How We Do Business
Ben & Jerry’s strives to be a social justice company that makes ice cream. Across our three-part mission, we are always working to strengthen a concept we call “linked prosperity."
Values Led Sourcing
Using our ingredients and the power of our purchasing decisions to support positive change not only makes sense — it makes our flavors taste sensational!
Supplier Diversity
We spend more money on ingredients than on any other part of our business, so who we buy from matters.
We are committed to year-over-year increases in the number of, and total procurement spending with, Black-owned and Black-led suppliers. We see this as intentional investment which will support growing wealth in these communities.
Social Enterprises and Shared Value Creation
We work with companies across our supply chain that share our belief that business can be a force for good.
Partners like Greyston Bakery, with its life-changing open hiring program, and Rhino Foods, with its focus on hiring refugees, show that businesses driven by a social mission can make a huge difference in the world. We look for like-minded partner suppliers who share our values, including many B-Corps.
Thriving Farmers and Farmworkers
The ice cream euphoria we conjure up couldn’t exist without our farmers.
Guided by our core values and our work with respected partner organizations, we help ensure that all farmers and farmworkers in our supply chain — from Vermont dairy farms to smallholder cocoa farms in the Ivory Coast — can thrive. We believe those impacted should be part of the conversation about working conditions and business practices. That’s why we work with organizations like Fairtrade International, where farmers make up half the general assembly, and Milk with Dignity, a pioneering farmworker-led human rights labor standard.
Regenerative Agriculture and Animal Welfare
Regenerative agriculture is about growing food and farming in partnership with nature to create healthy, diverse ecosystems.
That’s key to meeting our goal of having an ongoing positive impact on the environment. We believe in farming systems that keep animals healthy, build rich soil, don’t deforest, and restore degraded natural environments.
Our Environmental Impact
Our operations have an impact on the environment and our work is focused on reducing the negative impacts and increasing the positive ones. And it's not just an environmental issue; it is an issue of social and economic justice.
Climate Change
We know our footprint, are working throughout our operations to reduce it, and we report on progress annually.
Productive Waste
Our waste is put into methane digesters with other farm waste, where it generates energy to power farms.
Cleaner Greener Freezer
Our "Lean & Green" freezers are more climate-friendly and energy efficient.
Responsibily Sourced Packaging
Our paperboard packaging is Forest Stewardship Council certified, which means forest wildlife, biodiversity and sustainability are protected.
We're B Corp Certified
In 2012, with the full support of our parent company, Unilever, Ben & Jerry's became the first wholly owned subsidiary in the world to gain B Corp certification.
Certified B Corporations, or B Corps, must meet social, economic, and environmental standards that make them not only the best companies in the world, but the best companies for the world.