From a Chocolate Bar to a Tree – How We Create Transparency at The Change Chocolate

Eating a bar of chocolate and doing something good for the climate at the same time – that very idea gave rise to The Change Chocolate. Initiated by then 13-year-old Felix Finkbeiner and Plant-for-the-Planet, chocolate was never meant to be the goal, but rather a means of showing that even the smallest action – such as buying a bar of chocolate – can contribute to tackling the climate crisis.

After even an appeal to 350 CEOs of the international chocolate industry failed to gain support, it became clear: if the industry was not willing to take responsibility, we would do it ourselves. Together with partners such as Halba in production and Develey in merchandise planning and logistics, we created our own chocolate.

Today, 13 years later, this idea has grown into a project that continues to amaze us. Thanks to your support, we have already planted 11 million trees.

Five Bars, One Tree: How Our Planting Promise Works

Behind The Change Chocolate is a clear promise: for every five bars sold, we plant one tree. But what does that actually mean in practice? Quite simply, we use part of the revenue from five sold bars to purchase and plant a sapling. The remaining revenue goes to the foundation.

By September 2025, a total of 51,250,447 bars of The Change Chocolate had been sold. This has resulted in more than 11 million trees planted and 11,434,460 trees financed. To understand this calculation, we need to look back at previous years. Until the end of 2023, a different ratio applied to our organic milk chocolate: just three bars financed one tree. With this variety, more trees could be planted per bar sold. This is precisely why a flat five-to-one calculation does not work and explains why more trees were actually planted than one might initially assume.

Why Trees Are Not Planted Immediately

Another point that often raises questions is why a tree is not automatically planted as soon as five bars are sold. The answer is simple – and lies in nature itself. Trees cannot be planted at any time of year. In our project regions, there are fixed planting seasons that depend on the climate. In Mexico, this period runs from July to December.

We closely examine each planting year and plan how many bars of chocolate we expect to sell during that year. Based on this, we know how many trees we can plan for our projects in the same year. If it turns out that we sold more than expected, those trees are simply added to the following year. The more chocolate is sold, the more trees can be planted. In this way, the impact of The Change Chocolate is directly linked to your support.

Where Most of Our Trees Grow: Restoration in Volcano Valley

Most of the trees financed by The Change Chocolate grow in Volcano Valley in Mexico. The area is located in the State of Mexico. There, we work closely with Plant-for-the-Planet Mexico and PROBOSQUE, an organization of the Mexican Ministry of the Environment.

Mexico’s forests are under severe pressure. Deforestation, wildfires, and overgrazing have destroyed large areas. At the same time, soil quality in many places has deteriorated so much that forests can no longer regenerate on their own. Sustainable reforestation is often the only solution. We achieve this by planting degraded forest areas with native tree species. Our goal is to protect biodiversity, improve soil quality, and support local communities.

We regularly review developments on the planting sites. As recently as August 2025, our project manager for restoration and forest protection, Anna Gee, visited Volcano Valley to see the project firsthand. On site, she was able to follow the entire reforestation process – from the collection and analysis of seeds to raising seedlings in the nursery and finally planting them in the field.

Additional Reforestation Projects: Planting Trees in Northern Ghana

In addition to Mexico, we also plant trees in northern Ghana. There, we work closely with local communities, especially with women who play a central role in restoring degraded land. The project combines ecological restoration with sustainable income opportunities and empowers communities to take long-term responsibility for their environment.

Monitoring: Making Visible Where Exactly Trees Are Planted

We deliberately decided against using additional external monitoring, as this would be very costly. Instead, we rely on our colleagues on the ground, visit the planting sites regularly, and produce annual planting reports that document the entire process. Every euro we do not spend on additional control mechanisms can be invested in planting more trees as well as in our empowerment work with children and young people.

We also make our plantings digitally visible. To do this, we use TreeMapper and our platform. TreeMapper is an app that allows data to be collected directly in the field. On the platform, it is then possible to see exactly where trees were planted, how many there are, and which tree species were used.

Transparency for Every Single Bar of The Change Chocolate

For us, transparency does not end with large figures or project descriptions. Every bar of The Change Chocolate carries an individual code. This code makes it possible to trace which planting project was supported by the purchase.

In addition, we explain on the packaging of Die Gute Schokolade what is financed through the price. This calculation is based on our recommended retail price (RRP) – although pricing authority ultimately lies with the retailer. The cost breakdown for the classic milk chocolate (RRP €1.89), for example, looks like this:

• 39% for ingredients such as cocoa and sugar,
  
• 31% for retail, transport, and taxes,
  
• 13% for production,
  
• 17% for tree planting and other parts of our work, such as our consulting and research activities, our technical tools, our educational work, and additional forest protection and restoration projects.

Your Contribution to Climate Protection Matters

This is how an idea from 2011 has turned into something very tangible today – visible, verifiable, and transparent. And that is exactly what makes The Change Chocolate so special to us. Thanks to your support, we have already reached several milestones. For that, we would like to say THANK YOU and are delighted that you have accompanied us for so many years.

Would you also like to support other projects by Plant-for-the-Planet? You can find more information here.