HALBA is committed to climate protection, especially because energy is required and emissions are generated in the manufacture of our high-quality products. To reduce consumption and protect the climate, we focus on preventing and reducing emissions (see Climate Protection Policy).
Within the context of production and energy, «avoid» means choosing processes that do not release CO₂e. For this reason, HALBA uses energy that is obtained from renewable sources for the Pratteln production site: Electricity has been supplied from low-emission energy sources since 2011. Heat is produced from woodchip heating. A heat recovery system utilises waste heat and thus reduces the proportion of heat from external sources. Natural gas is only used to roast nuts and meet peak demand. We are also exploring currently the option of expanding our photovoltaic plant.
The company is also seeking to lower its reliance on airfreight (currently around 1 %) even further and to choose alternative means of transport instead. HALBA has also set up an internal innovation group to further develop more sustainable packaging materials. A life cycle assessment calculator for packaging developed by Carbotech has been used since 2021, which can calculate the ecological footprint of any packaging and thus provides an important basis for decision-making when selecting packaging material.
Woodchip heating:
Woodchip heating is the main process used for generating heat for chocolate and for the site as a whole. Burning wood releases the amount of CO₂ that trees sequestered from the atmosphere whilst growing. As such, wood heating is practically carbon-neutral and does not contribute to the greenhouse effect.
HALBA is focusing on short transport routes in order to achieve even more of a positive impact on the climate balance: Woodchips are sourced from (municipal, state and private) forests within a 50-kilometre radius of the factory and are FSC certified.
The woodchip heating system in Pratteln generates 2 megawatts, covering around 40 % of the required thermal energy, including steam.This steam is used in production, amongst other things in order to roast and debacterialise cocoa beans. It is also used in the mass building to heat hot water to 95 °C, which is then used for the conches, fat processing machines and the tank storage facility.
Solar power system:
In order to effectively use the building’s roof areas, a photovoltaic plant extending over about 8 000 square metres has been installed. The photovoltaic plant has a power output of 550 kilowatt hours. In 2024, it produced 471 627 kilowatt hours of solar power, which is used directly on site. This roughly corresponds to the annual consumption of 150 detached houses.
In relation to production and energy, «reducing» means structuring and adjusting production processes so that they release less CO₂e – for instance, through energy efficiency measures.
In 2020, HALBA carried out a holistic analysis of all CO₂e-relevant process systems to identify the level of energy-saving potential. In 2022 an energy savings team was set up, comprised of six experts from the fields of processes, electronics, building technology and digitalisation. The team has the goal of recording the current situation and then assessing and implementing savings in energy consumption and CO₂e emissions. This work will be continued on an ongoing basis in order to identify and implement further optimisation potential.
The analysis and work carried out by the team of experts has already identified ten measures for increasing efficiency and reducing energy consumption. Three of these are described in greater detail below:
Heat recovery:
Certain process steps in chocolate production require warmth, for example heating the pipes that transport the cocoa mass. In order to do this, HALBA uses heat emitted by cooling machines. We are constantly seeking to raise our heat recovery rate in order to increase efficiency even further still.
We use the waste heat from our cooling systems amongst other things in order to heat office space. These systems also provide cold water for the site. The cooling process generates waste heat, which is collected via a heat exchanger. The energy thereby gained is fed through into the heating circuit. As a result, 10 297 496 kilowatt hours of energy were saved in 2024. In addition, HALBA uses the heat generated by computers or people in office areas. It is extracted by an air heat exchanger and then returned to the air intake, creating an additional heat cycle.
Cold management:
Certain process steps in chocolate production use cold air, including the cooling of chocolate and processing in kneading and stirring machines. By adapting the cold management system, HALBA has increased its production efficiency and thus sustainably reduced its energy consumption.
One example of this is the optimisation of cooling systems. These generate cold water for various temperature levels required in production as well as for air conditioning some rooms. In order to achieve energy savings consistently over time, the building technology team continuously analyses data in the building management system and aligns temperature levels with production. We have already been able to achieve a number of improvements in this way. These include raising temperature levels minimally during the production process, for instance increasing the room temperatures of cold-storage rooms, increasing temperatures in service rooms and isolating cold water pipes in the hydraulic unit. In 2024, new studies and preliminary plans were scheduled for the replacement of the cooling system, with the aim of unlocking further energy-saving potential.
Isolating process pipes:
Heated pipes are essential for producing chocolate: the chocolate conveyed within them needs to remain in liquid form to avoid clogging the pipe. To prevent the heat emitted from the pipes from going to waste, the 45 °C warm pipes are first covered with a layer of insulating material and then wrapped in aluminium. This reduces the heat energy loss from pipes and also means that rooms have to be ventilated less. This measure saves around 70 000 kilowatt hours per year in the Branches production facility. Overall, this isolation process has been carried out on three production lines.
In the context of production and energy, «offsetting» means that any remaining emissions are addressed using measures for CO₂e sequestration within our value chain. Some emissions within the HALBA production process are currently unavoidable. We implement CO₂e sequestration for these remaining emissions through appropriate measures within our value chain. We annually measure our operational CO₂e emissions for this purpose. The measured value is composed of emissions related to factors such as purchased energy. An independent external audit by myclimate verifies our calculations.
Fair offsetting. (see also "Good to know" in CO₂e -Strategy)
One example of HALBA’s measures to sequester CO₂e within its value chain is the reforestation project in Peru. HALBA has planted over 450 000 trees since 2011, meaning the company has neutralised over 100 000 tonnes of CO₂ as of the end of 2024. From 2025 onwards, HALBA will be fully transitioning to a new climate protection strategy based on the SBTi target of net zero by 2050. The strategy will focus on direct emission reductions within the company’s own value chain and exclude the use of external offsetting measures as a primary solution. The fund for climate-protection measures established by HALBA in 2024 will take over the financing of climate-related agroforestry projects in the company’s own supply chain in the future. The measures HALBA implements to establish dynamic agroforestry systems will also help the company achieve the SBTi reduction targets by lowering production emissions and increasing CO₂ sequestration in cocoa production.
Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi): The SBTi is an international initiative that supports companies in setting scientifically sound climate targets that are in line with the Paris Climate Agreement. It assesses and validates whether a company’s reduction targets are sufficiently ambitious to limit global warming to a maximum of 1.5 °C or significantly below 2 °C. Companies that commit to the SBTi pledge to measure and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions across the entire value chain (Scope 1–3).
