Belgian food companies are actively driving the green transition. Barry Callebaut proves it with a new wind turbine at its production site in Halle, just south of Brussels. Developed in collaboration with Luminus, a Belgian energy provider focused on renewables, the turbine will power the production process and cut the chocolate company’s annual CO₂ emissions by 1,200 tons.
Local green energy
With the installation of this wind turbine, Barry Callebaut is making tangible progress toward its climate goals. By investing in green technologies such as electric trucks and renewable energy, the company is committed not only to producing high-quality chocolate, but doing so as sustainably as possible.
Investments in renewable energy, improved energy efficiency and electrification show how Belgian food companies are actively contributing to the green transition and further reducing their CO₂ emissions.
Kristof Hubin, Global Energy & CO₂ Pathway Director at Barry Callebaut:
“With the wind turbine, we aim to realize our ambitions for renewable energy. Together with the existing solar panels, the turbine now provides nearly half of the energy consumption at our Halle site. And this is only the beginning — we continuously explore new ways to build a greener future. Together, we’re making sustainable chocolate the norm.”
A reduction of 1,200 tons of CO₂ per year
The wind turbine is located at the Stroppen industrial zone, along the Halle-Brussels railway and the Brussels-Charleroi canal. With a tip height of 180 meters and a rotor diameter of 126 meters, the turbine has a capacity of 3.6 megawatts and generates approximately 8,000 MWh of green electricity per year — the equivalent of the energy consumption of around 2,300 households. This results in an annual reduction of 1,200 tons of CO₂.
A shared commitment
The wind turbine was developed under Zo-Fier, a joint venture between Luminus and Zefier — a cooperative that focuses on renewable energy projects and whose name is a play on the Dutch word ‘fier’, meaning proud.
As a shareholder in Zefier, the City of Halle requested the cooperative invest 49% in the wind turbine located on Barry Callebaut’s premises. With this, the City aims to support renewable energy initiatives and move closer to climate neutrality. The project demonstrates that collaboration between companies, local authorities and energy partners is essential to making real climate progress