6. Environment >
6.4 Water Use & Wastewater >
6.4.1 Water Use and Wastewater
Water Use
Water is a significant input for Ben & Jerry’s ice cream production process. While our Vermont manufacturing plants operate in a relatively water-abundant part of the country, we are keenly aware of the need to manage our Company’s use of this essential natural resource carefully. 
We monitor our fresh water consumption and our wastewater discharge as key factors in our environmental performance.
The water we use to clean our production room and its equipment must be managed according to state and federal regulations. This wastewater contains byproducts from our production process, including spilled ingredients such as sugar, dairy, and add-ins (chocolate chunks, nuts, and fruit), as well as cleaning chemicals. To maintain compliance with our regulatory permits, each manufacturing plant has developed waste minimization programs to reduce the amount of waste discharged.
In 2006 St. Albans established a water use reduction goal of 1.48 gallons of water per gallon of finished product produced. The plant finished the year with a successful result of 1.43 gallons of water use per gallon of finished product, a 6% reduction. The success was based upon ongoing implementation of conservation programs and employee awareness.
The Waterbury plant doesn’t set a water use reduction goal because they are a tourist destination location. Water that comes into the plant is not metered separately for the tourist area versus production. However, the site still achieved an 8% reduction in the amount of water used in 2006.
Wastewater
Annual wastewater goals are established at our Waterbury and St. Albans facilities to reduce the amount of water discharged to the respective towns’ municipal wastewater treatment plants. The Waterbury plant is required to pre-treat their wastewater prior to discharge. This is accomplished through the use of a Dissolved Air Flotation (DAF) unit followed by an aerobic biological lagoon to treat the waste to regulated discharge levels. The St. Albans Plant discharges directly to the municipal treatment plant.
The St. Albans and Waterbury plants have continued to make improvements in their operating systems to reduce the generation of wastewater. This would include more efficient cleaning processes and greater employee awareness on water use that generates waste.
