UK-based developer Allcot has been granted exclusive marketing rights to Italian chocolate and confectionary firm Ferrero’s Gold Standard carbon offset portfolio, Allcot said on Tuesday.

Ferrero’s Georgian subsidiary Agrigeorgia developed the company’s first voluntary carbon project in 2007 and was the first ever food afforestation project to be Gold Standard certified.

The project involves the planting of 2.5 million hazelnut trees over 3,600 hectares, which Ferrero said offers a replicable model of CSR best practice for the company and the wider industry in tackling food security, economic development and climate change.

Ferrero, one of the biggest chocolate producers in the world, has products including Nutella, Kinder, and, yes, Ferrero Rocher.

Ferrerro said the project has created 1,000 jobs, improvements in infrastructure including land mine clearance, refurbishment of local sporting facilities, rehabilitation of power lines and the construction of new roads and community buildings.

Purchasing director Arduino Borgogno said Ferrero was partnering with Allcot because of its “unique expertise in promoting high quality carbon projects and innovative approach”.

“The food sector is at the forefront of sustainability and we are engaging with it in new ways to deliver value for our clients,” said Grattan MacGiffin, Allcot’s Chief Commercial Officer.

By Ben Garside – ben@carbon-pulse.com