Naturally sweet: Carbon neutrality goals set

The Margaret River Chocolate Company has unveiled a brand new look at its flagship factory as part of plans to have the whole company carbon neutral in just four years.

The facade of the 22-year-old building has now been clad with native hardwood timber from the region.

In addition to looking great, the rough-sawn Western Australian jarrah doubles the facade’s thermal resistance and insulating properties.

Its new thermally-efficient, natural exoskeleton is one of a suite of energy efficient innovations being unveiled by the company to make its flagship headquarters and entire operations carbon neutral by 2025.

The company’s Swan Valley factory already features a 100kw solar power installation on its expansive roof and the company continues to plant more than 1000 native Australian eucalyptus trees on its Wilyabrup property in the Margaret River region every year.

Other initiatives in the move towards carbon neutrality include two state-of-the-art solar powered Biomass water treatment plants that filter, purify and cleanse all of the company’s wastewater in the Swan Valley.

The result is crystal clear water that is reused on the gardens, while in Wilyabrup water is collected from the property in winter for use in summer and is transferred around the property using zero emissions power from a tracking solar array.

The Margaret River Chocolate Company has been creating handmade, award-winning chocolate products since 1999.