived from this project is UTZ certified, thanks to –among other things- sustainable management techniques, including planting shade trees and using multiple cacao species.
From Panama to Belgium to WBC
The chocolate company Barry Callebaut imports the cocoa from Bocas del Toro and turns it into different chocolate pastes in Belgium. The Dutch chocolatier Visser then heats, cools, shapes and packs the chocolate. The outcome: perfectly formed chocolate houses ready to be served on board KLM’s World Business Class from 26 August.
