Ben & Jerry's: Tasting good, doing good

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Ben & Jerry's: Tasting good, doing good

When Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield founded their ice-cream company in 1978, they weren't just interested in producing excellent ice-cream. They were committed to a three-part mission that gives equal importance to product quality, economic efficiency and social responsibility. And even though Ben & Jerry sold their company to Dutch firm Unilever in 1999, that mission continues to drive all of the company's activities. Under Unilever's management, Ben & Jerry's publishes an annual social and environmental audit.

The company's "Social mission" (see www.benjerry.com) is:
To operate the company in a way that actively recognizes the central role that business plays in society by initiating innovative ways to improve the quality of life locally, nationally and internationally.

One project inspired by this mission is "Ben & Jerry's Climate Change College" (see www.lickglobalwarming.org). This three-year initiative is offering six people aged 18-25 in the UK and the Netherlands the opportunity to learn about climate change by participating in an exciting program of workshops, internships and a visit to the Arctic region in April 2006.

Ben and I built Ben & Jerry's on the idea that business has a responsibility to the community and environment and now, when we face a problem like global warming, and you understand that the hugest impacts on global warming come from business and industry, I think business needs to take a leading role, business can be a source of progressive change.

It is this belief that has led us to create the Climate Change College, giving young people the skills to return to their countries to inspire businesses and citizens to start addressing the issue of climate change.
Jerry Greenfield, co-founder, Ben & Jerry's

As Ben and Jerry joke: "If it's melted, it's ruined."

Ask yourself:
How do my company's operations impact the environment (social and physical)?
Could 'doing good' be more central to our brand offer?

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