One Cool Ice Cream Company

Image Gallery Josh Martin and Jake Jones, two tie-dyed dudes from a Ben & Jerry’s in Lawrence, Kan., display their favorite flavors — packaged in “Eco-Pints.” Tabitha Alterman

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By Tabitha Alterman

Next time you indulge in “Chunky Monkey,” “Phish Food” or another funky ice cream flavor from Ben & Jerry’s, you can feel great — not guilty — because you’re supporting a conscientious company with significant environmental initiatives. From sourcing ingredients to packaging products, Ben & Jerry’s addresses the footprint its ice cream business leaves on the world. Some of these efforts include composting waste, reducing paper use, improving the energy efficiency of stores and production plants and turning ice cream byproducts into chemical-free fertilizer. Ben & Jerry’s also works with dairy farmers and scientists to develop better ways to handle dairy farm manure — a major source of pollution. Furthermore, the milk that goes into each delectable flavor comes from cows that have not been treated with artificial growth hormones.

The owners also use the power of their decisions “to help drive social change.” Ben & Jerry’s pays a premium price for its ingredients, such as cocoa, vanilla and coffee, to suppliers in farmer-run cooperatives. This economic model ensures profits for those who produce the food.

When Ben & Jerry’s can’t find alternatives to harmful business practices, it just invents them. In 1998, the company became the first frozen food manufacturer to use unbleached paperboard containers, which it calls “Eco-Pints.” And recognizing that traditional refrigeration contributes to ozone depletion and global warming, Ben & Jerry’s helped fund a project to invent an eco-friendly thermoacoustic freezer. Unlike conventional freezers, which use toxic chemicals to lower temperatures, this unique freezer “chills out to sound waves.”

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