1999 SEAR report

INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS

In 1999, we did not enter any new markets. We continued to work on strengthening our businesses in each of our existing markets. Our social mission activities, other than in the UK, were mainly in product donation and philanthropy.

In 1998 we launched the PartnerBus program with a renovated school bus for scooping. We operated the bus to benefit ChildLine, a national helpline for mentally and physically abused children. In 1999 the PartnerBus raised and donated about $32,000 to ChildLine as it traveled the country scooping ice cream and raising awareness of children’s issues. The bus is painted to promote ChildLine. We also donated about $24,000 worth of ice cream to a variety of other nonprofit organizations and made financial donations totaling around $43,200 to Centerpoint Homeless Charities, the Cystic Fibrosis Society and National Children’s Homes.

Our community focus in France continues to be with Unis-Cité, an organization that serves disadvantaged teenagers and young adults. We placed three of their young people in jobs in our scoop shops for the summer. Our total support of Unis-Cité amounted to about $39,000.

Our licensee in the Benelux, Sfeerbeheer, continues to focus its community activity on two nonprofits: Wolkenboom, which runs shelters for displaced children; and War Child, which works to help children affected by war. In 1999, Sfeerbeheer raised $13,500 for Wolkenboom and $2,250 for War Child.

Our licensee in Israel, the American Company for Ice Cream Manufacturing, continued its tradition of ice cream donations to children’s hospitals, orphanages, battered women’s shelters and environmental groups. They also sponsored a pint-for-a-pint blood drive, giving free pint coupons to all who donated blood. Total social mission expenditures amounted to about $20,000.

1999 also saw our first efforts toward bringing our licensee’s manufacturing plant into compliance with the CERES principles, an effort that will continue in 2000.

In Canada, we have licensed Delicious Alternative Desserts, LTD (DADs) to manufacture and distribute Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. In partnership with various retailers, DADs raised about $30,000 for a variety of children’s organizations. We are working with DADs to ensure the compliance of their manufacturing plant to the CERES principles.

Our licensee in Lebanon, Geadah Brothers, Inc., operates one scoop shop and distributes to supermarkets and grocery stores nationally. Geadah Brothers works with an organization called Arc en Ciel that supports the disabled. Our partnership with Arc en Ciel allows disabled artisans to sell their handicrafts in the Ben & Jerry’s scoop shop.

We have licensed a Peruvian company called Charles & Henry’s SAC to distribute Ben & Jerry’s in Peru and to operate Ben & Jerry’s scoop shops. Charles & Henry’s community focus is with Volunteers for Inter-American Development Assistance (VIDA), a charity for impoverished populations in Latin America. Our licensee supported VIDA with product and by underwriting costs of brochures and other materials that are also distributed through the scoop shop.

We have not undertaken any major community initiatives in Japan.