2001 CERES report

Section: 6

Environmental Performance

In 2001, each of the manufacturing sites and DC evaluated and identified the various energy savings initiatives completed over the past three years. The information collected will be used as part of the company’s five-year project to reduce CO2 emissions and to evaluate further energy savings. Ben & Jerry’s evaluates the environmental impacts of all production operations:

In 2001, Ben & Jerry’s determined that as a company we need to address the issue of global climate change from various parts of our business. In addition to the marketing campaign of One Sweet Whirled and our partnership with the Dave Matthews Band and SaveOurEnvironment.org, we’re addressing our internal contribution to global warming as well. To that end, Ben & Jerry’s CEO signed the following statement identifying our commitment to reduce CO2 emissions:

Scientists began to recognize in the early 60’s that an increase in Greenhouse Cases would make the earth warmer These gases, which include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and other man-made chemicals, are the primary culprits. While each of these gases has significant environmental impacts, carbon dioxide is the most prevalent in the atmosphere. Industry accounts for approximately one-third of all carbon dioxide emissions. Ben & Jerry’s is committed to reducing our emissions and therefore will target a 10% reduction in carbon dioxide from our manufacturing facilities by 2007 over 2002 levels. To achieve this goal we have developed five key areas of focus to reduce our energy consumption and to strive toward technological advances to reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions.

• We will evaluate our refrigeration systems for maximum efficiency
• We will seek assistance from outside sources including Efficiency Vermont to identify energy efficiency opportunities.
• We will expand our current energy tracking system to include a calculation of Greenhouse Gas emissions.
• We will evaluate alternative energy options.
• We will provide extensive educational information to our employees, customers and suppliers regarding actions everyone can take to reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions.

Through our own initiatives and other industry efforts, Ben & Jerry’s believes that we can achieve a measurable reduction of Greenhouse Gas emissions.

In 2001, each of the manufacturing sites and DC evaluated and identified the various energy savings initiatives completed over the past three years. The information collected will be used as part of the company’s five-year project to reduce CO2 emissions and to evaluate further energy savings.

All electricity used in Ben & Jerry’s production facilities is purchased (vs. co-gen. and self-gen.). Our Waterbury plant uses fuel oil; Springfield uses fuel oil and liquid propane; and St. Albans uses natural gas. Ice cream manufacturing consumes a large amount of energy. Over the years Ben & Jerry’s has incorporated various energy savings activities and equipment into plant operations, including:

• Installing variable speed drives.
• Charging equipment during off-peak hours.
• Installing energy efficient lighting
• Installing energy efficient dock doors

Ben & Jerry’s continuously investigates new ways to reduce and eliminate use of ozone-depleting substances (ODS), especially those used as coolants in freezer “dip-cases” at our scoop shops. The oldest dip-case models (10 years or older) contain R-502 or R-12 coolants; models 3-10 years old contain R-22 or R-124 coolants with lesser ozone-depleting qualities. All newer units contain P-134 or R-404 hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), coolants that are not considered ozone-depleters.

Except for the few old-model Vermont’s Finest trucks that have diesel cooling systems using freon R-502, most contain the newer cold plate technology which is charged electrically, cutting down on diesel emissions. The cold plates also contain the newer Freon, R-404A, which has lesser ozone-depleting qualities.

The company uses anhydrous ammonia and propylene glycol freezing systems in the manufacturing plants and the Distribution Center. These systems contain no CFCs or other ozone-depleting chemicals and have no global warming impacts.

Our most significant source of emissions is from the fuels associated with the manufacturing and distribution of our product:

In 2001, Ben & Jerry’s expanded the scope of measurement of CO2 emissions to include emissions associated with the transportation of product from our distribution center to national distribution centers. We also calculated transportation emissions from key suppliers, including our cup converter (Sweetheart Cup) and the St. Albans Cooperative.

These numbers were in addition to our current calculation of emissions from our manufacturing facilities and our own fleet of trucks. The results of the calculations:

Based on these numbers we determined the need to reduce our CO2 emissions and to develop a strategy that would clearly define our intent. A strategy will be developed in 2002.

In concert with the Dave Matthews Band (www.davematthewsband.com). and in partnership with many environmental non-profits including the Sierra Club (www.sierraclub.org). the World Wildlife Fund (www.worldwildlife.org), and the Union of Concerned Scientists (www.ucsusa.org), the company began coordination of an initiative for 2002 around Global Warming. The goal is to educate and motivate our consumer base to: 1) urge Congress to enforce legislation that reduces U.S. reliance on fossil fuels and supports renewable, efficient energy sources; 2) reduce carbon load emissions through individual actions; and 3) to motivate consumers abroad around Kyoto issues and personal actions to reduce CO2 emissions.

Ben & Jerry’s continues to operate its Vermont Distribution Center in Bellows Falls. From this facility our products are transported to national distribution centers. In 2001 we calculated the CO2 emissions associated with our national accounts. The total — approximately 8,000 tons of CO2 — indicates the transport vehicles are a significant source of CO2 emissions. Since we don’t own or operate these vehicles, our greatest opportunity to reduce these emissions is to influence the transporters to evaluate cleaner technology.

Our shuttle fleet of refrigerated tractor-trailer trucks that transport product and ingredients between plants generated approximately 2000 tons of CO2 emissions.

Vermont’s Finest® owns and operates a number of smaller refrigerated trucks used for sales and distribution purposes throughout the state. In 2001, these vehicles generated 358 tons of CO2.

The following table details total emissions from our Vermont’s Finest trucks (light-duty diesel), and from our heavy-duty diesel tractor-trailers that shuttle between the Distribution Center and our other Vermont sites:

Given the small amount of hazardous material the company generates, Ben & Jerry’s is considered a Conditionally Exempt Small Quantity Generator (CESQG). This means that we do not generate greater than 220 lbs of hazardous waste or 2.2 lbs of acutely hazardous waste on a monthly basis. The hazardous waste generated at Ben & Jerry’s facilities consists almost entirely of waste oil, water from maintaining boilers and compressors and small amount of methyl ethyl ketone. The State of Vermont regulates waste oil as a hazardous waste unless it is recycled. Overall we continue to look for product substitutions that will ultimately eliminate any hazardous waste. Specific items targeted are parts washers and video jet printers (used for printing codes on containers). Waste oils are generated primarily from maintenance on the refrigeration system. The MEK is from the video jet printers, and waste solvent is from the parts washers. In 2001, all of the manufacturing sites purchased an aqueous parts washer, thus eliminating a source of hazardous waste from the plants. The new parts washer does not generate a hazardous waste stream.

Following are Ben & Jerry’s hazardous waste policies:

• All hazardous waste is managed through APT Environmental Services of Vermont. The waste is transported directly to Cycle Chemical Inc. for incineration. Ben & Jerry’s doesn’t use secure landfills for hazardous waste management.
• Used oil is reprocessed through NOCO, a Vermont-based oil company.
• All contractors serving any of our facilities must sign our company’s “Contractor Handbook.” This signifies an understanding of the Environmental Health and Safety and Quality Assurance requirements.

Ben & Jerry’s has consistently established annual solid waste reduction goals.

The sites missed their solid waste reduction targets due primarily to incoming ingredient packaging issues. The Packaging Innovation Group (PIG) was established to specifically address this issue. The problem has been the use of 55-gallon fiber barrels that cannot be easily recycled. This is due to the labor it takes to cut off the metal top and bottom rings and remove the inner liner. This labor is not ergonomically sound and has a high risk of injuring our employees; therefore the packaging is thrown away. As the St. Albans plant has taken on production of more of the flavors that use ingredients in barrels, their solid waste stream has been negatively impacted. Therefore, the PIG has been working on moving these ingredients from the drums to returnable totes. The Waterbury plant continues to work on getting back into totes as issues with bags are resolved.

Ben & Jerry’s has recycled approximately 50% of its solid waste stream over the past three years. In 2001, almost half of Ben & Jerry’s solid waste stream was diverted from the landfill or incinerator In addition, the company’s recycling efforts earned approximately $32,000.

Note: To calculate the amount that represents the company’s total solid waste stream, solid waste totals are combined with recycled waste totals.

While waste recycling is a key goal, our ultimate objective is to design out waste at the source. Having identified incoming ingredient packaging as a primary source of both solid waste and recycled waste, we’re finding innovative ways to reuse the packaging, rather than simply relying on recycling solutions (while better than landfilled waste, recycled waste, by definition, is still waste). The following are examples of reuse initiatives as well as recycling efforts:

• Manufacturing sites sold 476 tons of clean corrugated boxes for reuse by the garment industry and the produce industry, for a price of $69,000.
• Over 26 tons of baled stretch wrap was sold to Trex Co. LLC. The company combines it with wood chips to process into lumber that won’t warp of splinter
• "Factory seconds” products (our designation for products not meeting 1st-quality specs due to such things as over or under-filling, too many/too few add-ins, etc.) are stored in freezers designated for employee-use at each site (employees are entitled to take home 3 pints per day); factory seconds may also he donated for charitable events.
• Packaged product determined to be unusable/unfit for consumption is incinerated at a co-generation facility in Massachusetts. In 2001 Ben & Jerry’s incinerated 836 tons of product and ingredients that were unfit for human consumption. The facility operated by Ogdan Martin Systems of Haverhill, MA is a waste-to-energy plant. The facility’s gross energy production is 46 megawatts.
• Plastic buckets and jugs are recycled through a non-profit organization in St. Albans, Vermont (Vermont Republic Industries) that hires mentally and physically challenged individuals. Over 70,000 buckets were recycled in 2001.
• Fifty-five gallon plastic drums are either returned to the vendor for reuse or recycled. Fiber drums used for ingredients are crushed and placed in the compactor. These drums are not recycled due to ergonomic reasons associated with taking them apart.
• The revenue generated from the recycling program covers the cost of solid waste disposal and some of the green team projects.

In 1999 the Packaging Innovation Group (PIG) was initiated to determine which ingredients were best suited for bulk handling systems. Initial efforts in 2000 brought about changes for caramel, marshmallow and yogurt, and these three ingredients were moved into totes. In 2001, due to some packaging integrity issues, caramel and marshmallow were returned to drums. In 2001 the team focused on cherries and efforts to return caramel and marshmallow to totes. The return to a smaller, non-recyclable container for caramel and marshmallow caused increases in solid waste at the manufacturing sites due to the increased number of drums. The team anticipates a return to totes by Q2 2002. Overall, transitioning to larger packaging not only reduces solid waste, but also decreases the potential for employee injuries from handling pails. There is also the opportunity for increased efficiencies at the plants.

Other source reduction activities:

• Some computers are donated to a local organization that provides job skill training programs.
• Human Resources Forms are available on-line.
• All of the central offices lunchroom food waste is composted.
• Most copy machines are on a double-sided default, others have instructions posted.
• Warehouse operations reuse and incoming boxes and packaging.
• Continuous efforts to reduce junk mail.
• Collected soda cans are donated to a local non-profit childcare center
• Excess office supplies, obsolete posters are donated to a local organization which sells them to teachers or others at their local store.
• Older computers are donated to community non-profits and to employees for home use.
• Broken pallets are given to maple sugar makers.
• Scratch pads made from copy room waste paper are printed with environmental messages.
• Central offices “file purge day” recycled 4.2 tons of paper
• The manufacturing sites have eliminated disposable cups, plates and utensils in their lunchrooms. This effort has reduced lunchroom waste by 50%.

There is always product waste associated with the company’s manufacturing processes. This waste contains sugar, cream, eggs, flavorings and add-in ingredients, all mixed with water. Waste product occurs in a variety of ways:

• Through the cleaning process associated with flavor changes on production lines.
• At the start/stop of production runs.
• When formulation errors occur
• When there is production rejection.
• From spillage on factory floor
• As a result of testing new flavors or equipment.

This particular product waste, otherwise known as High Strength Dairy Waste (HSDW), represents one of the company’s greatest environmental impacts. Ice cream contains all those ingredients with higher amounts of sugar and fat, which, without proper management at a wastewater treatment facility, can impact aquatic environments. All three manufacturing sites discharge to a municipal pretreatment system, and each site maintains regulatory permits for this activity The Waterbury Plant has a pre-treatment system through which production wastewater is treated prior to discharge to the municipal system. This plant pretreats it wastewater due to the extremely low regulatory levels agreed upon when it first began operations in 1988. Each manufacturing plant works hard to keep the ingredients flowing into the production system and not into the waste system. Product that is wasted is managed through two options:

• Shipping it to a permitted composting facility to be turned into fertilizer for landscaping, farms and home gardens.
• Placing it in permitted manure pits for use as fertilizer

The high strength dairy waste that is composted. is sent to one of three sites in Vermont.

Each year Ben & Jerry’s hosts a One World One Heart Festival at Sugarbush, Vermont. This free, music-based event draws a large crowd. As a result, there is the potential for substantial trash generation. Over the last seven years, composting has been added to our recycling stations to divert as much of this waste as possible from landfills. Not only has this been important in reducing the environmental impacts, but the process also provides an educational opportunity for festivalgoers. Approximately 2/3 of the Festival’s total waste stream is diverted from the landfill. Greater than 1/3 is composted, which is equivalent to approximately 1 ton of waste.

The compost is diverted to the Intervale Compost Project, located in Burlington, Vermont. The Intervale Compost Project collects and composts food waste from local hospitals, grocery stores, and restaurants. The finished compost is sold commercially and is also used by many local organic farmers. Additional composting sites utilized include those run by the Vermont Compost Company in Montpelier, Hartland and Vershire, Vermont. Composting is available at the Central Support offices for the site’s employee lunchroom as well as for the Research & Development Department’s Flavor Lab.

Each of the manufacturing sites continue to set high strength dairy waste reduction goals. Some of the sites are more successful at achieving these goals than others. Success is driven primarily by the type of products the plants make. For example, in 2001 the Waterbury plant stopped producing Phish Food, a complicated flavor that tends to generate more dairy waste. This product was transferred to St. Albans and therefore both their dairy waste and solid waste increased. St. Albans also produces a mini cup product on an infrequent basis. This also caused an increase in dairy waste. The Springfield manufacturing site consistently has multiple flavor change during the day which also produces an increase in waste, a consistent problem they have worked hard on managing to the best of their ability.

• In 1999 there were no compliance issues, occurr ences or penalties
• In 2000 them were no compliance issues, occurrences or penalties
• In 2001 there were no compliance issues, occurrences or penalties.

Ben & Jerry’s has never been issued any penalties from Federal Regulators.

Ben & Jerry’s considers all releases to the environment to be significant, whether they are chemical, oil or any of our ingredients. All releases are reported to the site Environmental Coordinator and the Manager of Natural Resources Use.

WORKPLACE HEALTH & SAFETY PROGRAMS

In 2001 Ben & Jerry’s continued to make significant improvement in our safety record, with a strong focus on safety education, awareness, employee involvement programs, ergonomic innovations and safety related capital investments. Our goal is to make the information more exciting and to make safety awareness and education fun. The area of greatest concern continues to be material handling and repetitive motion injuries. The on going focus in these areas has had a positive impact on the accident rate.

Examples of strategies that we have incorporated that address our material handling and repetitive motion injuries are as follows:

• Invested in Washington Ergonomic improvements through the implementation of Ergo lift trucks, ingredient amalgamation changes, ingredient air conveying systems, stacking platform improvements and HSDW transport containers.
• Began implementing job rotations to combat upper extremity injuries and started a movement program to improve ergonomic postures.
• Worked with the University of Massachusetts to complete a Job Safety Analysis and “professionalized” the Job Safety Analysis (JSA).
• Invested in labor saving devices such as barrel movers, spring-loaded pallet movers, and scissor lift pallet jacks.
• Added an Ergonomic Task Force to focus entirely on manual material handling issues.
• Implemented the “SafeStart” safety program, which is an observation, based program focused on safe behaviors of self and others.
• Continued emphasis on safety training, including monthly safety training reinforced with continuous safety activities such as quizzes, contests and prizes.
• Restructured the Incident/Workers’ Compensation internal processes so that Safety focuses on prevention and investigation of accidents.

We have significantly increased our safety awareness programs, which helped increase safety visibility to our employees and also served as an education tool as well as a reminder to work safely. The Company has established safety improvement as one of the top priorities and goals for everyone in the company. The renewed top leadership commitment has been invaluable. The attention to the day-to-day operations has proven to be a valuable commitment to providing a safer workplace for our employees.

Key educational program achievements/results:

• Introduced manufacturing and distribution monthly “Two Scoop Safety Topics” and monthly VIC safety communication tips.
• Refocused the direction of the safety committee to reflect a more active role. They created and implemented a safety auditing system to focus on controllable behaviors.
• Initiated an advanced safety awareness program.
• Developed monthly “fun safety events” to increase safety awareness.
• Incorporated a safety goal in annual performance goals.
• Injected some excitement into safety programs by celebrating milestones and introducing fun activities such as safety-related quizzes, puzzles and contests.

The company’s overall Injury Incident Rate is slightly lower than the industry average for the ice cream manufacturing and frozen dessert industry, at about 11.97% versus the industry average of 13.1%. This is a milestone achievement for Ben & Jerry’s, which historically has been above the industry average for our Injury Incident Rate due to the manual processes used in manufacturing our specialty ice creams.

Lost Time Cases decreased overall by 25% in 2001 compared to 2000 and the number of Lost Time Days decreased by 40% for the same period, indicating that both the number of injuries and the severity of the injuries have decreased dramatically over the past year This continues a positive trend begun in 1999 for improved safety.

No safety-related regulatory actions were brought against the company in 2001.

In 2001, 40% of open positions (outside of the Office of the Chief Executive Officer) were filled internally, compared to 51% in 2000 and 58% in 1999.

Although there was no major shift in gender equity in pay overall, data showed a shift in middle managers where women were no longer paid .02% more than men, but were being paid .02% less, a difference of .04% in 2001.

In 2001, 60% of our workforce was male and 40% female, compared to 56% male and 44% female in 2000, and 57% male and 43% female in 1999.

In 2001 the compensation ratio of top-to-bottom was 16-to-1.

Gender Equity

In 1998 the then Board of Directors approved a Livable Wage Policy for the company. We define a livable wage as a starting wage for a single person that will sustain a quality of life that includes expenditures for housing, utilities, out-of-pocket health care, transportaion, nutrition, recreation, savings, taxes and miscellaneous expenses. Based on an analysis of such costs in Vermont, we determined a livable wage to be $9.60 per hour or $19,968 annually in 2001, an increase of $0.20 per hour over 2000 Any new full-time employee hired on or after January 1, 2001 also received this livable wage rate.

Determining the profit sharing pool for 2001 was difficult given the many changes in our accounting practices as a result of the merger. After calculating the total pool amount based on previous year’s practices, the OCEO decided to increase the overall pool to ensure that each eligible employee’s profit-sharing check would not be less than the previous year’s. Profits were shared among all employees other than the senior management (OCEO) under a formula that allocated half the pool based on number of employees (735 in 2001) and the other half on tenure. In 2001 the pool amounted to $540,046. Each employee received $337.28 for the half of the pool based on headcount and $4.72 per month of service for the half based an tenure. 2001 was the final year of the profit-sharing program. Going forward the company is considering alternative incentive programs.

Since 1990 we have administered a biennial Work Life Survey. In 1998 we completed a partial survey. A comprehensive survey was scheduled for 2000 but with the acquisition it was not undertaken. A survey is intended in May 2002 with evaluation available mid-July. In 2001 we were also looking at ways of incorporating our Work Life Survey with that of Unilever’s.

The following chart details the comprehensive benefits that were available to full-time employees. The average benefits expenditure per employee in 2001 was $10,892, compared to $10,257 in 2000. As a result of the acquisition by Unilever, employee stock purchases were eliminated in May of 2000.

Livable Wage

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 Match Gift Program

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 1988 we have donated 7.5% of our pre-tax profits to philanthropy. In 2000 this amounted to $1,285,630, which will be granted in 2001 ($175,000 to international and $1,110,639 to domestic). Philanthropy is employee-led through the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation and Community Action Teams (CATS) at each site. CAT members and Foundation representatives are chosen by their peers. Ben & Jerry’s contributes a minimum of $1.1 million dollars to the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation, adjusted upward annually for sales growth and inflation. The Ben & Jerry’s Foundation is a separate entity from the company. For 2001 this contribution amounted to $1.2 million dollars. In addition, a significant amount of product is donated by the company annually to community groups and nonprofits in Vermont and across the nation. The Foundation trustees are Jerry Greenfield (company co-founder), Jeff Furman (board member), and Liz Bankowski (former Director of Social Mission). Since these significant dollars for philanthropy are the result of the hard work of the company’s staff, employees are extensively involved in the Foundation’s grantmaking. (Grants are subject to final approval by the trustees and administered by the Foundation.) In general, the purpose of Ben & Jerry’s philanthropy is to support the founding values of the company: economic and social justice; environmental restoration and peace through understanding; and our Vermont communities.

The Foundation administers the following programs:

A nine-member board representing each of the Ben & Jerry’s sites in Vermont makes grants to national- and Vermont-based nonprofit organizations to support progressive social change and environmental work. Members are chosen by their peers and serve three-year terms. Grants are made three times a year and range from $500 to $15,000. In 2001 the Employee Advisory Grantmaking Board distributed $755,900 in grants. These included$10,000 to the Institute for Social Ecology for biotechnology education and organizing project; $10,000 to the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition to support their work of organizing broad-based opposition to mountaintop removal/valley fill coal mining practices, as well as unsafe coal waste ponds, and $15,000 to Sweatshop Watch for support of their continued efforts to hold retailers and manufacturers accountable for the wages of the workers who sew their clothes and the conditions of the contractors’ sweatshops.

A complete list of grants can be found on our website at /our_company/about_us/social_mission/foundation/.

Each of the company’s Vermont sites has an employee community action team or CAT. Members are chosen by their peers and serve for three-year term. The teams review and decide on small grant requests, generally $100 to $1000 for local nonprofit organizations. These grants are intended to express both employees’ concerns and the company’s intent to be a good neighbor. The teams generally meet monthly. In addition to the grant-making program, the teams working with their site management, identify, undertake and underwrite community enhancement projects. Projects must be undertaken with a 501c(3) approved nonprofit of a municipal entity. (There are guidelines used for determining appropriate projects.) In 2001 the five Community Action Teams distributed $193,320 in grants to organizations such as the Good News Garage, Fresh Air Fund, Green Mountain Club and Focus on Film. In 2001 the Vermont community projects included restoration of two nature trails in Ripton, a little league playing field in Bellows Falls and the refurbishing of two playgrounds in Springfield and Perkinsville.

$5,000 is made available to the plant managers at each of the Vermont sites for corporate citizenship purposes. This fund supports activities of local civic organizations that may not be eligible for CAT grants. Examples of grants made in 2001: the Springfield Fourth of July Celebration and the Vermont Maple Festival, Inc.

The Foundation matches up to $1,000 annually per staff member for gifts to nonprofit organizations. This program has a cap of $50,000.

In 2001, 13% of staff participated and $30,880 was matched in grants.

In 2000, with the Unilever merger, the Foundation trustees and company management approved a one-tine large gift to each of the Vermont communities with a Ben & Jerry’s facility. These gifts were intended to support recreational facilities for the enjoyment of the entire community. The decisions were made by site management, with employee input, and were approved by the Foundation trustees. In 2001, $40,000 was granted for the construction of the Burlington Skateboard Park and $40,000 was granted for the Waterbury community skating rink initial capital campaign.

The Foundation trustees may make grants to nonprofit organizations in the areas of children and families, environmental restoration, sustainable agriculture and peace through understanding and in support of the company’s social mission initiatives. Grants to support the company’s social mission programs are not used for sponsorships, promotions or other marketing purposes. Recognizing that part of the company profits come from international sales, the foundation trustees, in discussion with company management, allocates funds annually for grants to registered non-governmental organizations operating outside the United States. In 2001, $80,620 was distributed in support of the company’s activities, including $30,000 for the Vermont Dairy Farm Sustainability Project and $10,000 for Grounds for Health, Inc. Also, $88,889 was distributed in international grants in Great Britain. These included $14,000 to The Children’s Society, $11,000 to ChildLine and $14,000 to the National Missing Person’s Helpline.

In addition to the funds allocated to the Foundation for a 10-year period under the merger agreement (8/2000 8/2010) the Foundation trustees oversee and administer a one-time, $5 Million dollar gift that resulted from the merger. These funds are granted proactively to nonprofit organizations that support citizen education and activism around globalization issues and social justice. In 2001 the Trustees distributed $710,000 in grants that included $150,000 to Global Exchange a multicultural human rights organization dedicated to promoting environmental, political and social justice around the world, $150,000 to United for a Fair Economy an organization drawing attention to the dangerous consequences of growing income and wealth inequality and who advocates for public policies and private sector practices to share prosperity and $100,000 to the Ruckus Society an organization that provides training in the skills of non-violent civil disobedience to help environmental and human rights organizations achieve their goals.

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.

The complete list of Foundation grants, along with detailed information about the application process, can be found on our website at www.benjerry.com.

PRODUCT DONATION

Donations of first quality product in 2001 amounted to $36,039 (our cost, not retail value), compared to $14,400 in 2000. Examples of donation -recipients include:

• Literacy Program - rewarded participants for reading;
• Tri-town Community Action Agency, Johnston, RI;
• Folk Tale Carnival - raised money for children w/disabilities;
• Region 10 Community Support Services, Atkinson, NH;
• May Day Fairie Festival - support for Strawbale Greenhouse project, Spoutwood Farm Center, Glen Rock, PA;
• Tour De Sol -rewarded volunteers;
• Northeast Sustainable Energy Association, Greenfield, MA.

In Vermont we gave away over 15,000 gallons of second quality product in support of a wide range of nonprofits and community activities.

After the September 11, 2001 tragedy, several of our employees from the New York City area volunteered to drive the scoop truck as an emergency relief vehicle to transfer food, water and ice cream to volunteers working in and around emergency sites. Food and water was donated by the Hard Rock Cafe on 57th Street and Ben & Jerry’s donated 6,500 ice cream cup servings.

Our Waterbury Plant tour is one of the leading tourist attractions in the state. We designate a part of the $2.00 charge to support a nonprofit organization, usually in Vermont. In 2001, however, we shifted to supporting a company initiative with KaBoom! a national nonprofit who believes that all children should have access to safe play spaces. Funds were used to help defray the cost of a Playground Build at Emmanuel House in Boston. More information is in the Marketing Section of this report.

In 2001 Ben & Jerry’s was the only corporate signatory, along with hundreds of social service agencies and environmental organizations, to sign the “Invest in America Statement of National Priorities” sent to the President and Congress. This statement expressed the urgency of addressing the needs of children in poor communities and their families, improving public transportation and housing and protecting water and the environment. We felt that signing on to the “Invest in American Statement of National Priorities” represented the philosophy expressed in our company values. We have endorsed similar statements in the past.

In the winter of 2001 Ben & Jerry’s began working to find an effective and sustainable way to mobilize our resources and efforts on behalf of the children in West Africa whose lives are scarred by the brutality of child trafficking and forced child labor in the chocolate producing industry. What we learned was that the issue is far more complex and widespread than any of us could have imagined.

In 2002 Ben & Jerry’s will be sending an executive representative to the Ivory Coast and Mali to meet with non-governmental and governmental groups to investigate the possibilities for our intended plan of action. Our partner in this initiative is the Population Media Center (PMC), an international nonprofit organization that works with radio and television broadcasters, government ministries and non-governmental organizations. PMC addresses social issues at their source through long-term mass media programming such as soap operas and talk shows, integrating scripted themes that educate and increase public awareness around social issues. To learn more about the company’s position go to www.benjerry.com/childlabor/.

To learn more about the factors that drive child trafficking, the inroads industry is making to combat forced child labor, and the steps you can take to help, we suggest you start at www.unicef org and www.iabolish.org

- Global Warming Campaign — In concert with the Dave Matthews Band (www.davematthewsband.com), and in partnership with many environmental non-profits including the Sierra Club (www.sierraclub.org), the World Wildlife Fund (wwww.worldwildlife.org), and the Union of Concerned Scientists (www.ucsusa.org), the company began coordination of an initiative for 2002 around Global Warming. The goal is to educate and motivate our consumer base to: 1) urge Congress to enforce legislation that reduces U.S. reliance on fossil fuels and supports renewable, efficient energy sources; 2) reduce carbon load emissions through individual actions; and 3) to motivate consumers abroad around Kyoto issues and personal actions to reduce CO2 emissions.

- Tom Joyner Foundation — We developed two flavors for release in 2001 that benefited the Tom Joyner Foundation (www.tomjoyner.com) which supports scholarships at traditionally black colleges. These flavors are Apple Crumble and Island Paradise (See Product Royalties below). It was decided in 2001 that these flavors would be replaced with the popular Butter Pecan, which we hope will generate more royalties for the Tom Joyner Foundation. Additionally, we sponsored the Tom Joyner Foundation Fantastic Voyage, a weeklong cruise designed to raise funds for the Foundation.

- Scoop Trucks — Our fleet of 7 scoop trucks gave out over 250,000 samples in 2001. The trucks supported local organizations either by donating ice cream or by selling ice cream to fundraise for nonprofit groups. Some of the groups we supported in 2001 include: KaBoom!, Literacy Volunteers of America (www.literacyvolunteers.org), AIDS Foundation (www.sfaf.org), Christmas in April, the Boys & Girls Clubs (www.bgca.org) and numerous local environmental groups. In total the scoop trucks raised about $15,000 for nonprofits.

- Sponsorships — Roughly 25% of the sponsorships in 2001 or $38,500, were spent on social mission-related sponsorships. These included the Kinship Center (www.kinshipcenter.org), MS Walk (www.mswalk.org) and the Boston Earthfest concert.

- Citizen Cool ™ — In the spring of 2001 we launched our movie-themed flavor, Concession Obsession™. We celebrated this new flavor by making a movie. We asked people around the country to nominate “ordinary folks with extraordinary hearts.” We were looking for individuals who saw a need in their community and addressed it in an innovative way. Essays were submitted and of the over 2,000 nominations we received, we chose 5 individuals for our Citizen Cool film. Citizen Cool is a 30-minute documentary about these people and their work. We will make the movie available at cost to schools, community groups and any other organization that finds it valuable. To read the Citizen Cool profiles go to www.benjerry.com/citizencool/.

- KaBoom! Playground Build, Emmanuel House, Boston — On May 22, 2001, approximately 60 Ben & Jerry’s employees helped build a playground in Boston. In a single day, we transformed an empty lot into a vibrant and safe community playground. To do this we partnered with KaBOOM! (www.kaboom.org) and Emmanuel House. KaBOOM! is a nonprofit organization which has coordinated the building of more than 250 playgrounds since 1995. Emmanuel House is a nonprofit organization that provides a range of services, including childcare and after school programs, to low-income families in the Roxbury and South End neighborhoods of Boston.

- Give a Pint — Get a Pint — We decided to combine forces with the American Red Cross (www.americanredcross.org) and teamed up for blood drawings on campuses nationwide. By bringing our scoop truck and offering free ice cream, we helped to raise awareness about all of the services that the American Red Cross provides. In 2001, along with the American Red Cross, we visited 26 universities across the United States during a college tour that ended in May, 2001. We gave away 2,600 pints of ice cream.

- OWOH Festival — This was the 11th year of this free outdoor festival, held this year at Sugarbush Resort in Warren, Vermont. Our citizen action tables generated 8,000 post cards to Congress on the issues of children and the environment.

- Scooperbowl — This was the 13th year of our involvement in this event that benefits Boston’s Dana Farber Cancer Institute (www.dfci.harvard.edu). Along with regional ice cream companies, we donated and scooped products for this 3-day event in June. Attendees paid a $5.00 entrance fee and enjoyed unlimited ice cream. We scooped 22,000 servings in 2001. All funds went to the American Cancer Institute and the program raised over $110,000 for the Jimmy Fund (www.jimmyfund.org).

- Intervale Festival — This was the third year we sponsored the Intervale Festival produced by Gardener’s Supply and the Intervale in Burlington, Vermont. The festival was centered on environmental education and activism.

Five of the entities with which we have licensing agreements generated funds for nonprofits through the agreements listed below. These sums are impacted by sales rates.

• Phish Food® ice cream produces royalties for the Waterwheel Foundation, created in 1998 by the Vermont-based band Phish. The Foundation Supports “the protection and preservation of the Lake Champlain region of Vermont.” Royalties donated in 2001 totaled $193,609, compared to $249,457 in 2000.
• Doonesberry® Sorbet produced royalties totaling $2,684, compared to $20,236 in 2000 for the Pauley Trudeau Foundation which supports education, AIDS treatment and prevention, reducing poverty, human rights and other progressive causes. Doonesberry was discontinued mid-2000.
• Wavy Gravy™ ice cream produced royalties totaling $8,090, compared to $15,032 in 2000, for Camp Winnarainbow which was founded by Wavy Gravy to offer summer camp experiences to low income children. Wavy Gravy was discontinued early 2002.
• New product: KaBerry KaBoom!™ ice cream produced royalties totaling $23,900. KaBoom! a national nonprofit, believes that all children should have access to safe play spaces. Royalty money was used to build playgrounds.
• New products: Apple Crumble™ and Island Paradise™ are two flavors that generated royalties of $21,682 for the Tom Joyner Foundation The Tom Joyner Foundation is a nonprofit organization that provides assistance to students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities.