Page 77 - Anne Bruce - Building A HIgh Morale Workplace (2002)

To Boost Morale, Alter the Environment 57

Ben & Jerry’s Puts Global Purpose
into Making Ice Cream
Ben & Jerry’s Statement of Mission consists of three inter-
related parts—product, economic, and social. Everyone in the organi-
zation is committed to the social statement and derives from it a
sense of global purpose and pride.
Here’s how it’s done: 7.5% of pretax profits are committed to phi-
lanthropy and hundreds of grassroots organizations that specifically
work toward progressive, worldwide social changes. Each employee in
the socially conscious and politically active organization knows that his
or her contribution goes toward helping a wide number of environ-
mentally and socially responsible organizations. It’s from this commit-
ment that every employee feels a sense of meaning and purpose
because they know their work at Ben & Jerry’s contributes directly to
making the world a healthier, more humane place to live and work.
Here is a list of just some of the social causes that the Ben & Jerry’s
organization has supported over the years with its generous grants:
• Dave Matthews Band and SaveOurEnvironment.org
• Children’s Defense Fund
• Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economics
• Business for Social Responsibility
• Center for Young Women’s Development
• Senior Action Network
• Black Workers for Justice
• Bay Area Nuclear Waste Coalition
• Post Graduate Center for Mental Health
• Environmental Research Foundation
• Support Committee for Maquiladora Workers
• Farmworker Institute for Education and Leadership Training
• Klamath Siskiyou Wildlands Center
It’s important to note that Ben & Jerry’s was acquired by Unilever
in April 2000 and Unilever has continued to honor Ben & Jerry’s social
commitment to making the world a better place to live.

Encourage employees to get cozy with customers. Managers
can’t be effective if they’re paranoid about workers getting too

close to their customers. For employees who want to hone their
interpersonal skills, increased customer contact will sharpen
their ability to troubleshoot problems, solve customer com-