2000 CERES report

Section: 2

Executive summary and Key Indicators

The new millennium brought major change to Ben & Jerry’s. After twenty-five years of independent operation, the Company was acquired in 2000 by Unilever, the Anglo-Dutch multinational consumer products firm.

What we discovered was that major change, however inevitable, can nevertheless be negotiated so that it’s not all that bad; in fact, it can actually enhance our ability to do good. What we negotiated was an unprecedented merger agreement that preserves both the personality and the values that have made Ben & Jerry’s what it is today.

As a wholly-owned subsidiary of Unilever, Ben & Jerry’s retains its uniqueness as well as a unique measure of independence - in part through a new advisory board of former Ben & Jerry directors committed to the Company’s definition of business success as measured by all 3 parts of its Mission - and in particular through the efforts of Ben & Jerry’s employees whose commitment to the social mission is immeasurable.

During 2000 - despite the distractions resulting from ongoing deliberations over the company’s future - managers and employees remained committed to Ben & Jerry’s 3-part Mission, and continued to pursue previously established social mission goals throughout the year. And although the results of our financial performance are no longer ours to share, the results of our social performance are uniquely ours to report.

Since 1988, Ben & Jerry’s has annually conducted and published the results of an independently audited assessment of the Company’s social performance in all areas of the business. The Ben & Jerry’s Social Performance Report evaluates progress toward goals reflecting our commitment to social and environmental issues via key indicators established by business function:

As Ben & Jerry’s moves forward with Unilever, we’ll continue to measure success by how well we’ve integrated values-led objectives into our strategic plans and daily business operations, and we hope our efforts to effect positive change may even expand to influence decision-making on national and global levels.