Paccari gets 75% of the energy it consumes from the sun and reaches carbon neutral status

The Andean sun at the end of January —drawn in a blue sky with few clouds— reveals the proximity of noon. The Paccari plant is located in the south of Quito in an area of ​​three thousand square meters. A first door opens for visitors and from the next door the senses begin to experience a variety of smells.

First, the fragrance of a tropical farm where cocoa plants with their ripe pods spread their humid fragrance everywhere until perceiving —in the area of ​​chocolate drops— the delicate aroma of chocolate ready to make any bar.

Paccari is a chocolate company founded in 2002 that has reduced its CO2 emissions by 43% and achieved Carbon Neutrality status, according to the study of “Greenhouse Gases-GHG” (Sambito) under ISO 14064-1 standards: 2019 and ISO INTE B5. In twelve months it had a reduction of 188.89 tons of CO2, going from 1.51 tons of CO2 per ton of product (2020) to 0.96 tons in 2021.

January 28 is considered the World Day for the Reduction of CO2 Emissions (Carbon Dioxide). And Santiago Peralta, founder of Paccari chocolates, tells how this brand understands zero neutrality and his achievements through two decades of life.

How has Paccari managed to reduce its CO2 emissions?

We use organic agriculture, we do not use pesticides. It is an organic chocolate from the tree to the bar. We process from the relationship with the farmers to the mouth of the end customers.

In addition, cocoa production does not add CO2, on the contrary, it reduces it, because these trees fix CO2 from the atmosphere every night. We do not use milk, because cows generate 60% of greenhouse gases, we are vegan, we have always been milk free. We have proposed alternatives such as chocolates with coconut cream and not with milk, with coconut sugar that is better for the glycemic level and have zero methane emissions.

What else do you do for the environment?

We use biodegradable packaging to avoid using plastic, we have done exercises not to use cardboard, we have a presentation of the most popular Paccari chocolates called cardboard less (without cardboard), to avoid deforestation, we recycle our internal packaging, all the boxes from our stores return to the factory and circulate up to twenty types of use.

The last thing we’ve done is put up solar panels and right now 75% of our energy use is solar. These are the actions for Paccari to have achieved the carbon neutral level.

How has Paccari’s economic growth manifested itself?

Paccari has billed around $8 million a year, with a growth of 15% in the same year. I’m so glad people are eating real chocolate. Now, 70% of people are looking, since the pandemic, for dark chocolates – which have more than 60% cocoa. They are the chocolates that the doctor recommends for the heart, for concentration, for humanity’s lack of magnesium, which are antidepressants, which are anxiolytics, etc.

How much did you start billing in 2002?

Zero, then,” he laughs. Our company was going little by little and we have seen it grow from nothing. We have been covering more and more market spaces, now we have more than 50 types of chocolates that rescue Latin American gastronomic cultural traditions and we export them to 42 countries of the world. In addition, in Quito we have seven stores, in Cuenca we have one and another in process. We have 140 employees: 70 at the plant and 70 in the stores.

Paccari is the most awarded chocolate company in the world with more than 400, how did you get your first award?

That was a mixture of rapid heartbeat, hyperventilation, disbelief, surprise, then a burst of joy and, finally, a feeling that we were no longer anonymous and that we were going to be in the crosshairs of the global chocolate industry.

Hotel Le Parc and its 100% sustainable building

Hotel Le Parc de Quito obtained carbon neutral certification by BIO1 and AgroUniversal, environmental auditors endorsed by the Ministry of the Environment. This is the result of incorporating technology to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improvements such as changing boilers for thermal conditioning of the hotel with electric technology, light sensor systems to reduce consumption, LED lights, hybrid vehicles, water systems and more.

Its general manager, Gabriela Sommerfeld, highlights the promotion of the circular economy, through recycling initiatives and strategic allies, and also the construction of a second tower with technology and systems that have made it possible to achieve sustainable construction certifications such as Edge Advance and Leed . “I Am Beyond the Star, a hotel expansion project that includes residences and corporate offices, has a total of seven parking basements that include public parking, 18 floors with residences and offices. It has sustainable construction systems such as the lightweight structure, lightweight walls that allow thermal and acoustic control, glass for light, thermal, and acoustic control, power generators, rainwater collection systems, purification, and water treatment, among many others. technologies and elements that for the first time are all combined in a single building”.

Currently, the residences and offices are under construction, which will be delivered in the second half of 2023. 100% of the residences are sold and there are few exclusive offices with hotel and amenities designed for senior executives.

Cargill’s circular economy

Cargill is a company with more than 150 years in the industry, and Cargill Aqua Nutrition -which arrived in the country in 2015 when it partnered with Naturisa to build and operate a shrimp feed factory under the name of Aquacargill del Ecuador- represents a fundamental link in the seafood supply chain and seeks to support good practices in aquaculture, protect the environment and promote changes to meet the growing need for seafood, reducing environmental impact and improving the communities where they work.

At the end of 2022, it published its annual sustainability report and among the most outstanding results in 2021 it mentions that as part of a circular economy approach in feed (food), both for cold and hot water species, for the first time more than 50% of the raw materials used are co-products. In addition, that 40% of its marine ingredients come from trimmings and by-products. The company-owned feed mill in Norway was converted to a fully electrified plant, using renewable hydroelectric power and generating almost zero greenhouse gas emissions.

In March 2021, it launched the flagship SeaFurther™ sustainability programme, which helps salmon farmers reduce CO2 emissions from their fish by 30% by 2030, helping the industry save 2 billion kilograms of CO2, the equivalent of to remove more than 400,000 vehicles from the road in a year. (YO)