Ben & Jerry’s: Cutting Emissions from Ice Cream Production
Ben & Jerry’s is known for using its platform to champion social justice and bring about change.
It had global sales of US$1.1bn in 2024 and holds a 29% share of the UK’s premium ice cream market.
Ben & Jerry’s has been ranked 21st in Sustainability Magazine’s Top 250 World’s Most Sustainable Companies 2025.
Making one pint of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream produces around 3.4lbs of carbon dioxide equivalent, which is the company’s emissions intensity.
To tackle this, it has set science-based targets designed to reduce its emissions.
Its goal is to use 100% renewable energy in its company-owned facilities by 2025.
It aims to reduce its emissions intensity by 40% by 2025 compared to its 2015 baseline and aims to reduce it by 80% by 2050.
Reducing emissions from dairy production
Dairy production accounts for 53% of Ben & Jerry’s carbon footprint which means it is the biggest opportunity to reduce its emissions.
It is working on solutions including reducing enteric emissions from cows by changing their feed.
It also encourages the use of methane digesters on farms to use methane from manure to generate renewable energy.
The company is working with researchers to find more ways to utilise manure for land use, which can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve soil health and water quality.
Ben & Jerry’s is aiming to implement regenerative agriculture practices which maintains and improves soil health and increases farm biodiversity.
It is focusing on using homegrown feed, circular and deforestation-free feed and increasing grass in the diet of its cows.
To tackle its dairy use, it is making low-carbon innovations in its products including introducing non-dairy ice cream and cookie dough.
Ben & Jerry’s: renewable energy
Ben & Jerry’s manufacturing and retail operations contribute to less than 6% of its carbon footprint.
This is because it has already made changes in this area, with plans to reduce it further.
It is nearly at its goal of using 100% renewable energy for its global manufacturing operations, company-owned Scoop Shops and offices.
It is also exploring different possibilities including energy efficiency, heat reclamation and electrification to reduce the environmental footprint of its operations even further.
Christopher Miller, Former Global Social Mission Director for Ben & Jerry’s, says: "In an era marked for corporate greenwashing and, at times, deliberate misinformation, we believe there is value in making the realities of our performance easy to access and straightforward to understand.”
Minimising single-use packaging
Ben & Jerry’s aims to minimise single-use packaging and ensure its packaging is home compostable, fossil fuel-free and free from deforestation.
Its pint tubs make up the majority of its plastic packaging footprint.
It is working to find solutions to improve the US infrastructure for coated paper cups.
Since 2009, its pints have been FSC-Mix certified, which verifies that the packaging is deforestation free.
It aims to work more on solutions to its packaging footprint by focusing on fibre-based packaging which can help protect forest ecosystems.
Ben & Jerry’s says on its website: “If it’s melted, it’s ruined. It’s true for ice cream, and it’s true for the planet.
“It’s going to take more than just the actions of individual companies and people to fight the climate crisis.
“We need to collectively call on our elected leaders to support a rapid transition to a clean-energy economy.
“We have all the tools we need - we just need the will to do it.”
