Blommer Chocolate Co. is partnering with One Tree Planted, a global reforestation nonprofit, to plant one tree per 2,000 lbs. of milk chocolate sold. 

This tree-planting initiative aligns with Blommer’s commitment to protect and restore forests in its commodity supply chains and will directly benefit the ecosystems and communities around its own facilities and customer facilities. 

One Tree Planted is a U.S.-based 501(c)(3) reforestation non-profit. Started in 2014, it has more than doubled the number of trees planted year-over-year, now working with reforestation partners across six continents. The organization planted more than 10 million trees in 2020 and is on target to eclipse 20 million trees worldwide in 2021. 

One Tree Planted’s key impact pillars of air, water, biodiversity, social impact, climate, and health guide its efforts around the world as it works to ensure the restoration and new growth of native biodiverse forests.  

Working in concert with local and community partners on the ground, One Tree Planted reforests land degraded from industry, natural disasters such as wildfires and floods, and rapid urbanization, always striving for maximum environmental and social impact from job creation and community building to watershed and habitat restoration. 

Blommer has chosen to support projects close to the communities in which it and its customers operate. In the first year of this campaign, trees will be planted along waterways in the Chesapeake Bay watershed in Pennsylvania; on land devastated by wildfires in Northern California; in communities impacted by climate change across Illinois and the Midwest; and across the Chignecto Isthmus in Canada.  

One Tree Planted will manage the planting of tree saplings and will work with their planting partners throughout the lifespan of the projects to receive regular updates to determine project progress, success, and to report on metrics like canopy cover, jobs created, and ecological impact. Benefits of tree planting programs include mitigating climate change impacts; increasing wildlife biodiversity; improving air and water quality; improving soil health; providing jobs in local communities; and restoring community well-being. 

Over the years, Blommer has provided leadership for developing and implementing sustainable commodity supply chains. As a signatory of the Cocoa and Forest Initiative, it is committed to end deforestation and forest degradation in its direct cocoa supply chains in Ivory Coast and Ghana. 

Additionally, in June last year, Blommer, along with its parent company Fuji Oil Holdings, announced the Fuji Oil Group’s commitment to plant one million forest and fruit trees in cocoa growing areas by 2030. 

“As we are scaling up our reforestation efforts in our commodity supply chains, Blommer recognized the importance of supporting biodiversity and climate resiliency closer to our own and our customers’ communities,” says David Meggs, chief commercial officer of Blommer Chocolate. 

One Tree Planted funding covers the cost of tree saplings, allowing its partners on the ground to scale their operations by allocating their other resources to site preparation and long-term maintenance and monitoring of the trees. Blommer has committed to donate the funding necessary to finance the projects’ activities based on our volume of milk chocolate sales. 

Blommer’s intention is to continue and expand this initiative year on year, in order to have the biggest benefits possible on the environment. More details about the initiative can be found online. 

Through this initiative Blommer hopes to inspire others to support global reforestation efforts. Companies and individuals who would also like to contribute to One Tree Planted’s mission to conserve and restore our environment, can visit https://blommer-plants-trees.raisely.com/.