Leading with Values Ben & Jerrys take steps to solidify leadership position in super premium Ice Cream

Market. In order to make ice cream thats a force for positive change, Ben & Jerrys continues to search for ingredient suppliers who are aligned with the Companys mission and core values. These are suppliers who, through their business practices or through their products, are expanding economic opportunities for the disadvantaged, leading the way to more sustainable environmental or agricultural practices, or serving the cause of peace and justice. The company calls this project Values-Led Sourcing (VLS). Values-Led Sourcing has been a hallmark of Ben & Jerrys purchasing practices since our earliest days. They believed that business can work to make the world a better place, and in turns buy from suppliers who feel the same way. Some of the Values-Led Sourcing initiatives theyve included in their purchasing decisions include suppliers with Environmental commitments, such as carbon dioxide balancing from Superior Nut; Social vision, such as job training and community support from Greyston Bakery; and Third party certifications, such as Fair Trade. (SEAR, 2009) Ben & Jerrys took several steps forward in their Values-Led Sourcing program in 2009 by transition of the United States pint packaging to Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified paperboard; Added Chocolate Macadamia, a new flavor with Fair Trade ingredients to their global line up; brought all of our European dairy purchasing into the Caring Dairy program; and accelerated the transition to using only cage-free eggs in our U.S. supply chain.

The company also made several commitments to grow existing Value Lead Sourcing programs over the next several years, including a plan to move to Fair Trade sourcing for all eligible ingredients across global portfolio by 2013; and a plan to expand the Caring Dairy program in Vermont. By the numbers, 40 percent of the raw material spend (i.e., ingredients, dairy, packaging) for the North American production went to Values-Led Sourcing initiatives, up from 38 percent in 2008. In Europe, 53 percent of the total ingredient spend went to VLS initiatives, up from 42 percent in 2008.The large jump in Europe came about because the company completed the full scale-up of their Caring Dairy program in 2009. Also, they anticipated that their VLS spend percentage will continue to rise in the next several years as we embark on an ambitious scale-up of several VLS initiatives. In 2006, for example, NAIC supply chain expressed concerns about the supply, quality, and cost of the unbleached Eco-Pint container that we used to package our ice cream. The Ben & Jerrys team responded by presenting several options for alternative packaging that could answer these concerns, while still maintaining their commitment to environmentally responsible packaging. Outside of the Values-Led Sourcing initiatives, all of the suppliers for Ben & Jerrys ice cream are expected to follow practices consistent with the Code of Business Principles of the parent company, Unilever. This code includes: continuous improvement in managing environmental impacts, safe and healthy standards for workers, and a firm commitment to human rights, among other things. Unilever is also a signatory to the UN Secretary Generals Global Compact of 1999 which commits the company to support and respect human rights within their sphere of influence. Ben & Jerrys senior leadership team, known as the Managers of the Mission (MOM), has responded to changing workplace by redefining their role and reshaping their agenda to meet

the current needs of the Company. Informed by the Companys 2004 Global People Survey among other things, the MOM targeted three core areas of the business for improvement: 1) the clarity of the brand vision and business strategies; 2) the strength of the commitment to Social Mission; and 3) the openness and inclusiveness of communication and decision-making. Most notably, the MOM began an intensive, creative leadership development program and charted a course to articulate a new Company Vision Statement. Both have infused new energy into our organization and our work. The remaining action items are on our agenda for 2006, and we expect to reap continued dividends from this process as we go forward.

Work Cited
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