At Idilia Foods we are committed to the wellbeing of people and the planet. The goal of our Idilia People and Planet project is to work towards greater social and environmental sustainability. Firstly, by supporting the development and wellbeing of people, both our team and those who live in the areas in which we operate. Secondly, by manufacturing and distributing with minimum impact on the environment.
Our sustainability programme is aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): zero hunger, good health and well-being, decent work and economic growth, responsible consumption and production, and climate action.
At Idilia, we care about the well-being of those around us, and that is why we lead our own social responsibility projects as well as participate in initiatives that support their implementation.
The ColaCao Foundation aims to contribute to empowering children to get the best out of themselves, and initially focuses on a double objective: empowering their individuality, and raising awareness against one of the greatest enemies of children's diversity: bullying. To do this, it promotes and implements social, awareness-raising, educational and research activities.
Find out more about the foundation here.
Promoting sport, as a cornerstone of a healthy lifestyle, is at the heart of Idilia Foods and its brands. It contributes to the physical and emotional wellbeing of people of all ages, from children to adults. Empowerment, respect and teamwork are all innate values in sport, which help us to improve every day.
Since the Idilia brands were founded more than 75 years ago, we have always supported sport, and this led ColaCao to become the first Spanish brand to sponsor the Olympic Games, becoming an Olympic food at the Munich Games in 1972. We pass this commitment to sport on to our internal team, which is why we implemented the Healthy & Happy programme to encourage and improve healthy lifestyles.
Our link with the Olympics continued, and we have been founding partners of the ADO (Olympic Sports Support) plan since 1988, initiating the sponsorship of the Spanish Olympic team.
In 2017, we joined sponsorship of the Paralympic team becoming members of the ADOP programme (Supporting Paralympic Sport). We also support the Spanish Sports’ Council’s Support Plan for Grassroots Sports.
In our most immediate environment, we have been helping families in need for more than 30 years by collaborating with the Spanish Federation of Food Banks (FESBAL) and donating products to these households.
In the area of environmental sustainability, our goal is to manufacture and distribute with minimum impact.
Although our environmental impact indicators are already very low (our factory uses traditional mechanical techniques to preserve the personality of our recipes), Idilia Foods wants to continue reducing emissions, waste and plastics in its manufacturing activities.
Some 90% of the cocoa we use to make all Idilia Foods products is Rainforest Alliance certified. This non-governmental organisation has been working for environmental sustainability for over 45 years and has the largest sustainable cocoa certification programme in the world.
Its aims are to preserve the nature and ecosystems of the fields where cocoa trees grow and to improve the livelihoods of cocoa farmers.
100% of our factory's electrical energy is green and we are working to further reduce our environmental impact by focusing on three aspects:
- Energy efficiency: the aim is to reduce carbon emissions by 50%, to generate clean energy by installing solar panels on the roof of our industrial facilities (today we already generate 15% of the total) and to reduce water consumption by 50%.
- Waste management: the aim is to reduce waste by 30% by 2023 and reduce food waste to lower than 1%.
- Sustainability in packaging: promoting circular economy packaging through reuse, the use of recyclable material and reducing plastic use.
Sustainability also plays a key role at our headquarters, which are BREEAM-certified - the world's leading sustainability validation and certification method for buildings. This certification guarantees a more sustainable construction, meaning a reduced impact on the environment and enhanced wellbeing and health for those who work there. Plus, 100% of the energy consumed by the building is green.
The facilities provide for comprehensive recycling, establishing a paperless policy and have recycling points in all areas of the offices.