2000 CERES report

 

Section: 6

Environmental Performance



Ben & Jerry’s evaluates the environmental impacts of all production operations:



Electricity and Fuel Use
All electricity used in Ben & Jerry’s production facilities is purchased (vs. co-generation and self-generation). Our Waterbury plant uses fuel oil, Springfield uses fuel oil and liquid propane, and St. Albans uses natural gas. Ice cream manufacturing consumes a large amount of energy.

Over the years Ben & Jerry’s has incorporated various energy savings activities and equipment into plant operations, including:


  • installing variable speed drives

  • charging equipment during off-peak hours

  • installing energy efficient lighting

  • installing energy efficient dock doors


The Company has completed many energy audits over the past years and has incorporated many recommendations; however, the Company has no formal energy program.



The following information identifies our electricity and fuel use in manufacturing processes for all three plants:




Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) & Other Emissions
Ben & Jerry’s continuously investigates new ways to reduce and eliminate use of ozone-depleting substances (ODS), especially those used as coolants in freezer “dip-cases” at our scoop shops. The oldest dip-case models (10 years or older) contain R-502 or R-12 coolants; models 3-10 years old contain R-22 or R-124 coolants with lesser ozone-depleting qualities. All newer units contain R-134 or R-404 hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), coolants which are not considered ozone-depleters. Going forward, our expectation is that the thermoacoustic research project will successfully develop the technology so that it can be commercialized for use in our dip-cases, thus eliminating the use of ODS.


Except for the few old-model Vermont’s Finest trucks which have diesel cooling systems using freon R-502, most contain cold plate technology which is charged electrically, cutting down on diesel emissions. The cold plates also contain the newer freon, R-404A, which has less ozone-depleting qualities.


The company uses anhydrous ammonia and propylene glycol freezing systems in the manufacturing plants and the Distribution Center. These systems contain no CFCs or other ozone-depleting chemicals. The plants are also phasing in the use of propylene glycol in air conditioning systems. This process is complete at the St. Albans plant.


Our most significant source of emissions is from the fuels associated with the manufacturing and distribution of our product:


Emissions
In 2000 we began to measure CO2 emissions associated with ice cream production. On a company-wide basis, the manufacturing plants and the Distribution Center generated 4,800 tons of CO2. This number does not reflect emissions associated with transportation of product either between the plants, local or national distribution.


Distribution
Manufacturing in Vermont requires extensive shipping of our products to market. We have investigated alternatives in order to reduce the emissions of our Vermont’s Finest distribution truck-fleet, but have limited influence over out-of-state haulers. The company experimented with cross-country shipping by train, a more environmentally friendly and less expensive alternative, but the transporters could not resolve serious temperature fluctuations in the railcars, which resulted in damage to our frozen products. We utilize rail transport for shipments to Japan, primarily rail-routes between Montreal and Vancouver. Consistently the distribution staff have concluded that diesel is the most sensible fuel for Vermont’s Finest trucks at this time. Electric or propane motors provide insufficient power to pull loaded trucks over Vermont’s hills and mountains. There are no commercial refueling stations for propane or natural gas in the state that would accommodate our distribution network. The following table details the emissions of our Vermont’s Finest trucks (light-duty diesel) and our heavy-duty diesel tractor-trailers that shuttle between the Distribution Center and our other Vermont sites:





HAZARDOUS WASTE
Hazardous Waste Generation
Given the small amount of hazardous material the company generates, Ben & Jerry’s is considered a Conditionally Exempt Small Quantity Generator (CESQG). This means that we do not generate greater than 220 lbs of hazardous waste or 2.2 lbs of acutely hazardous waste on a monthly basis. The hazardous waste generated at Ben & Jerry’s facilities consists almost entirely of waste oil and water from maintaining boilers and compressors. The State of Vermont regulates waste oil as a hazardous waste unless it is recycled. Overall we continue to look for product substitutions that will ultimately eliminate any hazardous waste. Specific areas targeted are parts washers and video jet printers (used for printing codes on containers). The MEK is from the video jet printers, and waste solvent is from the parts washers. Non-solvent parts washers have been evaluated and are to be introduced in 2001. Following is a table of the hazardous waste produced along with waste oil amounts recycled:





Policies
Following are some of Ben & Jerry’s hazardous waste policies:

  • Any hazardous waste that is generated and cannot be recycled must be incinerated at a hazardous waste incinerator. Clean Harbors of Braintree, MA is our certified hauler that ensures that all our hazardous waste is managed properly. A certificate of destruction is obtained from every shipment.

  • As was begun in 1997, all our waste oils that are not contaminated by hazardous waste are re-refined (recycled) by a certified handler. We manage our waste oil through Safety-Kleen of Chicago.

  • In our Contractor’s Handbook we outline in detail the protocol for hazardous spills at our sites. All spills must be immediately reported to the Project Manager and the Environmental Coordinator.

Solid Waste
Ben & Jerry’s has consistently established annual solid waste reduction goals. In 2000 the manufacturing sites began establishing their own specific goals.





Recycling
Ben & Jerry’s has recycled approximately 50% of its solid waste stream over the past three years. In 2000, half of Ben & Jerry’s solid waste stream was diverted from the landfill or incinerator. In addition, the company’s recycling efforts earned approximately $50,000. In 2000 the Company reduced the amount of overall waste, indicating source reduction. This was likely through the implementation of the bulk handling system for caramel and marshmallow. The following chart shows the breakdown for waste diversion for 1998 through 2000:





Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
While waste recycling is a key goal, our ultimate objective is to design out waste at the source. Having identified incoming ingredient packaging as a primary source of both solid waste and recycled waste, we’re finding innovative ways to reuse the packaging, rather than simply relying on recycling solutions (while better than landfilled waste, recycled waste, by definition, is still waste). The following are examples of reuse initiatives as well as recycling efforts:


  • Manufacturing sites sell clean corrugated boxes for reuse by the garment industry and the produce industry.

  • Stretch wrap is baled and sold.

  • "Factory seconds” products (our designation for products not meeting 1st-quality specs due to such things as over- or under-filling, too many/too few add-ins, etc.) are stored in freezers designated for employee-use at each site (employees are entitled to take home 3 pints per day); factory seconds may also be donated for charitable events.

  • Packaged product determined to be unusable/unfit for consumption is incinerated at a co-generation facility in Massachusetts. 1160 tons of product were incinerated at the facility in 2000.

  • Plastic buckets and jugs are recycled through a non-profit organization in St. Albans, Vermont (Vermont Republic Industries) that hires mentally and physically challenged individuals.

  • Some 55-gallon drums are returned to the supplier; others are recycled; and some go in the dumpster, due to ergonomic issues involved in removing metal drum-rings.

Revenues from the company’s recycling program pays for solid waste disposal; and at one facility, part of the revenue generated from reusing boxes helped fund a tree-planting project.


Incoming Ingredients Packaging
The company has realized the multiple benefits of utilizing the largest practical packaging sizes for incoming ingredients.


During 2000, we put a new bulk-handling system to the test, and began receiving our highest volume ingredients - caramel and marshmallow - in returnable bulk “totes” packaging. Preliminary results from testing the system on these two ingredients alone had a solid waste reduction of approximately 25 tons. With the project still in its infancy, such results help us illustrate our key environmental motto: “we buy the berries, cherries and nuts - not the containers they come in” .


Other source reduction activities:

  • Some computers are donated to a local organization that provides job skill training programs.

  • Human Resources Forms are available on-line.

  • Summaries of all benefits are on-line.

  • Class descriptions are on-line with sign-up and approval.

  • Scratch pads made from copy room waste.

  • Warehouse operations reuse incoming boxes and packaging.

  • Reports are circulated on-line.

  • Continuous efforts to reduce junk mail.

  • Collected soda cans are donated to a local non-profit childcare center.

  • Excess office supplies, obsolete posters are donated to a local organization which sells them to teachers or others at their local store.

Product Waste/High Strength Dairy Waste
There is always product waste associated with the company’s manufacturing processes. This waste contains sugar, cream, eggs, flavorings and add-in ingredients, all mixed with water. Waste product occurs in a variety of ways:


  • Through the cleaning process associated with flavor changes on production lines.

  • At the start/stop of production runs.

  • When formulation errors occur.

  • When there is production rejection.

  • From spillage on factory floor.

  • As a result of testing new flavors or equipment.

This particular product waste, otherwise known as High Strength Dairy Waste (HSDW), represents one of the company’s greatest environmental impacts. Ice cream contains all those ingredients with higher amounts of sugar and fat, which, without proper management at a wastewater treatment facility, can impact aquatic environments. All three manufacturing sites discharge to a municipal pretreatment system, and each site maintains regulatory permits for this activity. The Waterbury Plant has a pre-treatment system through which production wastewater is treated prior to discharge to the municipal system. This plant pretreats due to the extremely low regulatory levels agreed upon when it first began operations in 1988. Each manufacturing plant works hard to keep the ingredients flowing into the production system and not into the waste system. Product that does get wasted is managed through various options:


  • Shipping it to a permitted composting facility to be turned into fertilizer for landscaping, farms and home gardens.

  • Storing it in permitted manure pits for use as fertilizer.

  • Giving it to farmers as animal feed.



 

Reduction Goals
Reduction goals for 2000 were established by the plants’ managers and leadership teams. Two of the plants, Waterbury and St. Albans, chose a specific numeric reduction value vs. a reduction percentage. The Springfield plant chose to maintain a goal of 10% reduction. Waterbury and St. Albans were successful in reaching their goals. While it appears that Waterbury was slightly off their annual goal, the entire year showed a steady decline. Shutting production for the holidays impacts production based values and can skew results. Springfield continues to work on reducing their waste but the product line they run and the associated equipment can impact the waste stream.


While there were no specific water reduction goals set for our manufacturing facilities during 2000, Ben & Jerry’s understands the need for water conservation. Water reduction teams worked on site specific projects to reduce water use. Though changes made were relatively minor, they nevertheless contributed to overall water reduction:


  • Pump modification that will reduce water use by approximately 300,000 gal/yr.

  • Timers on belt washers.

  • Improved employee education.

  • Modified ingredient preparation tables to capture waste to compost (vs. release to the drain) thereby eliminating excessive washing.

  • Changed handwashing systems to reduce waste volumes.




Each year Ben & Jerry’s hosts a One World One Heart Festival at Sugarbush, Vermont. This free, music-based event draws a large crowd. As a result, there is the potential for substantial trash generation. Over the last seven years, composting has been added to our recycling stations to divert as much of this waste as possible from landfills. Not only has this been important in reducing the environmental impacts, but the process also provides an educational opportunity for festival-goers. Approximately 2/3 of the Festival’s total waste stream is diverted from the landfill. Greater than 1/3 is composted, which is equivalent to approximately 1 ton of waste.


Composting is available at the Central Support offices for the site’s employee lunchroom as well as for the Research & Development Department’s Flavor Lab. The compost is diverted to the Intervale Compost Project, located in Burlington, Vermont. The Intervale Compost Project collects and composts food waste from local hospitals, grocery stores, and restaurants. The finished compost is sold commercially and is also used by many local organic farmers. Additional composting sites utilized include those run by the Vermont Compost Company in Montpelier, Hartland and Vershire, Vermont.


COMPLIANCE

  • In 1998 there were no compliance issues, occurrences or penalties.

  • In 1999 there were no compliance issues, occurrences or penalties.

  • In 2000 there were no compliance issues, occurrences or penalties.


Ben & Jerry’s has never been issued any penalties from Federal Regulators. Ben & Jerry’s considers all releases to the environment to be significant, whether they are chemical, oil or any of our ingredients. All releases are reported to the site Environmental Coordinator and the Manager of Natural Resources Use.


SOCIAL PERFORMANCE
WORKPLACE HEALTH & SAFETY PROGRAMS
Ben & Jerry’s has continued to be proactive in improving our safety record through safety-related capital improvements, safety education and awareness programs, and behavior-based safety processes. No safety regulatory actions were brought against the Company in 2000. The Distribution Center had a Vermont OSHA inspection which concluded with no citations.


  • In 2000 we continued to make improvements in our safety record which were reflected in some of our safety statistics, but we continued to be below industry standards. The number of Lost Time Cases was reduced by 15% and the number of Lost Time Days was reduced by 12.5% in 2000 over 1999, indicating that the number of serious injuries and the severity of the injuries had been significantly reduced.

  • The company’s overall Injury Incident Rate remains higher than industry averages for the ice cream manufacturing and frozen dessert industry.

  • There was a strong focus on safety training in 2000. Professional lesson plans were developed by the company’s safety team and 10,500 hours of safety training was conducted company-wide in areas such as: Ergonomics, Manual Material Handling, Slip, Trips and Falls.

  • No safety related regulatory actions were brought against the company in 2000.

  • The Company does not track subcontractor health and safety records unless an injury occurred at one of our sites.



MEASURES OF SAFETY
INJURY SEVERITY
Ben & Jerry’s uses an insurance factor called the Experience Modification Rate to measure the severity of injuries sustained within the company. This rate is generated by comparing the company’s workers’ compensation losses to similar industries throughout the United States. If a company is on par with others in its industry group, the EMR is 1.0. In 2000 Ben & Jerry’s reported an EMR of 1.08, just above the industry average.


EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATION
Employee communication regarding safety is achieved through several methods:

  • Safety meetings are held monthly at each site.
  • Safety issues are discussed and resolution activities are scheduled.

  • All workers are supplied with and have access to MSDS sheets and other hazardous chemical information at any time at Ben & Jerry’s.

  • Each site has a safety bulletin board which displays facility inspection results, safety committee meeting minutes, and other items designed to improve safety awareness.

  • Safety report is part of the company’s annual Social Performance Report.

  • Ben & Jerry’s has focused on safety program development and engineering controls for identified hazards.

  • Behavioral Based Safety has been implemented at the Distribution Center.



EXAMPLES OF SITE ACHIEVEMENTS

  • Job hazard analysis completed

  • Automated specific manufacturing systems, such as chocolate mix making to eliminate manual labor

  • Purchased ergonomic lift truck

  • Purchased barrel movers

  • Strengthened health and safety site committees

  • Initiated home safety catalogue program


WORKPLACE
Positions Filled Internally vs. Externally In 2000, 51% of open positions (outside of the Office of the Chief Executive Officer) were filled internally, compared to 58% in 1999 and 54% in 1998.


 


Gender Balance
1998-2000
Gender equity in pay remained constant from 1999. In the categories of professionals and middle managers, we essentially have pay parity between men and women.


In 2000, 56% of our workforce was male and 44% female, as compared to 57% male and 43% female in 1999 and 1998.


Top-to-Bottom Compensation Ratio
In 2000, the top-to-bottom compensation ratio, not including stock options awarded and cashed out as a result of the acquisition, was 17-1.




Livable Wage
In 1998, the then-Board of Directors approved a Livable Wage Policy for the company. They defined a livable wage as a starting wage for a single person that will sustain a quality of life that includes expenditures for housing, utilities, out-of-pocket health care, transportation, nutrition, recreation, savings, taxes and miscellaneous expenses. Based on an analysis of such costs in Vermont, they determined a livable wage to be $9.40 per hour or $19,552 annually for 1999/2000. Any employee whose regular weekly earnings did not equate to $9.40 an hour was eligible for a supplemental check for the difference (the $9.40 calculation is based on salary only and does not include the value of benefits). In 2000 this resulted in adjustments for 12 employees.


In 2000, with the sale of the company at $43.60 per share, employees realized gains on stock option grants made in 1994 and 1999. The 1994 options awarded to all staff were issued at $16.75 ($26.85 gain) and the 1999 limited awards were issued at $23.63 ($19.97 gain). In 2000 18% of the workforce or 131 employees also participated in the Employee Stock Purchase Program.


Work Life Survey
Since 1990 we have administered a biennial Work Life Survey. In 1998 we completed a partial survey. A comprehensive survey was scheduled for 2000, but with the acquisition it was not undertaken. A survey is intended in 2002.


External Survey(s)
In 1999 Ben & Jerry’s was included in the Wall Street Journal’s Best Corporate Reputations in America (September 23, 1999). The “Reputation Quotient (RQ)” was used as a standardized instrument that measures a company’s reputation. The result of this ranking included Ben & Jerry’s in the top 5 of each category evaluated. In 2000, when the survey was repeated, Ben & Jerry’s slipped to #30 on the reputation scale. As reported in the Wall Street Journal this was due to the Company’s new owner.



COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION & ACCOUNTABILITY
COMMUNITY-BASED ACTIVITIES
Ben & Jerry’s uses social action and awareness to promote child and family issues, environmentalism, small-scale agriculture, human rights and economic justice. We also support organizations that act on these issues. Since going public in 1985, Ben & Jerry’s has donated 7.5% of its yearly pre-tax profits. Since 1994, these monies have been administered through an employee-led philanthropy system which funds grants through four channels:


  • The Ben & Jerry’s Foundation

  • Community Action Teams (CATs), one at each of our five Vermont sites

  • Corporate Giving

  • Employee Match Gift Program

THE FOUNDATION
The mission of the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation is to support and contribute to progressive social change in the United States. By progressive social change we mean efforts to change the underlying conditions that create social problems such as racism, sexism, economic disparity, and environmental destruction.


Since 1988 we have donated 7.5% of our pre-tax profits to philanthropy. In 2000 this amounted to $1,285,630, which will be granted in 2001 ($175,000 to international and $1,110,639 to domestic). Philanthropy is employee-led through the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation and Community Action Teams (CATS) at each site. CAT members and Foundation representatives are chosen by their peers. Since 1994 a nine-member Foundation grantmaking committee, composed of employees representing each site, has reviewed the applications and made funding decisions subject to approval or ratification by the Foundation’s trustees. CAT teams are comprised of five to nine employees, depending on the size of their site.


About half of our philanthropic dollars went to the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation. Its mission is to support progressive social change in the United States by contributing to grassroots groups that focus on the underlying conditions that create social problems such as racism, sexism, poverty and environmental destruction. The Foundation gave grants ranging from $1,000 to $15,000. Examples of the grants made in 2000:


$10,000 - Center for Popular Economics, Amherst, MA - This organization’s mission is to teach economic literacy to activists and educators who are organizing for progressive social change. Funding was used to revise curriculum.


$15,000 - Congregations United for Neighborhood Action (CUNA), Allentown, PA - This faith-based community organizing group promotes positive change in neighborhoods that suffer from drugs, violence, poverty and racism. Local Organizing Committees (LOCs) are started by individual congregations who have signed on together to encourage their congregations to organize in their own neighborhoods. Funding will help them establish 5 LOCs over the next year and 15 over the next three years.


$10,000 - Love Makes a Family, Inc (gay & lesbian education), Portland, OR - This national organization is a resource for sexual minority families. They provide organizing tools, information and networking capacity to a grassroots membership base, encouraging members to design and carry out action projects and public education in there own communities. Their focus is on two primary areas: family rights and schools. Funding was provided for Project Link, which combines the parent organizing work in elementary schools they have done during the last seven years and the work they have done with young people in high school.


$15,000 - Farmworker Association of Florida (pesticide reduction, Latino farmworkers), Apopka, FL - Florida’s tomato industry, which produces over a third of the fresh market tomatoes in the U.S., is the largest user of methyl bromide nationwide. FWAF’s role in the project will be to target Hispanic and Haitian farmworkers to take actions to educate and protect themselves, their families and their communities and to work for statewide reforms by advocating for reporting, monitoring, buffer zone and safe alternatives.


Applying for a Foundation grant involves a two-step process: applicants must first submit a Letter of Interest to be reviewed by the Foundation Director and at least one committee member; after review, selected applicants are then invited to submit full proposals. The complete list of Foundation grants, along with detailed information about the application process, can be found on our website at www.benjerry.com.


COMMUNITY ACTION TEAMS
Each of our five sites has a Community Action Team (CAT). These teams make small grants to local community organizations. The CATs also organize an annual community project for their site. Each employee has eight hours allocated to a community project. This year these projects included renovating the homes of low-income elderly people, building a playground and restoring a riverbank. CAT grants are in the $200 to $1,000 range and support school and after-school programs, community recreational programs, arts groups, local conservation projects, etc.


In 2000 the CATeams provided grant money totaling $46,171.59. In addition to community site projects, donations were made to:


  • Ascutney Mountain Audubon Society ($750)

  • Kids Watch ($250)

  • Northwest Vermont Rail Trail Council ($500)

  • Vermont Natural Resource Council ($1,000)

  • Vermont Youth Conservation Corp

    • Site projects included:
  • Maintenance and general clean up of a 4-H camp in Derby, Vermont

  • Riverbank Restoration Project at the Ethan Allen Homestead

  • Construction

CORPORATE GIVING
Corporate Giving supports various statewide nonprofit organizations. These include socially responsible organizations such as Business for Social Responsibility (www.bsr.org), The Council on Economic Priorities (www.cepnyc.org) and Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility (www.vbsr.org.); organizations like Vermont Public Radio, Vermont Public Television and The Vermont Land Trust; and organizations like Vermont Public Interest Research Group (www.vpirg.org) which works on a range of progressive policy issues.


MATCHING GIFT PROGRAM
The Matching Gift Program was designed to encourage and support our employees’ personal generosity. Employees make donations to nonprofits of their choice and the company matches dollar-for-dollar up to $1,000 per employee annually. Roughly 14% of employees participated in this program.


PRODUCT DONATION
Donations of first quality product in 2000 amounted to $14,400. In Vermont we gave away 7,444 gallons of second quality product in support of a wide range of nonprofits and community activities. Examples of organizations receiving product include:

  • American Cancer Society

  • American Red Cross

  • Americorp/Enterprise Foundation

  • Buffalo Field Campaign

  • Center for Early Living

  • Center on Violence Protection

  • City Year-Seattle

  • Various Schools

  • NE Sustainable Energy Association

TOUR REVENUE
Our Waterbury Plant tour is one of the leading tourist attractions in the state. We designate a part of the $2.00 charge to support a nonprofit organization in Vermont for a period of at least two years. In 2000, as in 1999, we provided the Child Care Fund of Vermont with $25,000 for its important work in expanding the availability of day care in Vermont.



ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
Ben & Jerry’s expresses its support for environmental justice primarily through philanthropy and product donation. In addition, we try to operate our business in an environmentally responsible manner by purposely integrating environmental concerns into the company’s business planning & operations.


Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH)
We continued to maintain our practice of purchasing milk and cream only from farms that have pledged not to use rBGH, a genetically engineered growth hormone which is injected into cows to increase their milk production. Since our successful legal action in the State of Illinois in 1997 with regard to labeling, we continue to print the following statement on our pint containers:


"We oppose recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone. The family farmers who supply our milk and cream pledge not to treat their cows with rBGH. The FDA has said no significant difference has been shown and no test can now distinguish between milk from rBGH treated and untreated cows."


In those instances where we cannot certify that a dairy-based ingredient is rBGH-free, we add the following sentence to the above statement:


"Not all the suppliers of our other ingredients can promise that the milk they use comes from untreated cows."


Dioxin
In 2000, quite a bit of media attention focused on a press release from Junk Science, a Washington-based group that is averse to most environmental regulation. Junk Science targeted our vanilla ice cream for dioxin testing. Dioxin is an atmospheric problem that makes its way into the food supply, including dairy products, as cows graze. In making the transition to our Eco-Pint, we produced a pamphlet and posted information on our web site explaining that the pint’s new look - brown on the inside - was due to our switch to packaging made with unbleached paperboard. Junk Science criticized us for not talking about the presence of dioxins in our products at the same time. The criticism was picked up by John Stossel for his “Give Me A Break” segment of ABC’s 20/20 program. In that interview and in our response to Junk Science, we noted that there was nothing we could do at the manufacturing level about the presence of dioxins in the food supply. The only action we could take to impact this global problem was the one we took: converting our packaging to unbleached paperboard.


In 2000 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a report concluding that some forms of dioxin are human carcinogens. The report noted, however, that the level of dioxins in the environment was declining and that any risk for humans was over a lifetime of exposure. The EPA’s report is available online at www.epa.gov.


Social Justice/Company Activism
The single most prominent and most controversial issue in the 2000 session of the Vermont legislature, indeed in recent history in Vermont, was the enactment of a “Civil Union” law. This law provided same sex couples the same rights and protections of married couples following the Vermont Supreme Court‘s decision in Baker vs. Vermont. Recognizing that the voice of business was silent in what we considered to be an important matter of basic human rights for lesbian and gay citizens, we designed, organized and paid for a full-page ad in the state‘s leading newspaper to appear the morning of the vote. The ad was signed with the logos of 50 Vermont companies, many of which, like us, have a brand image tied to the state.


Marketing and Sales Programs

  • E-town & Ben & Jerry’s sponsored E-town, a nationally-broadcast radio variety show that incorporates both music and grassroots action. E-town is taped in front of a live audience. At selected shows, Ben & Jerry‘s sampled ice cream and set up an Action Station, encouraging attendees to write postcards to officials urging action on a variety of issues including using rBGH-free dairy in schools, urging controlled growth in the Boulder area and encouraging proliferation of light rail/alternative transportation methods.

  • Tom Joyner Foundation & We developed flavors for release in 2001 to benefit the Tom Joyner Foundation, which funds scholarships at Historically Black Colleges & Universities. The flavors were developed by asking Tom Joyner‘s listeners (the Tom Joyner Morning Show is a nationally-syndicated radio show) to submit flavor suggestions. Additionally, we sponsored the Tom Joyner Foundation Fantastic Voyage, a weeklong cruise and fundraiser for the Foundation.

  • Scoop Trucks - The Company operates eight scoop trucks in key U.S. markets; in 2000 they hit the road to support local community initiatives, scooping at over 100 events, each with a social mission focus. These included the AIDS Walk in San Francisco, where we provided ice cream for 15,000 people; the Best of LA fundraiser for Meals on Wheels; the Hopes and Heroes Fundraiser in New York supporting children with cancer; and the POW-MIA road race in Boston. In total, the scoop trucks raised about $32,000 for nonprofits.

  • Sponsorships - Roughly half of our sponsorship dollars in 2000, or $100,000, funded social mission-related sponsorships. These included EcoExpo in New York City, Live at the Weingart Center in LA in support of homeless people, the Big Apple Circus, the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, and the Jimmy Fund for children with cancer.


  • OWOH Festival - This was the tenth year of the Company‘s free outdoor festival at Sugarbush Resort in Warren, Vermont. Our citizen action tables generated 15,000 postcards to Congress on the issue of dioxin in the environment.

  • Scooperbowl - This was the twelfth year of our involvement in this event to benefit Boston‘s Dana Farber Cancer Institute. Along with regional ice cream companies, we donated and scooped product for three and a half days in June. The $5.00 entrance fee entitled attendees to all the ice cream they could eat; all monies raised went to the Cancer Institute.

  • Intervale Festival - This was the second year we sponsored the Intervale Festival, a festival of environmental education and activism produced by Gardener’s Supply and the Intervale in Burlington, Vermont.


ROYALTIES
The Company produces three flavors, each of which, through specific licensing agreements, generates funds for non-profits:


Phish Food® ice cream produced royalties for the Waterwheel Foundation (http://www.phish.com/waterwheel), established in 1998 by the Vermont-based band, Phish. The Foundation supports “the protection and preservation of the Lake Champlain region of Vermont.” Royalties donated in 2000 totaled $249,457 compared to $244,918 in 1999.


Doonesberry® Sorbet produced royalties totaling $20,236, compared to $14,176 in 1999, for the Pauley Trudeau Foundation, which supports education, AIDS treatment and prevention, reducing poverty, human rights and other progressive causes. Wavy Gravytm ice cream produced royalties totaling $15,032, compared to $20,614 in 1999, for Camp Win-A-Rainbow, founded by Wavy Gravy to offer summer camp experiences to low income children.


(Totals are impacted by sales rates)