1999 CERES report

Section 1:

1999 CERES Report - Company Profile

The information in this report contains data from 1999 (and previous years for comparison), primarily covering only the manufacturing, central and distribution facilities in Vermont.

The main 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 their plant managers. 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).

Manufacturing

Our Waterbury plant was built in 1985 and employed approximately 146 workers in 1999, including seasonal employees. This facility produces all pint flavors, but specializes in flavors with variegates and swirls. This facility is also one of Vermont’s largest tourist attractions, with factory tours and retail shop operations staffed by 61 full- and part-time employees.

Our Springfield plant was built in 1988 and employed approximately 80 full-time and 30 part-time people in 1999. This is our most flexible facility, capable of producing all of our products which include novelties, bulk tubs, pints and quarts.

Our St. Albans plant was built in 1995 and employed

approximately 172 people in 1999. This facility is focused on producing pints of the types of traditional flavors which lend themselves to the highest line speeds. St. Albans is also home to the St. Albans Cooperative Creamery, a cooperative of about 600 family farms from whom we purchase all of our milk and cream.

We have a manufacturing plant under license in Yavne, Israel. They began making our product in 1988 and, as with all Ben & Jerry’s plants, use local, rBGH-free dairy products in their manufacturing. They have 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 their 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 can produce ice cream in 500 ml containers.

Distribution

The second is our main Distribution Center (DC) in Bellows Falls, Vermont. It was built in 1991 and employed approximately 22 full-time people in 1999. The DC receives product from each of the Vermont plants for wholesale distribution locally, nationally and internationally. The DC is also in charge of 7 Ben & Jerry’s 18-wheelers which shuttle back and forth to the other Vermont sites, carrying products, ingredients, equipment and other supplies. Ben & Jerry’s also leases warehouse space at Pioneer Valley in Chicopee, MA and at Vermont Commercial in Williston, VT.

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 to markets in Japan on freightliners. Shipments of product to Peru and Lebanon are shipped by freightliner from ports in Montreal, Canada and New York.

Central Support Offices

Also located at this site: our merchandise/dry goods gift warehouse and Scoop U, our training center for scoop shop owners.

Yearly Review

Total worldwide unit volume of 2.5-gallon bulk products increased 16.7% compared to the same period in 1998. Packaged sales (primarily pints) represented 83% of total net sales in 1999, 81% of total net sales in 1998, and 84% of total net sales in 1997. Net sales of 2.5-gallon bulk containers represented approximately 9% of total net sales in 1999 and 8% of total net sales in 1998 and 1997. Net sales of novelty products (including single serve) accounted for approximately 6% of total net sales in 1999, 9% of total sales in 1998, and 6% in 1997. This decrease is due to a decline in sales of single-serve containers to the Japanese market in comparison to the prior year. Net sales from the Company’s retail stores represented 2% of total net sales in 1999, 1998, and 1997.

International sales were $25.3, $17.4 and $7.6 million in 1999, 1998 and 1997, respectively, which represents 11% of total net sales in 1999, 8% in 1998 and 4% in 1997.

Significant Changes

(A version of our timeline is available on our website at www.benjerry.com)

1997

• Ben & Jerry’s ended its involvement in the joint- venture manufacturing plant in Petrozavodsk, Russia.
  Perry Odak hired as CEO.


• Ben & Jerry’s introduced a line of low fat ice cream flavors.


• As a first step in achieving one of the company’s key environmental objectives-replacing our traditional industry-standard product packaging with more environmentally sustainable packaging-Ben & Jerry’s began analyzing sources & suppliers of alternative packaging solutions, especially those involving the use of chlorine-free paperboard.


• Phish FoodTM ice cream was introduced nationally; it’s named after Vermont-based musical group, Phish, who donate royalties from sales of the flavor to environmental efforts in Vermont’s Lake Champlain region.


• In an unprecedented legal settlement, the State of Illinois agreed to permit Ben & Jerry’s and other food companies opposed to the use of rBGH to voluntarily label their products as free from the bio-engineered growth hormone.

1998

• Ben & Jerry’s products introduced in Japan in new single-serve containers.


• Three company-owned scoop shops opened in Paris.


• The company relaunched its entire pint line in new, colorful, graphically-redesigned 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.


• Our Waterbury facility eliminated the use of disposable polystyrene coffee cups (a $5,000 cost savings in itself) by purchasing reusable/washable cups-along with a dishwasher-for all site employees.


• The Springfield facility made a successful packaging switch -from a bleached corrugated board to a chlorine-free board on novelty shipper containers.