Ben & Jerry’s Homemade is a Vermont corporation which manufactures and markets super premium ice cream, low fat ice cream, low fat and no-fat frozen yogurt, ice cream novelties and sorbet. Our ice cream, frozen yogurt, and sorbet products are produced in pints, and 2 1/2 gallon tubs. Ben & Jerry’s products are distributed nationwide and in selected international markets in supermarkets, grocery stores, convenience stores, scoop shops, restaurants and other venues.

Ben & Jerry’s franchises scoop shops in both the U.S. and Canada. The company also has wholly-owned operations in France, Japan and the United Kingdom, and licensees in the Benelux countries, Israel, Canada, Peru and Lebanon. In 2000, Ben & Jerry’s employed 786 people worldwide.

This 2000 CERES Report provides information and analysis primarily relating to the Company’s Vermont manufacturing, central, and distribution facilities during the years 1998 through 2000. For data from previous years, our ’99 CERES Report is available online at www.benjerry.com.

The key contact within Ben & Jerry’s concerning environmental issues is the Manager of Natural Resources Use, Andrea Asch (address provided at the end of this report). Additionally there are Environmental Coordinators at each manufacturing and distribution site who work under the guidance of the Manager of Natural Resources Use and the site engineers. Environmental concerns are also attended to by the Director of Social Mission Development, who is a member of the Office of the Chief Executive Officer (the “OCEO”).

• The Waterbury plant (built in 1985) employed approximately 137 people in 2000, including seasonal employees (primarily for Factory Tours/Hospitality operations). This facility produces all pint flavors, while also specializing in flavors with variegates and swirls. This facility is also one of Vermont’s largest tourist attractions, with factory tours and retail shop operations.
• The Springfield plant (built in 1988) employed approximate-ly 82 people in 2000, including temporary employees. This is our most flexible facility, capable of producing all of our products, which include novelties, bulk tubs, pints and quarts.
• The St. Albans plant (built in 1995) employed approximately 166 full-time and part-time personnel in 2000. This facili-ty primarily produces high volume pint flavors as well as flavors which lend themselves to the highest line speeds. In 1999, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) became the authorized collective bargaining unit for 19 St. Albans maintenance staff employees. The company and the union negotiated a contract to take effect November 10, 1999, and to expire on October 31, 2001. The company’s goal in negotiating the union contract was to maintain equality of working conditions and benefits throughout the company; the negotiated contract is essentially modeled after the Ben & Jerry’s employee handbook. At the beginning of 2000 there were 16 employees in the IBEW union. One member resigned from the company and two others were voted out by union members during 1999. No additional employees have sought membership. During the year there was one verbal grievance; it was resolved within two days.
• St. Albans is also home to the St. Albans Cooperative Creamery, a cooperative of about 570 family farms from whom we purchase all of our milk and cream. In 2000 the Company paid the Co-op a premium of $480,000 to provide milk they have pledged comes from cows that have not been treated with rBGH, a genetically engineered growth hormone used to increase milk production.
• We have a manufacturing plant under license in Yavne, Israel, which began operations in 1988. As with all Ben & Jerry’s plants, products are manufactured using locally-sourced, rBGH-free dairy ingredients. This plant has the capability to produce ice cream in 10-liter bulks, 100 and 500 ml containers, and ice cream cones.
• Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada is the location of a plant that began operating under our license in 1998. All dairy products used in manufacturing are rBGH-free and come from local sources, except for some special recipe items which are purchased from Ben & Jerry’s in Vermont. This facility produces ice cream in 500-ml containers. The product is distributed only in Canada.

DISTRIBUTION

The Company does not own the vehicles that distribute outside the State.

INTERNATIONAL

Since 1997, Ben & Jerry’s has been marketing ice cream in Japan. Ice cream products are trucked to Canada from Vermont, transported to the Pacific via train, then shipped by freightliner to markets in Japan.

CENTRAL SUPPORT OFFICES

Also located at this site: our merchandise/dry goods Gift Warehouse, and “Scoop U”, our training center for scoop shop owners. Ben & Jerry’s also provides office space for Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility.

YEARLY REVENUE

SIGNIFICANT CHANGES

The following timeline highlights some of the more significant changes in company structure, sectors and product lines over the past 3 years (the complete version of our timeline is available on our website at www.benjerry.com):

1998

• Ben & Jerry’s products introduced in Japan in new single-serve containers.
• Three company-owned scoop shops opened in Paris.
• The company re-launched its entire pint line in colorful new, graphically re-designed pint packaging.
• Ben & Jerry’s introduced the ice cream industry’s first pint container made from unbleached paperboard. The new “Eco-Pint” carton is made from unbleached brown kraft paper, with an exterior coating of non-toxic clay.
• Partnership formed with Greenpeace to educate customers about dioxins, and to enlist members for Greenpeace.

1999

• The Company achieved its goal of converting approximately one third of its product packaging to unbleached paperboard in 1999.
• The St. Albans manufacturing facility discontinued use of all chlorinated & phosphorus-containing cleaning products.
• The Springfield facility made a successful packaging switch & from a bleached corrugated board to a chlorine free board on novelty shipper containers.

2000

• The Company was acquired by Unilever.
• Conversion of domestic pint packaging to unbleached paperboard ECO-Pint packaging was completed.
• The 1999 CERES Report was posted on intranet and internet.