{"id":13319,"date":"2016-11-04T17:30:50","date_gmt":"2016-11-04T21:30:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/ben-jerrys-if-its-melted-its-ruined\/"},"modified":"2016-11-07T15:46:16","modified_gmt":"2016-11-07T20:46:16","slug":"ben-jerrys-if-its-melted-its-ruined","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/ben-jerrys-if-its-melted-its-ruined\/","title":{"rendered":"Ben &amp; Jerry\u2019s: If it\u2019s melted, it\u2019s ruined!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>Ben &amp;<\/b> <b>Jerry&#8217;s: A Long History of Corporate Sustainability\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Ben &amp; Jerry&#8217;s company ethos is embodied by\u00a0the title of its\u00a0founders&#8217; 1998 book: &#8220;<strong>Doing well by doing good<\/strong>.&#8221; A core part of Ben and Jerry&#8217;s business\u00a0and operating model is centered\u00a0around the company&#8217;s social mission and brand integrity.\u00a0 For instance, when Ben &amp; Jerry&#8217;s was acquired by Unilever in 2000, one unique aspect of the deal was that an independent Ben &amp; Jerry&#8217;s Board of Directors would be created to help maintain focus on these issues. <a href=\"http:\/\/search.proquest.com.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu\/docview\/1805845250?rfr_id=info%3Axri%2Fsid%3Aprimo\">[1]<\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>Ben &amp; Jerry&#8217;s has <\/b><b>real<\/b> <b>&#8220;<\/b><b>skin<\/b><b>&#8220;<\/b><b> in the <\/b><b>climat<\/b><b>e <\/b><b>change game.\u00a0<\/b><b>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Key inputs that the company has historically relied on for its flavors are now endangered\u00a0because climate change is reducing\u00a0the amount of arable land available for both farming and\u00a0coffee-growing across the globe.<\/li>\n<li>As Ben &amp; Jerry&#8217;s own website states: &#8220;<b><i>As a food company, many of the our partners in our value chain, <\/i><\/b><b><i>a<\/i><\/b><b><i>re at real risk from a warming planet. And because climate change is a risk to people in our supply chain, it\u2019s also a risk to our business<\/i><\/b><b><i>. <\/i><\/b><a href=\"http:\/\/www.benjerry.com\/values\/issues-we-care-about\/climate-justice\">[2]<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Like <em>Chocolate Fudge Brownie<\/em>? The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has predicted that anticipated rises in temperature and the associated decline in freshwater could reduce global cocoa production by as much as 50% by 2050 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scientificamerican.com\/article\/the-race-to-save-chocolate\/\">[3]<\/a>. Fan of <em>Coffee Toffee Bar Crunch<\/em>? A study cited by the company predicts that the number of pre-existing regions suitable for growing coffee could fall from 65-100% by 2080 <a href=\"http:\/\/search.proquest.com.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu\/docview\/1821095957?accountid=11311\">[4].<\/a> And just plain vanilla? Actually, the more frequent extreme weather\u00a0induced by climate change in the world&#8217;s tropical regions\u00a0is threatening the\u00a0stable environment needed for vanilla to grow\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.takepart.com\/article\/2015\/07\/15\/growing-buying-vanilla\">[5]<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>In addition, Ben &amp; Jerry&#8217;s needs\u00a0dairy products to make its ice cream, uses freezers to house its ice cream products, and trucks to bring its finished pints from factories to point of sale.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Ben &amp; Jerry&#8217;s has been<\/b><b> a <\/b><b>clear\u00a0<\/b><b>leader in th<\/b><b>e<\/b><b> ice cream industry in adapting its\u00a0<\/b><b>operating model\u00a0<\/b><b>to <\/b><b>antic<\/b><b>ipate<\/b><b> and adapt to climate challenges. <\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>Carbon Footprint Monitoring<\/b><b>\u00a0and Internal Carbon Tax<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ben &amp; Jerry&#8217;s made the decision to conduct\u00a0a\u00a0company-wide\u00a0lifecycle analysis to see where the\u00a0company&#8217;s carbon emissions stemmed\u00a0from (see Figure 1 below).<\/li>\n<li>As one result of this process, the company decided to institute an internal carbon tax of\u00a0$10 for every metric ton of greenhouse gas emissions, from farm to landfill <a href=\"http:\/\/www.benjerry.com\/values\/issues-we-care-about\/climate-justice\/internal-carbon-tax\">[6].<\/a> The company has also supported efforts alongside other companies to introduce a first-in-nation carbon tax in Vermont <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ceres.org\/bicep\/press\/the-bicep-blog\/seventh-generation-and-ben-jerrys-lead-the-call-for-a-carbon-tax-in-vermont\/view\">[7]<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Hydrocarbon Refrigeration<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ben &amp; Jerry&#8217;s (along with other brands under corporate parent Unilever, like Klondike and Popsicles) was one of the earliest adopters of more energy efficient and climate-friendly freezer cabinets. These freezers\u00a0use hydrocarbon refrigerants instead of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.greenbiz.com\/blog\/2012\/02\/17\/ben-jerrys-unilever-roll-out-greener-freezers-us\">[8]<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>HFCs\u00a0 have a direct global warming impact more than a thousand times worse than the reference gas carbon dioxide\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/search.proquest.com.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu\/docview\/859095986?accountid=11311\">[9]<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Ben &amp; Jerry&#8217;s was the first to bring this climate-safe ice cream freezer to the US after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) changed its regulations to approve this alternative refrigerant in 2011 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.environmentalleader.com\/2011\/12\/15\/epa-approves-three-alternative-refrigerants-to-replace-hfcs\/\">[10].<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Reducing Methane Use<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ben &amp; Jerry\u2019s has some of the most innovative and resourceful farmers\u00a0in the business.<\/li>\n<li>In partnership with <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nativeenergy.com\/\">Native Energy<\/a>, the company has introduced a machine that\u00a0separates the liquids and solids in manure. Solids are composted to create a manure bedding material for cows, while the liquid is used in the field as fertilizer.\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.triplepundit.com\/2015\/06\/knew-ben-jerrys-save-world-ice-cream\/\">[11]<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Methane gas is a major contributor to climate change. Ben &amp; Jerry&#8217;s\u00a0use of existing manure separators will keep at least 10,000 extra tons of C02 out of the atmosphere over the next 10 years. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.benjerry.com\/whats-new\/greenhouse-effect-manure\">[12]\u00a0<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>There are still new frontiers for Ben &amp; Jerry&#8217;s to explore that would increase sustainability and reduce its climate change impact.<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Development of non-dairy flavors:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The company&#8217;s analysis showed that\u00a041% of Ben &amp; Jerry\u2019s carbon footprint came from cows\u00a0&#8212;\u00a0more than factory operation, packaging, and freezing combined. Dairy farms are major sources of GHG emissions.\u00a0Currently, each Ben &amp; Jerry&#8217;s pint\u00a0produced\u00a0adds ~2lbs of CO2 emissions to the atmosphere<a href=\"http:\/\/www.benjerry.com\/values\/issues-we-care-about\/climate-justice\/life-cycle-analysis\"> [13]<\/a>. Therefore, by transitioning to more vegan or non-dairy flavors, Ben &amp; Jerry&#8217;s can help to significantly reduce its greenhouse emissions.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Integrated Supply Chain:<\/strong> 14% of Ben &amp; Jerry&#8217;s\u00a0carbon emissions are\u00a0linked to outbound transportation of ice cream from factories\u00a0to distribution centers to retail locations.\u00a0By investing in more factories outside of Vermont and Maine, they will be able to produce\u00a0 closer to point of sale, thereby reducing emissions from transport costs.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Continued Advocacy:\u00a0<\/strong>Ben &amp; Jerry&#8217;s can continue to serve as a leader in the corporate community as a voice on climate, both by inspiring other companies\u00a0to emulate their innovations, and by providing backing for\u00a0future legislative efforts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Figure 1.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/www.benjerry.com\/files\/live\/sites\/systemsite\/files\/our-values\/issues-we-care-about\/climate-justice\/BJ_Infographic_vert_LCA_091015.png\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Word Count: 792<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ben &amp; Jerry&#8217;s takes action to keep our world cool enough for ice cream!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1809,"featured_media":13320,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[1711,1218,1815],"class_list":["post-13319","hck-submission","type-hck-submission","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-adaptation","category-climate-change","category-food-and-beverages"],"connected_submission_link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/assignment\/climate-change-challenge-2016\/","yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Ben &amp; Jerry\u2019s: If it\u2019s melted, it\u2019s ruined! 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