Ben & Jerrys : SEARS Reports

GOAL 1.

Use our Company to further the cause of Peace and Justice.

Fair Trade. We believe the Fair Trade movement is one of the best things to happen to capitalism in a long time! So we’ve made big plans to go fully Fair Trade for all of our global flavors by year-end 2013, a commitment we announced in early 2010. In the meantime, we added another flavor that uses some Fair Trade ingredients to our global line-up in 2009: Chocolate Macadamia.
Hubby Hubby. Ben & Jerry’s has long been a champion of full civil rights for everyone, regardless of gender, race, religion, capabilities or sexual orientation. In 2009, we lobbied legislators in our home state of Vermont to support a bill allowing same-sex marriage – and we were thrilled when the bill narrowly passed. We shared our excitement with the world by unveiling the flavor Hubby Hubby – actually a symbolic renaming of our iconic flavor, Chubby Hubby®, for one day. We took a scoop truck to the state capital to give away our new flavor – which got more media attention than anything else we did in 2009.










Peace Partnerships. We’re working with nonprofit organizations who are leading the way to create a more just and peaceful world, such as Peace One Day. In 2009, we gave them financial support to distribute curriculum materials that teach peace and conflict resolution in more than 4,000 New England schools. In the Netherlands, we continued our support for War Child, an organization that rehabilitates child soldiers in war-torn countries. We spread the word about their work at more than 30 of our Peace, Love, and Ice Cream festivals in the summertime, and also donated a portion of the proceeds from sales of our flavor Peace of Cake to this great organization.

Ben & Jerry’s Foundation. We continued our financial support of the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation, which offers small grants to nonprofit, grassroots organizations throughout the United States working for progressive social change. In 2009, Ben & Jerry’s contributed $2,001,550 to the Foundation, up 3 percent from 2008.
Scoop Shop Community Action. We also want to recognize the men and women who own and operate franchised Ben & Jerry’s scoop shops for the positive impact they are having on their local communities. In 2009, we estimate that our franchisees directly contributed more than $600,000 in time, ice cream, and sponsorships in support of community projects. At other events, such as Free Cone Day, Ben & Jerry’s franchisees leveraged even more support for valuable projects around the country through their efforts.



GOAL 2.

Harmonize Our Global Supply Chain and Ensure its Alignment with Our Values
Cage-free and free-range eggs. In 2009, we took a big step forward on cage-free egg sourcing. For the full year, we sourced 83 percent of the eggs used in our U.S. production from cage-free farms, up from 30 percent the previous year. We have been using eggs from free-range hens for all of our European production since 2004. Our goal is to use only Certified Humane cage-free eggs in the U.S. by year-end 2010.
Sustainable Packaging. We phased in Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified paperboard for our U.S. pint containers in 2009. The FSC certification means that the paperboard comes from forests that are managed for the protection of wildlife habitat, maintenance of biodiversity, avoidance of genetically modified tree species, and protection of traditional and civil rights, among other Rainforest Alliance criteria for healthy forests. In Europe, where FSC paperboard is scarce, we are still researching the best options to meet our sustainable packaging goals.
Climate Change. We continue to work to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions to respond to the challenge of climate change. In the United States, we completed a carbon inventory of our business and made further efficiency investments in our Vermont plants in 2009. And once again, we offset all of the emissions associated with our Vermont manufacturing facilities and employee air travel with the help of Vermont-based NativeEnergy, a nationally recognized provider of high quality carbon offsets. Our purchase of carbon offsets supports the development of new sources of renewable energy. In Europe, we have achieved ‘Climate Neutral’ status according to the standards of HIER, a consortium of forty NGOs. This means we’ve committed to a demanding multi-year carbon emissions reduction plan and the purchase of Gold Standard carbon offsets for all of our annual emissions.





GOAL 3:

Take the Lead Promoting Global Sustainable Dairy Practices
Caring Dairy™. In 2009, we continued to grow our Caring Dairy™ program with the goal of helping dairy farmers in Vermont and the Netherlands move towards more sustainable farming practices. We completed the pilot phase of the Vermont program in 2009 and will begin rolling it out to our primary dairy supplier, the St. Albans Cooperative, in 2010. In the Netherlands, the Caring Dairy™ program has been fully implemented with Ben & Jerry’s dairy supplier, CONO Cheesemakers. In 2009, 94 percent of CONO farmers participated, more than 450 total. We have also collected data that suggests the Caring Dairy™ program is actually helping many farmers improve their social, economic, and environmental performance, including reducing their climate impacts. Our long-term goal remains to engage all of our dairy suppliers around the world in sustainable dairy partnerships.
rBGH. We’re still working to oppose the use of rBGH, a genetically engineered hormone given to cows to increase their milk production. In 2009, we were active in a coalition of public interest groups in the United States allied against rBGH. Ben & Jerry’s lobbied against proposals in Kansas and Ohio intended to restrict rBGH labeling, using our Facebook page and old-fashioned communication with state officials. Our side won in Kansas, but the Ohio regulations are still being squabbled over in court.
Good Food Policy. To have some fun and draw attention to a serious issue, we pulled an April Fools’ Day prank in 2009 by launching Cyclone Dairy , a fake company marketing milk from cloned cows. On April 1, we admitted that Ben & Jerry’s was behind the faux company and transitioned the website into a call to action with our partners at The Center for Food Safety, asking Congress to develop a system to track cloned animals in the food supply. We intend to keep the pressure on for careful oversight and regulation of cloned and genetically engineered animals by continuing to talk with lawmakers, food safety experts, and the public via our website.