Walter Freese Tu'79, Ben and Jerry's "chief euphoria officer," emphasized the power of business to support social missions Friday in his keynote speech at the third annual Business and Sustainability Initiative conference at the Tuck School of Business.
As the company's top executive, Freese leads Ben and Jerry's efforts to receive superior business returns, produce the best possible ice cream and be environmentally responsible.
Although many doubt the possibility of combining business with social responsibility, Freese cited Ben and Jerry's success with its social mission.
"Business also has the ability to be a force for change environmentally and to be a force for change in economic and social justice," Freese said.
He went on to explain that it is not the job of a specific individual within the company to achieve this but every employee's responsibility, from the top down. As a result, the company draws in workers extremely dedicated to the operation.
"There's a social mission objective for everyone who comes to work at Ben and Jerry's," Freese said. "When you run a business this way, you start to attract exceptional employees."
In addition to employee dedication, Freese also attributed Ben and Jerry's success to customer loyalty.
This allows the company to save money on consumer marketing and instead attract people by word of mouth.
Ben and Jerry's has worked to stimulate Vermont's economy since 1978 when it began as a scoop shop in an abandoned gas station.
According to Freese, the company purchases all of is dairy supply from Vermont and relies on nearby states when the supply is exhausted as part of an effort to preserve the state's family farms.
"We wanted to support a way of life that was quickly disappearing in Vermont," he said.
In 1998, as a continued part of their social plan, Ben and Jerry's introduced the new "Eco-pint" carton, made from unbleached paper in order to avoid the chemical bleaching process which is one of the country's leading causes of toxic water pollution. As in the case of many of the company's environmentalist endeavors, people wrongly shed doubt on Ben and Jerry's.
"We were told that people were not going to eat ice cream in a natural, unbleached container. Well we found out they did," Freese said.
In 2002, Ben and Jerry's introduced the "One Sweet Whirled Campaign" for global warming in conjunction with the Dave Matthews Band and Save Our Environment. An ice cream was then created bearing the same name as the campaign. While the company didn't make a profit on the flavor, Freese said that their support paid off in other ways in alignment with their ecological mission.
While Ben and Jerry's expends considerable effort in acting socially and economically responsible, its business is not impaired as a result. Rather, Freese attributed the company's success to its audacious commitment to a social mission.
"We're successful because of the boldness we take in the stances on these issues -- not in spite of it," Freese said. "There really is a spiritual aspect to business. I believe that."
According to his official biography, Freese has eaten his own weight in Cherry Garcia, Chunky Monkey and Chubby Hubby. His favorite flavor is probably Phish Food, but he also loves Half Baked, he said.
Tuck's annual sustainability conferences aim to promote discussion about how different businesses approach environmental issues.
