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Section 7:
Use of Natural Resources
INGREDIENT PACKAGING
At our manufacturing facilities we are constantly working to purchase
our ingredients in the largest, most practical and safest-to-handle containers.
Larger containers cut down on the packaging/ingredient ratio and reduce
materials used.
For instance, cases may carry more of our incoming ingredient pounds,
but they proportionately contribute more to the packaging waste stream
than larger packages like totes and drums. The same goes for our ingredients
measured in gallons. One-gallon jugs carry far more of our ingredients
than other packages, yet their small size necessitates a large package
quantity and they contribute far more to packaging waste proportionately
than larger pails and drums.
Transitions in packaging have also presented more oppor- tunities for
packaging reuse and recycling. In 1999 we tested and implemented an initiative
developed by the Packaging Innovation Group (PIG), an interdepartmental
employee team formed in 1998 to spearhead efforts to reduce ingredient
packaging:
- The Packaging Innovation Group (PIG) implemented the use of bulk containers
for marshmallow and caramel, two heavily-used (and heavy-to-handle)
ingredients at our Waterbury facility. All of the necessary racks, piping
and pumps needed for this project were installed during 1999.
- Incoming yogurt now comes in specially-designed totes instead of conventional
5-gallon pails, a change which not only reduces the amount of incoming
packaging, but also greatly reduces the amount of manual handling of
ingredients by employees.
In addition to their solid waste reduction benefits, totes have been
welcomed by our production staff, who find them much easier to handle.
The company also factors environmentally-sound packaging into the supplier
selection process (see Section 6).
REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE
Reduction efforts at our plants are ongoing. Because we stress materials
reduction and reuse, our plants reduce the overall amount of material
recycled. The St. Albans plant earned almost $60,000 from its recycling
efforts by selling approximately 95% of all incoming ingredient boxes.
This revenue not only covered the plant’s entire solid waste cost, but
also made a profit. The Waterbury plant earned over $10,000 in recycling
revenue. This revenue was used for equipment purchases for ongoing recycling support and solid waste
cost. The Springfield plant earned approximately $6,000 from their recycling
efforts, and the Distribution Center earned approximately $2,000. Our
Springfield plant purchased and installed a new stretch-wrap machine,
which reduced their stretch-wrap usage by 66%.
Following are some of the items reused or recycled at the
five major Vermont sites, including Central Support and the Distribution
Center:
- Stretch-wrap/shrink-wrap, plastic bags
- Fiber drums, including the metal lids
- Plastic buckets and pails and ingredient containers
- Steel drums, metal lids and metal bands
- Corrugated boxes and totes
- All office paper, magazines and newspaper
- Bottles and cans
PRODUCT PACKAGING & PAPER USE
The environmental impact of our food packaging and the use of chlorine
in making paper are two issues in the forefront at Ben & Jerry’s. Significant
resources have been devoted to this area of our business.
PINT CONTAINERS
In early 1997 Ben & Jerry’s conducted a project with the environmental
consulting firm McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry on the environmental
aspects of our pint containers (the company purchases about 100 million
of these containers annually). On discovering that our current pint, the
industry standard, did not meet the necessary environmental sustainability
index this consulting firm had developed, we worked further with them
to identify designs and sources of paper, coatings, inks and adhesives
that would eventually allow our pint container to be environmentally sustainable
and compostable.
The industry standard paperboard that we have used for the pint is coated
with polyethylene (non-biodegradable) and whitened using the standard
chlorine bleaching process-a process which produces a family of hazardous
compounds, including dioxins, which are subsequently released into the
environment. According to the EPA, dioxins cause cancer and are suspected
to harm human reproductive systems.
In what has become known as the ECO-Pint project, Ben & Jerry’s invested
hundreds of hours of staff time in 1997 to analyze sources of chlorine-free
pint packaging, primarily an unbleached, brown paper known as kraft. In
1998, Ben & Jerry’s completed the first step in a long process with the
creation of a pint container made from kraft that is coated on one side
with a non-toxic printable clay for graphics. The release of this product
has not only been rewarding for company stakeholders and shareholders,
but also represents a major step forward in the company’s goal to develop
a compostable, non-toxic container. In 1999 over one third of all our
pint containers and lids were converted to the ECO-Pint.
NOVELTY BOXES
In 1998 the novelty line was re-introduced with the product inside a plastic
bag and then slipped inside a chlorine-free box. Although the packaging
change did not return us to the earlier volumes of waste packaging, we
did, however, increase the use of packaging materials by approximately
152,000 pounds annually.
HUMAN RESOURCES
Our Human Resources department is transitioning to a more “paperless
system” for streamlining the administration of HR documentation and
communications. Employees now have access tobenefits information,
enrollment forms, safety documentation, training manuals and similar
documents through the company intranet. Managers also have complete
access to those as well as secured access to various HR services via
the company network, reducing the need for printing/copying. Currently,
paperwork is sent via e-mail to site safety specialists.
GIFT WAREHOUSE
Our Gift Warehouse at Central Support is responsible for all Ben & Jerry’s
retail gifts (shirts, hats, etc.). The warehouse buys as little packaging
material as possible and reuses at least 90% of its boxes for outbound
shipping. The warehouse uses shredded paper or recycled newsprint for
packing materials, and also reuses the styrofoam popcorn and bubbles from
incoming shipments. In 1999 the gift warehouse eliminated the unnecessary
double printing of pick tickets, while eliminating other printing/paper-usage
by posting information and forms on the company intranet for access by
all employees.
SCOOP SHOPS
The company requires that the general design of Ben & Jerry’s scoop shops
include environmentally sound materials. Examples include: floor tile
made from recycled and waste glass, marble countertops made from recycled
quarry waste, linoleum (not wood) wainscoting, latex low emission paints,
and energy-efficient compact fluorescent lighting. With few exceptions,
this general design is freely followed by all company-owned scoop shops
and internationally franchised scoop shops. In addition, all cleaners
used in scoop shops are non-toxic and environmentally friendly.
ENERGY USE
Ben & Jerry’s does not have a formal written policy regarding energy conservation,
though we monitor use. Following are examples of the energy-saving designs
and practices that our sites have adopted:
- As Climate Wise signatories, all of the manufacturing plants had an
energy audit performed by the University of Maine Industrial Assessment
Center.
- Energy intensive practices (i.e. start-up of production, mix making,
battery charging for forklifts) are conducted during off-peak hours
in order to maintain a reasonable electricity demand on the local grid
and keep consumption down.
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