About Seattle Chocolate Company

Seattle Chocolate Company, a proudly woman-owned business with 74 employees and two beloved brands, Maeve Chocolate and jcoco, proves that even small companies can lead on climate. Social responsibility and sustainability have always been core to their identity, from ethically sourced cocoa and support for cocoa farmers to donations to causes like Girls Inc. and tree planting to celebrate employee milestones. Defending the planet and empowering the underserved are long-standing company values, and the team also recognized that protecting the environment was essential for their customers, employees, and supply chain resilience.

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By starting intentionally and growing steadily, Seattle Chocolate has been carbon neutral since 2022, set SBTi-approved reduction targets, and embedded climate action across its operations and brand. Motivated by customers, employees, and core company values, they continue to prove that meaningful climate action doesn’t require being a big company.

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From Early Action to Bold Goals

Seattle Chocolate’s climate journey began with practical, high-impact actions. They launched a seconds program to keep imperfect chocolates out of landfills, adding an additional revenue stream while reducing unnecessary waste. They also redesigned their packaging to be 100% compostable or recyclable, ensuring their products delight customers without leaving a harmful footprint.

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After implementing these initial initiatives, the company recognized the need for deeper insight into its emissions. By measuring their full carbon footprint, they turned carbon accounting into a roadmap, revealing their biggest emission sources and guiding short- and long-term priorities. 

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Through this process, they uncovered several immediate opportunities for meaningful change:

• Energy Efficiency: By switching all lighting to LEDs, they cut energy use and costs simultaneously
• 100% Renewable Natural Gas & Wind-based Energy: They replaced 100% of their fossil fuel based natural gas with Wind Generated Power and Renewable Natural Gas generated from local Washington state landfills, contributing to a 92% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions within 3 years, well ahead of schedule
• Smarter Waste Management: A comprehensive waste program reduced landfill waste by 28% in 3 years and ensured even hard-to-recycle items like PPE and flexible plastics were recycled responsibly. In addition, they sold 10,000 lbs of “chocolate seconds” and increased their composting 45% in 3 years
• Reducing Commuting Footprint: Recognizing that employee travel adds up, they adopted a remote work model three days per week, cutting commuting emissions by 20%

“Start small, and grow your strategy day by day, year by year. As a small team, having trusted experts to lean on has made the journey easier. And seeing the impact it has on our customers and employees, as well as the positive impact on the planet, inspires us to keep raising the bar and prove that meaningful climate action doesn’t require being a big company.”

-Ruby Shrestha, VP of Scientific Affairs, Seattle Chocolate Company

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Reaching Carbon Neutrality

Despite these achievements, Seattle Chocolate saw that operational changes wouldn’t eliminate all emissions, especially as there were factors in their supply chain out of their control. Rather than wait, they knew they needed to take responsibility immediately.

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Since 2022, they have purchased carbon credits to offset 100% of their remaining emissions for a number of reasons:

• Brand Impact: Being “carbon neutral” was an important message that resonated with customers, particularly millennials and Gen Z
• Customer Expectations: Retail partners increasingly ask for sustainability disclosures in RFPs and questionnaires, making carbon neutrality a competitive advantage
• Employee Engagement: Sustainability is extremely important to their employees. In 2025, their entire staff participated in CNaught’s Earth Day campaign, #TinyClimateActs, logging 8,833 eco-friendly actions in just three weeks and winning first place, showing the company’s collective passion for the environment
• Protecting The Planet: Offsetting all remaining emissions supports a thriving future for chocolate and aligns with the company’s mission to do what’s right for the planet

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Why CNaught

Though initially navigating the carbon market was complex, Seattle Chocolate spoke to a number of experts to make sure their purchases were impactful, credible, and affordable. In 2024, they chose to switch to CNaught, achieving:

Key reasons included:

• Expertise: CNaught helped them understand the value of both avoidance and removal credits, and why a diversified portfolio of technology-based and nature-based projects reduces risk while maximizing climate impact
• Money Saved: 24% savings compared to prior providers
• Science-Aligned Approach: As a company rooted in science, from product innovation to food safety, they valued CNaught’s portfolios grounded in climate science.
• Simplicity & Vendor Streamlining: CNaught’s curated portfolio allowed them to access multiple high-quality projects through a single partner, streamlining procurement and saving numerous hours of diligence and project sourcing

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Since 2024, Seattle Chocolate has offset 5,400 tonnes to date and supported over 10 carbon projects around the world. That’s the equivalent of 89,256 new trees planted and 14,271 flights between LA and NYC avoided.

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Looking Ahead

Seattle Chocolate continues to refine its strategy each year. With clear short- and long-term goals, they have set SBTi-approved targets, including:

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• Reduce Scopes 1 & 2 emissions by 42% by 2030 (from 2022 baseline), a goal they exceeded with a 92% reduction by 2025, five years ahead of schedule
• Reach company-wide Net Zero emissions across Scopes 1, 2, and 3 by 2050

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They are exploring additional efficiency upgrades and deeper supply chain engagement while maintaining carbon neutrality through ongoing offsets. Just as important, they share their progress transparently with customers and involve employees in every step of the journey, building trust, pride, and momentum along the way.

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Ready to Take Action?

Learn more at www.cnaught.com or schedule time with our team to learn more about how we can help your brand meet its own climate goals.