Sustainability
MIA chocolate maker launches carbon capture and lemur conservation plan in Madagascar - LISTEN
The new program, called MIA Green, will be implemented under the brand’s impact fund, 1 for Change, which is funded by 1% of company sales.
MIA co-founder Sarah Beach said: “Thanks to millions of years in isolation from mainland Africa, Madagascar is home to numerous endemic plant and animal species. In fact, the island nation is home to 15% of the world’s species with around 80% of flora and fauna in the country existing nowhere else in the world. We couldn’t find a more urgent setting for the MIA Green initiative, a way for the brand to help repair Madagascar’s forests while offsetting carbon emissions.”
LISTEN: Interview with MIA co-founder Brett Beach
In a special podcast recorded at ISM2020, MIA co-founder Brett Beach talks more to ConfectioneryNews on the company’s carbon capture program, the challenges of setting up a bean-to-bar chocolate company on the island of Madagascar and why the company’s 1 for Change impact program is a crucial part of its operation. Brett also discusses cocoa supply chains, consumer engagement and the current trend in vegan chocolate. Take a listen.
The MIA Green tree planting program will involve reforestation of over 60 different species that recreate the diversity of the national park forest in the Andasibe-Mantadia area that occupies the central-eastern side of the world’s fourth largest island.
MIA said it has also partnered with UK charity Money for Madagascar to implement the program and its initial contribution will fund 60 trees, and the brand will continue to support the effort annually.
Money for Madagascar
Money for Madagascar director Irenée Rajaona-Horne: “Madagascar’s forests are a gift to the planet but natural resource pressures result in an annual loss of about 400,000 Ha, or nearly 1% of the nation’s forests! Through partnerships with MIA and other contributors, we aim to plant 200,000 trees across 2,000 Ha to join up isolated pockets of forest that will renew sources of food for endemic lemurs and give them more mobility.”
Rajaona-Horne said the tree planting program is also connected to forest-friendly sustainable livelihood activities and also education programs for school children.
Part of a growing number of companies that puts people and planet on par with profit, MIA has made a commitment to support its MIA Green initiative indefinitely, said co-founder Brett Beach, which reflects “our brand commitment is to make amazing flavors that do good, and our 1 for Change impact fund gives us the opportunity to make a positive impact beyond our supply chain.”
