Water waste at Ben & Jerry's
Ice cream giant lets million litres of water go down the plughole every day
ICE cream giant Ben & Jerry's waste up to ONE MILLION LITRES of water A DAY because staff worldwide are told to run taps non-stop to wash scoops.
The firm - whose green ethics are central to its environmentally-friendly image - has a global policy of using controversial 'dipping wells'.
It claims that health and safety rules dictate scoops must be placed in these sinks under constantly-flowing water to stop bacterial growth.
But that means - as the average dipping well wastes three litres of water a minute - just one Ben & Jerry's store with a tap running for eight hours could waste up to 1,440 litres.
Around the world, in 782 stores - in 25 countries - that's 1,126,080 litres, which is the daily requirement of the town of Totnes in Devon or the daily water needs of 250,000 people in Mozambique.
Our two-week investigation was launched when one of our Go Green and Save campaign reporters noticed a tap running at a Ben & Jerry's outlet in Wandsworth, south London. And the policy emerged after spot-checks and interviews at branches all over the world.
Some workers were confused about why taps had to stay on, others seemed angry. One said: "It's not very ecological, but we are supposed to keep them on."
After being confronted by the News of the World's findings, Ben & Jerry's - now owned by British and Dutch-based giant Unilever - admitted it has a 'global policy' to leave taps running, but agreed the policy was "not acceptable". The firm trades on its green image, which is heavily promoted on its website.
It proudly describes Ben & Jerry's history of supporting sustainable farming, fair-trade and recycling since it first opened in America at a renovated garage in Vermont in 1978.
It says: "In the Gas Station days, all our ice cream was made using a 19th Century rock and salt maker. Our biggest environmental impact was probably Ben's clapped out VW. As we've grown, we've been tracking our energy use, chemical use, packaging and waste for years."
But clearly they've not been monitoring their use of H20 closely enough.
Back in October it was revealed Starbucks used the same system of 'dipping wells' in its 10,000 stores around the globe, wasting 23.4 million litres of water a day.
For a company so keen to be green, Ben & Jerry's seems to have been slow to act.
And last night environmental watchdogs slammed Ben & Jerry's policy as a waste of precious water.
Environment Agency chief executive Dr Paul Leinster said: "There is no excuse for businesses like Ben & Jerry's to waste water. Some parts of the UK have less water available per person than in Egypt, so it's essential that we don't waste water."
Waterwise managing director Jacob Tompkins said: "Dipping wells are wasteful and we would encourage companies to find alternatives. The public don't want green claims and green statements. They actually want to see the detail of what companies are doing."
Ben and Jerry's sustainability manager Philippa Marshall said of the dipping wells: "It's a global policy. We totally agree with you, it's not acceptable."
She claimed Ben & Jerry's waste less water (450ml a minute) than the amounts we estimated based on our checks and figures from watchdogs. But even if their figure is accurate, it means Ben & Jerry's are wasting 43 million litres a year.
Ms Marshall said the policy must continue until the firm installs a new system. "If ice cream melts and is re-frozen, you can have bacterial problems, which is why you need to keep scoops clean," she said.
She added the firm - founded by friends Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield - has tested a new method which does not need constantly-running taps and installed them in 12 stores across Europe.
Ms Marshall said: "It's a high priority. We've had a successful trial for six months where the assistant presses the scoop down on a water spout to clean it.
But we could find no mention of this green initiative among all the other green boasts on Ben & Jerry's website.
And when asked about the timescale of the new measures on Wednesday, Ms Marshall said: "It has not been decided yet."
But by Friday, the News of the World managed to get this assurance from her: "We are committed to installing this new system in all of our existing 221 stores across the UK by November 30, 2009."
Our reporters are watching.
Unseen SuBo video
Floods UK in pictures
Winking lovely
VANDAL AGED 2 NICKED
Bullies suicide drive
Nurses to be sacked for carers
M&S boss's secret file on 'nutters'
This article has 34 comments
I can't believe that there are so many people out there that just can't see the bigger picture!!
Comments like the one talking about Mr Rain & Mr Sun and the question that there is no such thing as wasting water just make me sick. Collecting the water (from Mr Rain) uses energy, treating the water to drinking standard uses energy, collecting the wasted water uses energy, treating the wasted water uses energy and treating and/or disposing of the by products created by treating the wasted water, guess what...uses energy.
And even still, I've not doubt at all that someone will respond to these comments by asking "so what?"
By J. Posted July 31 2009 at 3:33 PM.
People who don't understand why this waste of water need to get a grip on reality of the water situation in Britain. Waste water , no matter how clean has to be treated along with the dirtiest of water waste therefore wasting money treating nearly clen water. Secondly the water is probably provided (especially in the South East) by water from aquifers which take hundreds of years to fill. Using this much water will empty them a lot more quickly than they are replenished. If you prefer to have stupidly hygenic ice cream rather than drinking water to survive then fine, but don't start moaning when governments have to limit water usage to normal households.
By Becky Wright. Posted July 31 2009 at 3:15 PM.
Who cares?
atleast we know our ice cream is nicely clean when we buy it
personally my favourite flavour is phish food
mmmmmmmmmm :)
By sam. Posted July 27 2009 at 7:41 PM.
It makes sense. The ice cream scoops can't stand in still water, the bacteria would build up. It also doesn't make sense to wash a scoop in between scoops - especially if busy.
The majority of commercial outlets are on a water meter, so they are paying for the water they are using.
I think it's far more of a concern, with the amount of rainfall we recieve in the UK, that we still cannot harness enough. Add this to the list of crumbling services in this crumbling country?
By Tom. Posted July 27 2009 at 4:20 PM.
So what? Ben & Jerry's are paying the water bill, and water is not in scarce demand - what's the problem?
By Vee. Posted July 26 2009 at 9:47 PM.
I think the most damning point made in this whole article doesn't have a thing to do with Ben OR Jerry. Rather, it has to do with this quote:
Environment Agency chief executive Dr Paul Leinster said: "There is no excuse for businesses like Ben & Jerry's to waste water. Some parts of the UK have less water available per person than in Egypt, so it's essential that we don't waste water."
What?! Shame on those who decide to provide (or more importantly NOT to) clean drinking water to ALL citizens of an island nation, even a relatively small one!! Granted the whole wasting water issue is important from a stance of placing an additional burden on the communities that have a B&J's shop, but really... What's more important - a wasted liter or a liter of drinking water that isn't provided to a citizen due to inattention??
(Full disclosure: I fave: Choc. Chip Cookie Dough, Phish Food, Chocolate Brownie, Key Lime Pie... - 'always buy the carton pint and I can NEVER find a shop!)
I miss you, Nichola W., and hope you're doing well.
By Eric F.. Posted July 26 2009 at 8:33 PM.
It does talk about it on the website:
http://www.benjerry.co.uk/waterusage/
By Katy. Posted July 26 2009 at 7:20 PM.
i used to work with ben and jerrys they used to make a point of making sure it stayed on even when really quite shop, they did loads of things that i didnt agree with,
By vik. Posted July 26 2009 at 5:27 PM.
For God's sake lighten up dudes... go buy an ice-cream!!!
By Mister Whippy. Posted July 26 2009 at 4:53 PM.
I know some people here want to excuse them because they have a wonderful product, but what has that got to do with anything?
Do those same people leave their kitchen taps running all day, because it is somehow 'more hygienic' to do so?
I certainly don't - not because I can't afford to, but because it would be stupid.
Likewise, financially I can afford to eat nothing but ice-cream should I wish, but I don't do that because that would be stupid too.
You don't have to be an environmentalist, 'tree-hugging' loony to see that purposely wasting resources 'just because you can' is a stupid and selfish attitude.
(And on a lighter note: I agree with Charlie - bring back 'Chubby Hubby'...).
By John T. Posted July 26 2009 at 3:20 PM.
they may waste water but omg how lovely is the caramel chew chew?!!
By Joanne. Posted July 26 2009 at 1:21 PM.
this is nothing new all food outlet do this
also starbucks
By fembie. Posted July 26 2009 at 12:43 PM.
so what? it all goes back to where it started in the first place
By carl moss. Posted July 26 2009 at 12:27 PM.
AAAAA+++++ Company.
By Rocket. Posted July 26 2009 at 12:03 PM.
We all are paying very high prices for utillities and companies like these just pour it down the drain?
Should they be expecting a huge water bill, because if they were paying don't you think they wouldn't waste a drop.
You have the figures, bill them now! no excuses.
watchdogs should fine them as well.
By Chriso. Posted July 26 2009 at 10:24 AM.
This is sickening.
It's insulting enough that they waste our precious water, at a time when we're all being slaughtered by the greedy water companies.
But if they're polluting the well, while issuing their creepy green marketing messages, that makes it 100 times more nauseating.
Carbon footprint my arse! What about your water footprint, you stupid greedy, cynical corporate creeps.
It's not @Ben and Jerry's ice cream? They sold out to Unilever long ago
A more accurate name would be Chemical Conglomerate's Marketing Mix.
By StoopyDeGunt. Posted July 26 2009 at 10:03 AM.
Yes water does evaporate and go back into he ecological system, but how do you think tap water gets there in the first place? Magic? Then magic takes it away again? Well done NOTW for exposing this criminal waste of resources. How about tackling Dixons, Argos, etc, for constantly having their TVs on when you walk into a showroom. How not very green is that!
By Graeme Egerton. Posted July 26 2009 at 9:55 AM.
No wonder the Ben and Jerry Ice Cream is so expensive to buy! Looks like we are paying their water bills! I find it disgusting that any business wastes this amount of water, and there really should be a monitor on ALL businesses for this kind of thing
By Gilly. Posted July 26 2009 at 9:30 AM.
I think the point you are all missing here is the fact that Water and Waste Water is very expensive to treat as vast amounts of chemicals and energy hungry processes have to be used to bring the treated water to the necessary standards.
As a trader they will be paying the necessary rates for clean water and for their wastewater to be treated. Ben & Jerry's water usage is nothing compared to the vast quantities used by other commercial traders around the country. Trust me.
By Carl. Posted July 26 2009 at 8:50 AM.
I just wanted to say at a time where if you buy a house on a new development you've got to have a water meter installed - why isn't this being done with businesses?
where i work we have a starbucks franchise but it's not run by starbucks staff. the guys in our restaurant don't have to keep the tap running constantly - and they didn't before notw exposed starbucks practices either. None of us were ever ill from it.
Time for a bit of commonsense. In the British stores why do they have to adhere to the USAs standards? Don't we have our own?
Oh and if anyone from the company is reading this please bring back Chubby Hubby with the peanut butter chocolate covered pretzels. I LOVED that one
By charlie. Posted July 26 2009 at 8:46 AM.
They should install foot controlled taps (faucets). These taps work like other taps but they also have a foot controlled pedal on the floor. If a person needs a lot of water they just keep the foot pedal pressed down . If they have enough water to rinse off the ice cream scoops
By Kim. Posted July 26 2009 at 8:23 AM.
I work at starbucks, we had the same system. But ofcourse, the notw has to do it's little report and it all changes. I liked the constant running water as it kept thing CLEAN.... and starbucks is so busy 90% of the time necessary to keep it constantly running.
By Kev. Posted July 26 2009 at 4:48 AM.
Here in the USA health and safety dictate that you can't place utinsils like scoops which are in non-stop use, in standing water; they must be under running water! Didn't seem to matter 40 years ago though, and we never got sick!
By Rod Garr - Miami. Posted July 26 2009 at 3:08 AM.
we have run 2 separate ice cream shops here in Australia....and we were REQUIRED by Govt health inspectors to install similar devices 10 years ago.
By Jason Blackwell. Posted July 26 2009 at 3:34 AM.
I agree with Philippa: Where did this idea of "wasting water" come from??? Water goes down Mr. Drain, then Mr. Sun evaporates the water. Rain falls back to earth and replenishes what was used.
The greenies need to get a life.
By Tim from Minnesota. Posted July 26 2009 at 3:52 AM.
Dear Philippa from Ben & Jerry's;
"Our global operating standards follow United States Food & Drug Administration regulations on food hygiene."
Why?
Couldn't the taps just be turned on when, oh, I don't know - when you need to use them?
People aren't exactly dropping dead all over Europe through not leaving taps running all day long. Bit of a silly policy really...
By John T. Posted July 26 2009 at 1:21 AM.
Its only water....
More importantly....
Whats your favourite flavour??
By simon_simple. Posted July 26 2009 at 1:09 AM.
I wonder if they would have made the promised changes sooner if their shops had been on water meters.......
By kev bennett. Posted July 25 2009 at 11:13 PM.
Dear readers. We take these issues very seriously but cant understand the fuss? So we wasted a bit of water! I mean, come on! Reality check people! Just eat the goddam ice cream already and shut up. Love ben.
By ben cohen. Posted July 25 2009 at 11:27 PM.
Didn't starbucks do the exact same thing?
By Lauryn. Posted July 26 2009 at 12:03 AM.
If it is regulation it isnt really their fault and more impotantly their ice cream rocks - oooooh yeah!!!!
By Jane. Posted July 25 2009 at 10:43 PM.
What a load of crap, it costs more money to treat waste water than it does to use a sink full of water and wash the scoops.
It's still cleanses the scoops, it's also hygenic.
It would cost less money using this method instead of wasting water.
Dishes are washed in a sink or a bowl of water by each household, the dishes, cutlery etc. are clean and hygenic and it uses less water than a million gallons a day.
Get your facts right about it still goes down the pipes back in the system. It costs more money that way and as a far more global effect than using water in a sink or bowl.
By bonnythescouser. Posted July 25 2009 at 10:40 PM.
Dear News of the World Readers,
Our global operating standards follow United States Food & Drug Administration regulations on food hygiene. We recognise that the use of dipping wells with running water results in wastage, which is why over the past year Ben & Jerry's has trialled a new water-saving device in Europe that meets health and safety standards. It’s already in 12 stores in Europe and will be in all stores in the UK by the end of November 2009. This new technology reduces our use of water by up to 78 per cent, so we can continue our mission to make great ice cream in the nicest possible way.
For more information contact 0800 1696 123.
Peace, love & ice cream
Philippa from Ben & Jerry's
By Philippa Marshall. Posted July 25 2009 at 8:20 PM.
So What? The water just goes down the pipes back into the system, if it leaks out of the pipes its the water company's fault though even if it does leak out of the system water cannot be wasted, there is nowhere for it to go, it will evaporate, form clouds rain down etc.
It's not as if there's not enough water in this country-winter or summer it rains incessantly. Plus of course Ben and Jerry will be paying for the water usage, which if reinvested properly to fix the pipes could benefit all of us with a more efficient, therefore cheaper, service.
I am also thrilled and reassured that as a company they place such an emphasis on cleanliness, well done Ben and Jerry!
By Jason Smith. Posted July 25 2009 at 7:58 PM.