Social Responsibility at B&j's

Ben & Jerry’s Social Responsibility

Who has never enjoyed one of the delicious flavors of Ben & Jerry’s? It is a manufacturer of ice cream, frozen yoghurt and sorbet founded in 1978 and subsequently acquired by Unilever in 2000. One of the terms of the acquisition deal was that Ben & Jerry’s would always continue its social mission without any interference from its new parent company. "Business has a responsibility to the community and the environment" is part of Ben & Jerry's mission statement. Let me introduce some of the Ben & Jerry’s corporate social responsibility practices.

Fair Trade Ingredients

Fair Trade products are meant to remedy some of the problems associated with regulating factory and workplace conditions of companies that produce goods and services in foreign countries and import their products into their home countries. Fair Trade standards ensure that employees have safe working conditions, work reasonable hours and are paid a fair amount for their work. According to Ben & Jerry’s, Fair Trade is a promise to pay a fair price to farmers in developing countries for their harvest. Fair Trade farmers agree to use fair labor practices, to employ environmentally friendly farming practices, and to invest in their communities. So Fair Trade is a way to use the global economy to serve people.

Sustainable Packaging

For years, the company has been working to reduce the negative environmental impacts of their packaging materials. In 2009, they phased in Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified paperboard for all of their U.S. pint containers. The FSC certification means that the paperboard comes from forests that are managed for the protection of wildlife habitat, maintenance of biodiversity, avoidance of genetically modified tree species, and protection of traditional and civil rights. They are beginning a project to get FSC paperboard into the paperboard that they use in