1999 CERES report

 

Section 4:

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 Matching 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 1994, a nine-member grant-making committee, consisting of employees representing Ben & Jerry’s five Vermont sites, has researched applications and made funding decisions subject to ratification by the Foundation Board of Trustees. About half of the company’s philanthropic dollars go to the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation to fund nonprofit grass-roots organizations across the United States. In 1999 the Foundation gave away a total of $283,950 in 45 grants. The average grant was approximately $6,310. The smallest grant was $1,000 and the largest grant was $10,000.


Examples of grants awarded in 1999:


  • Farm Labor Research Project - Solomon, NC ($5,000) FLRP works to empower migrant farm workers to organize for better wages and working conditions.

  • Prairie Rivers Network - Eugene, OR ($1,000) The Center offers low-cost organizing and technical assistance to citizens working on waterways and other environmental issues.

  • Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition - Huntington, WV ($10,000) OVEC has been taking the lead in organizing broad-based opposition to the practice of mountaintop removal (MTR) coal-mining.

  • Mothers On The Move - Bronx, NY ($10,000) MOM is a neighborhood organization founded in 1992 by a group of mothers concerned about failing public schools; the organization’s concerns have since extended to the areas of public safety, transportation and tenant-organizing.

  • Safer Pest Control Project - Chicago, IL ($8,000) SPCP promotes Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices using a variety of strategies: outreach, advocacy, technical assistance and development of model programs.

 

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. On average the Foundation receives over 400 Letters of Interest per cycle. Based on their initial letters, approximately 40 organizations are invited to submit a full proposal each cycle.


COMMUNITY ACTION TEAMS
Each company and administrative site in Vermont has an employee Community Action Team (CAT), which awards small local community service grants (under $1,000) and organizes community service projects. Following are the projects that the CATs embarked upon in 1999:


  • Springfield CAT members worked with senior citizens and individuals with disabilities; the team also provided grants to community health services, Shriner’s Children’s Hospital, and an area chapter of Vermont’s Council on Aging.

  • The Waterbury CAT completed several construction projects in the Central Vermont area, including a storm-damage repair project at a Boy Scout camp and an improvement project at a city playground. Grant recipients included the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the Town of Waterbury Public Library, along with several area churches and food shelves.

  • The St. Albans CAT held special Ben & Jerry’s truckload sales to benefit several area organizations & community fundraisers. In addition the team provided assistance to elderly residents around the county, helping with grounds maintenance & home-winterizing activities during Fall ’99.

  • The Central Support CAT worked with the Burlington Parks and Recreation Department to help clean up beaches, paint buildings and trim trees. Site volunteers also completed painting & grounds maintenance projects at area YMCA camps and at a municipal park’s skating rink.

  • The Distribution Center focused on working at elderly couples’ homes trimming trees, stacking wood and planting flowers. They also painted and insulated the homes, resealed windows and made other minor upgrades.

In 1999, the Ben & Jerry’s CATs also donated more than $159,000 to some of the following organizations’ projects:


  • Riverside School (Helio the Heron Solar Car Project)

  • Vermont Youth Conservation Corps (Conservation Projects)

  • Swanton Public Library (Summer Reading Program)

  • Samaritan House (Meals and Shelter for Homeless)

  • Friends of the Winooski River (Toxic Awareness Program)

  • Town of Berlin (Conservation Commission)

CORPORATE GIVING
Corporate giving supports various statewide nonprofit organizations such as Vermont Public Radio, socially responsible organizations such as Businesses for Social Responsibility, The Council on Economic Priorities, Vermont Business for Social Responsibility, and organizations working on issues of importance to the company, such as the Chlorine Free Products Association.


ICE CREAM!
In addition to financial grants, Ben & Jerry’s regularly donates free ice cream and related products to both local and nationwide public events, celebrations, meetings and fundraisers. Following are some of the environmental groups/events that enjoyed free Ben & Jerry’s products in 1999:


  • Vermont Fish & Wildlife

  • Ducks Unlimited

  • Vermont Youth Conservation Corps

  • Green Mountain Water Environment Association

  • The Nature Conservancy

  • Massachussetts Audubon Society

  • American Camping Association

  • Poudre River Foundation

 

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.


TOTES
For the past three years, Ben & Jerry’s has researched the use of totes as an alternative to our incoming ingredient packaging. With the introduction of the Packaging Innovation Group (PIG), we were able to work with vendors to get them to supply some of our ingredients in bulk containers rather than in traditional corrugated boxes or bags-in-a-box. The use of totes has resulted in reductions in packaging waste as well as reductions in ingredients waste.


PAPER
We continue to reduce our dependence on paper mills that use chlorine by switching to mills that use chlorine-free substitutes. All of the paper used in our copiers is Totally Chlorine Free (TCF), while all other paper purchased is processed chlorine free (recycled content and re-whitened without chlorine).


OPERATIONS
At our manufacturing plants, waste is carefully monitored to assure it does not overburden the local treatment systems. As an example, the company has eliminated the use of phosphorous-based cleaners, thereby eliminating the additional processing needs.


Additionally, the company is careful in selecting manure pits and compost facilities that are not close to waterways, and all composting facilities and dairy farms sign an agreement requiring them to follow accepted agricultural practices.


Emergency Response & Public Disclosure

All of Ben & Jerry’s sites have trained personnel and equipment capable of handling chemical emergencies. Following is a list of the steps we take to ensure employee, community and environmental safety:


  • Each site that handles potentially hazardous chemicals (St. Albans, Springfield, Waterbury, Distribution Center) is fully furnished with Level A Chemical protective suits, monitoring equipment, self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) units, and other hazardous material (HazMat) response equipment. Trained HazMat teams are comprised of maintenance staff, employees and volunteers from various departments, including all managers and supervisors.

  • Each site is required to submit to the State of Vermont a complete listing (including normal inventory amounts) of hazardous chemicals used on site. In addition, walk-throughs of each plant are conducted with outside emergency personnel to identify hazardous areas.

OUTSIDE PARTIES


  • Two sites have completed drills with outside rescue personnel. At some of our sites, our HazMat personnel are part of their local voluntary Emergency Response crews.

  • Ben & Jerry’s safety personnel continually attend seminars and conferences designed specifically for Emergency Response discussions. We continue to correspond with the University of Massachusetts Lowell Work Environment Laboratory and the New England Environmental Trainer’s Group, and have shared information contained in news-letters sponsored by the University.

  • Finally, Ben & Jerry’s safety staff are members of the Vermont Safety and Health Council.

COMMUNITY AWARENESS


  • All of Ben & Jerry’s Emergency Response plans have been updated to include Process Safety Management and Risk Management Planning. They are available for review by affected parties, including local emergency room personnel, town officials and homeowners.

  • Ben & Jerry’s works with local response crews to update emergency response training.

  • Ben & Jerry’s is happy to provide facility-specific information to the communities where plants are located.

  • Ben & Jerry’s reports to Tier II (Vermont’s Community Right To Know Program), which lists any and all Hazardous Materials/Chemicals that are used and/or stored on site.

 

Section 5:

Product Stewardship


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

Ben & Jerry’s also evaluates the life-cycle analysis of materials used and, if necessary, the company will seek more environmentally friendly alternatives.


An example of this area is the packaging project we initiated in 1997 with McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry of Charlottesville, VA. With their help, harmful materials and chemicals existing in the pint container were identified and research started on ways to design-out those components. In 1998, Ben & Jerry’s introduced the ECO-Pint, made from unbleached Kraft paperboard with a non-toxic printable clay coating. The company is in the process of transitioning to this new package. Ultimately, the company’s goal is to create and use an unbleached container that is 100% biodegradable. Ben & Jerry’s is currently researching how the unbleached paper may be used in other areas of the business.