Page 307 - Design for Environment A Guide to Sustainable Product Development

Food and Beverage Industries 283

• Frito-Lay, a unit of PepsiCo, has collaborated with the water
authority in San Antonio, Texas, on a water conservation
strategy for its manufacturing plant. Through a series of proj-
ects with reasonable pay-back periods, the plant has doubled
production while keeping water use below 2003 levels, reduc-
ing the water consumption per bag of chips produced by
over 50%.
• Cargill has continuously increased its use of renewable energy
to more than 10% of energy demand by 2007. The company
uses a variety of renewable energy sources including biogas,
landfill gas, biofuels such as biodiesel, ethanol and tallow, and
biomass such as hulls and bagasse.
• Ben and Jerry’s, a division of Unilever, has a long history of
progressive environmental actions and was the first public
company to endorse the Ceres principles. In recent years,
the company has invested in research on thermoacoustic
refrigeration technology, which utilizes sound waves to cre-
ate cooling and, thus, eliminates the use of gases.
• Heinz has established the HeinzSeed program to develop
tomato seeds using traditional breeding techniques (no gen-
etic modification) and distribute them globally to farmers.
HeinzSeed tomatoes remain ripe longer in the field, are more
disease-resistant so they require less pesticide use, and pro-
duce a higher yield, thus reducing consumption of water
and fertilizer.
The following sections describe DFE programs implemented by
several leading companies in the food and beverage industry, namely,
Coca-Cola, ConAgra Foods, General Mills, and Unilever. Like many
global multinationals, some of these companies have been criticized
by activist groups concerned about specific business practices, and
no doubt such attacks have heightened their sensitivity to stake-
holder interests. The purpose of this book is not to investigate conten-
tious issues, but rather to demonstrate how an earnest commitment
to social and environmental responsibility can lead to innovations
that benefit both the company and its stakeholders.

Coca-Cola: Global Responsibility
Measuring Environmental Performance
The Coca-Cola Company (Coke) is the world’s largest beverage com-
pany, with the world’s most recognizable brand name. The company
employs over 90,000 people in over 200 countries worldwide and
distributes more than 2,800 products that account for approximately
1.5 billion consumer servings per day. Coke has more than 300 bot-
tling partners globally, most of which are independent companies,