7-1 Blog: Green for Profit or Green for the Environment?

Let's Talk a Socially/Ethically Responsible Compay:

When thinking about a socially/ethically responsible company, the first one that comes to mind is my favorite ice cream company - Ben & Jerry's. This is a company that has been outspoken on social issues for decades. They did not simply hop onto the rising trend of the past couple of years of companies becoming 'woke' to attack consumers and increase sales.

They are socially responsible in a number of ways. The company states, directly from their values webpage, that "guided by our Core Values, we seek in all we do, at every level of our business, to advance human rights and dignity, support social and economic justice for historically marginalized communities, and protect and restore the Earth's natural systems" (https://www.benjerry.com/values).

All of their products are non-GMO, use cage free eggs, fair trade, responsibly resourced packaging and through the milk with dignity program.

The company worked to bring attention to global warming by creating the ice cream Save Our Swirled. Along with this, they took a look at their own carbon foot print. In 2015, they ran a Life Cycle Analysis that showed the carbon emission used to create their ice cream - at each stage of the process from start to finish, from farmer to store production. This information was then used to create necessary envornmental changes to their processes. 

Ben & Jerry's uses their platform to speak actively on these issues rather than just ignoring them. They create products to correlate to the social/ethical issues that they are advocating for. That way, when someone buys the product it becomes top of their mind when they look at it. However, they don't just slap these labels on their ice cream and call it a day. No, they use platforms like social media and their website to actively speak up on these issues. For instance, when George Floyd was murdered last year they made this post here on dismanteling white supremacy and their entire stance on the George Floyd murder. This is a polarizing topic and they publicly announced their stance with no regards to reprecutions of customers that do no share the same opinion.

It is difficult to find a time when Ben & Jerry's was not a socially or ethically responsible company. They are a company that was founded on remaining socially and ethically responsible. The co-founders of the company even stated that "business should be using its power to help address social and environmental issues, and not just making money" (Hadden, 2020). As global warming became more of an issue, Ben & Jerry's looked inward to see how they could make changes within their company to make changes to their carbon footprint. However, recently Ben & Jerry's spoke out on their Twitter about the murder of Dante Wright and their backing of defunding the police. Fox News spoke out against Ben & Jerry's for their view, posing the question "what's worse for the world: Law enforcement or fattening ice cream" (Gutfeld, 2021). In his article, Gutfeld insinutes that Ben & Jerry's is not ethical because their ice cream has been a contributing factor to the increase in obesity over the decades since their creation in the 1970s. In short, the alternative side of the defund the police issue see Ben & Jerry's as an unethical company. Because this is more opinion based than evidence based, there are no legal issues related to this incident - especially if you consider that Ben & Jerry's labels all of the ingredients and calories for their food. 

Now poses the question, is Ben & Jerry's green for profit or green for the environment? In my opinion they are green for the environment, NOT the profit. Many companies start green stances to make themselves look good. They will speak out against global warming, all while not changing a thing about their production and remaining large contributers to global warming. However, Ben & Jerry's has always put action behind their words to make a difference. They have created changing in production, that cost them more, to become a greener company - all the while keeping their prices the same. They are spending more to be greener; therefore, not making a profit off of being green. They have been deeply routed in being ethically and socially responsible since their founding. These are issues that the co-founders and current CEO feel strongly about and put before a profit. They believe that business should not be solely focused on profit, but also focused on making a difference with social and environmental issues.

Referrnces

Gutfeld, G. (2021, April 17). Greg gutfeld: Ben & Jerry's calls to defund the police, but they should look inward. Retrieved April 18, 2021, from https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/greg-gutfeld-ben-and-jerrys-abolish-police-ice-cream

Hadden, J. (2020, June 14). Meet the founders of Ben & Jerry's, who started their company in a converted gas station and built it up into an ice CREAM EMPIRE. Retrieved April 18, 2021, from https://www.businessinsider.com/meet-ben-cohen-jerry-greenfield-founders-of-ben-and-jerrys-2020-6