www.gmaonline.org/issues-policy/preserving-the-environment
Environmental
success stories in the
Consumer Packaged
Goods industry
Grocery Manufacturers Association
2014
Executive summary
Environmental success stories
This report aims to draw together and highlight examples of innovative
environmental sustainability initiatives undertaken by members.
The stories demonstrate tangible returns and showcase pioneering
collaborations within the industry.
Introduction from GMA
need to find new ways of doing business.
It’s good, then, that many companies
have a running start.
Mike Gruber
Vice President,
Federal Affairs—Grocery
Manufacturers Association
This report, a collection of successful
environmental initiatives, demonstrates a
wide range of approaches to innovation.
Companies are finding unique ways to
save money by reducing air and carbon
emissions, slashing water use, and
finding new uses for materials that were
once called waste.
The Grocery Manufacturers Association
(GMA) is pleased to bring you this
“Environmental Success Stories in the
Consumer Packaged Goods Industry”
report. This report, an update to the
inaugural report released in 2012,
was also created in partnership with a
leading global professional services firm.
In the 2012 report, we highlighted many
accomplishments; among them that
the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG)
industry is outpacing the Standard &
Poor’s 500 on both carbon and water
performance. This was exciting news and
a result of the industry’s long-standing
commitment to improving consumers’
lives both through our products and by
reducing our impact on the environment.
The 2014 report includes even more
examples of sustainability innovation
and creativity from the food, beverage,
and consumer products sector. These
success stories show that regardless of
product type, company size, or location,
CPG companies continue to find new
and substantive ways to use fewer
resources and develop products and
education campaigns to help consumers
do the same.
As we continue on the sustainability
journey to help address some of the
world’s most pressing environmental
challenges in the areas of air, water, and
waste, the CPG industry will seek out
new solutions, partnerships, and ideas.
Opportunities for improvement certainly
remain, both in the U.S. and globally,
and the food, beverage, and consumer
products sector will maintain its drive
toward identifying those opportunities
and solutions up and down the
value chain.
Commentary from
Andrew Winston, sustainability
strategist and best-selling author on
green business
The environmental pressures coming
to bear on the business community are
growing, from extreme weather and
climate change to resource constraints
and rising commodity prices. The
food, beverage, and consumer products
industry is on the front lines of these
mega challenges. Sustainability is critical
to this sector…but this sector is also
critical to sustainability.
But you’ll also read about organizations
going beyond internal operational
efficiency to introduce new products
that use fewer resources and thus help
their customers reduce their impacts.
Some companies are also finding new
ways to create value for themselves and
their communities at the same time: see,
for example, the story of how Green
Mountain Coffee Roasters is using some
packaging—the burlap bags that hold
coffee beans—as rainwater filters to keep
runoff pollution out of waterways.
Companies increasingly realize that
they can’t solve our largest challenges by
themselves. To thrive in a volatile world,
we’ll all need to leverage the kinds of
innovations shown here. This more
sustainable path will improve everyday
operations but also enhance the role
companies play in society.
As our challenges grow—and the deep
connections between food, water, and
energy become more evident—it’s clear
that all sectors, including this one, will
Environmental success stories in the Consumer Packaged Goods industry
1
Methodology
GMA is the voice of more than 300 leading food, beverage and
consumer product companies that sustain and enhance the quality
of life for hundreds of millions of people in the U.S. and around the
globe. Based in Washington, D.C., GMA’s member organizations
include internationally recognized brands as well as steadily growing,
localized brands.
GMA-led efforts seek to reduce the industry’s environmental
footprint, provide consumers with innovative, environmentallyfriendly products and preserve our natural resources for
future generations.
2
Environmental success stories in the Consumer Packaged Goods industry
All GMA members were considered
as part of the population for this
report. Based on the environmental
sustainability criteria established, the
list of GMA members was subsequently
reduced to include 164 food, beverage
and consumer product companies
and retailers.
Research was performed by a global
professional services firm, under GMA’s
direction. The objective of the research
was to identify success stories within
three defined areas of environmental
sustainability: air, waste and water.
Analysts researched current publiclyavailable corporate social responsibility
and sustainability reports, website
content, and other company information
for stories that demonstrated success as
defined by the criteria noted.
Environmental sustainability
criteria considered
Air
• Energy efficiency
• Carbon reduction
• Renewables
Waste
• Reduction
• Reuse and recycling
• Disposal
Water
• Recycling
• Conservation
• Quality
Success story criteria
The success stories selected demonstrate
some or all of the following virtues:
• Innovative technology, process
or approach
• Monetary savings or quantifiable
return on investment
• Reduction in environmental impacts
or improvement in efficiency
• Interaction or collaboration
with stakeholders
• Successfully executed and/
or completed—not proposed
or planned.
Story selection
GMA made all the decisions for which
stories demonstrated success and were
included in this report.
The Grocery Manufacturers
Association is the voice of more
than 300 leading food, beverage
and consumer product companies
that sustain and enhance the quality
of life for hundreds of millions of
people in the United States and
around the globe.
Founded in 1908, GMA is an
active, vocal advocate for its
member companies and a trusted
source of information about
the industry and the products
consumers rely on and enjoy
every day. The association and its
member companies are committed
to meeting the needs of consumers
through product innovation,
responsible business practices and
effective public policy solutions
developed through a genuine
partnership with policymakers and
other stakeholders.
In keeping with our founding
principles, GMA helps its members
produce safe products through a
strong and ongoing commitment
to scientific research, testing
and evaluation and to providing
consumers with the products,
tools and information they need
to achieve a healthy diet and an
active lifestyle.
The food, beverage and consumer
packaged goods industry in the
United States generates sales of
$2.1 trillion annually, employs 14
million workers and contributes
over $1 trillion in added value to the
economy every year.
Environmental success stories in the Consumer Packaged Goods industry
3
Air
According to the Carbon Disclosure Project’s 2013 S&P 500
Climate Change Report, the Consumer Staples sector is one
of only three sectors to have more than doubled their financial
investment in emissions reduction activities since 2012.
4
Environmental success stories in the Consumer Packaged Goods industry
Thinking outside the
emissions box
While energy efficiency still plays a
significant role in carbon reduction
for GMA members, companies are
starting to look for ways to reduce air
emissions beyond their own walls. With
value chain emissions playing a larger
role in global emissions management,
GMA members are showing successes
with programs to reduce emissions
throughout their transportation and
distribution channels. Some companies
are also looking for ways to educate
the users of their products as part of a
holistic emissions reduction strategy that
considers impact throughout the life of
a product.
According to the Carbon Disclosure
Project’s 2013 S&P 500 Climate
Change Report, the Consumer Staples
sector is one of only three sectors to
have more than doubled their financial
investment in emissions reduction
activities since 2012. Companies
anticipate that 55 percent of projects
have a payback period of 3 years or less.1
Energy efficiency
The Clorox Company: Seeking
efficiency every day
Nearly 1,200 Clorox employees and
contractors sit in the company’s 34-yearold headquarters in Oakland, California
—an office building that reflects Clorox’s
commitment to reducing workplace
energy use and greenhouse gas emissions
1 CDP S&P 500 Climate Change Report 2013:
Investment, transformation and leadership,
CDP North America 2013
by its status as one of the oldest
buildings to achieve Platinum Level
LEED—EB2.
of CO2 equivalent over the next several
years—equivalent to the annual emissions
of over 10.9 million passenger vehicles.
Platinum certification is the highest
of four certification levels the LEED
program offers, and the Clorox
headquarters was one of only 38
buildings to have achieved the
certification at the time. In order to
earn this certification the company had
to make dozens of significant building
improvements including:
At the end of 2013, total HFC-free
deployments reached 1 million units
placed. This represents significant
progress—about 24 percent
(approximately 230,000 units) of CocaCola’s 2013 cold-drink equipment
purchases were HFC-free.
• Replacement of over 1,700 lamps to
more eco-efficient lighting
• Installation of a new white reflective
roof (cleaned regularly with Green
Works!)
• Numerous efficiency improvements
to the building’s heating, cooling
and ventilation system, such as high
efficiency boilers and water heaters
–– The Clorox Company Website:
Corporate Responsibility
The Coca-Cola Company: Phasing
out hydrofluorocarbons
Because of the high global warming
potential of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs),
Coca-Cola is phasing out the use of
HFC refrigerants in their more than 14
million dispensers, vending machines
and coolers in the marketplace. With a
goal for all new cold-drink equipment
to be HFC-free in the coming years,
Coca-Cola expects to avoid the emission
of more than 52.5 million metric tons
–– The Coca-Cola Company
General Mills: Creating long-term
value
As a food company, General Mills
depends upon access to high-quality
ingredients. To conserve and protect
the natural resources and communities
upon which the business depends, the
company announced a commitment in
2013 to sustainably source its 10 priority
agricultural raw ingredients by 2020,
which represents more than 50 percent
of the company’s annual purchases.
Through sustainable sourcing, the
company is addressing the areas of the
food value chain with the most impact
on energy usage and greenhouse gas
emissions, and water usage and quality.
Since the early 1900’s, General Mills has
worked closely with smallholder farmers
around the world to promote sustainable
agriculture. The company is focusing on
origin direct investment, which improves
livelihoods and ensures sustainable
sources of raw materials. Most recently,
General Mills, the General Mills
2 Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design — Existing Building certification.
LEED-EB certification focuses on lowering
the environmental footprint of an existing
building’s operations and maintenance.
Environmental success stories in the Consumer Packaged Goods industry
5
“A 2011 redesign of Ocean
Spray’s distribution network
resulted in 14,000 tons in
CO2 reductions per year as
well as a 40 percent savings in
transportation costs.”
— Ocean Spray Cranberries
Foundation and Green Giant launched
a program in Peru to foster improved
profitability for smallholder, primarily
female, artichoke farmers to ensure the
availability of premium artichokes for
consumers in France and throughout
Europe. A similar program was
initiated in Madagascar to foster greater
economic vitality for smallholder vanilla
farmers to ensure the availability of high
quality vanilla for future generations.
–– General Mills 2013 Global
Responsibility Report
Carbon reduction
Ocean Spray Cranberries: Measuring
the impact of cranberry distribution
In 2011, to improve shipping efficiency
and reduce carbon emissions, Ocean
Spray redesigned its bottling distribution
network to better align with demand
for juices in the southeast United States.
By adding new manufacturing and
distribution capabilities in Florida as
well as a partnership with fruit shippers
and a rail operator to claim unused
cargo space in returning boxcars from
New Jersey to Florida, Ocean Spray was
able to more efficiently move products
throughout the Southeast.
Working together with the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Center for Transportation & Logistics
and the Environmental Defense
Fund (EDF), Ocean Spray calculated
carbon emission reductions from this
redesign and learned that the logistics
change resulted in 14,000 tons in
CO2 reductions per year as well as a
40 percent savings in transportation
costs. Ocean Spray plans to use this
greenhouse gas calculation tool to help
guide future logistics decisions.
–– Growing Sustainability:
Environmental Stewardship
6
Environmental success stories in the Consumer Packaged Goods industry
Procter & Gamble: Tide PODS and
cold water wash
Getting consumers to wash their
clothes in cold water represents a
significant opportunity to reduce energy
consumption and associated greenhouse
gas emissions. That is why Procter &
Gamble announced in 2010 that by
2020, it wanted to have 70 percent of
all machine wash loads use cold water.
Through 2012, P&G has made strong
progress towards that goal, as the
percentage of global washing machine
loads washed in cold water increased
from 38 percent to 50 percent. P&G has
made a significant contribution to this
increase through consumer education
efforts and by ensuring that its laundry
products deliver excellent product
performance in cold water.
Tide PODS are one of the P&G
products that have contributed to the
goal. PODS are made with a best-inclass film that is specifically designed
to dissolve in cold water, requiring less
energy to heat water for the wash. In
addition, the PODS are one of the most
concentrated detergents in the market
and are packaged in either a recyclable
tub or a lightweight bag, reducing plastic
use by 50 percent per consumer.
–– Procter & Gamble 2013 Sustainability
Report and Website: Enabling
Consumers to Conserve
CDP 2013 S&P500 Climate Change Information Request Results: Since 2001, the Consumer Staples sector has
consistently outperformed the S&P 500 in all areas of carbon performance
80%
74%
Perfomance score (%)
64%
69%
60%
50%
█ S&P 500
68%
64%
56%
45%
█ Consumer staples
77%
2011
61%
54%
51%
50%
46%
45%
40%
43%
35%
33%
32%
26%
25%
Emissions
performance
2012
Governance
Stakeholder
engagement
Strategy
Source: CDP S&P 500 Climate Change Report 2013: Investment, transformation and leadership, CDP North America 2013
Environmental success stories in the Consumer Packaged Goods industry
7
Waste
“The food manufacturing sector donated 700 million pounds of food
to the needy in 2011 alone. Without those donation programs and
partnerships much of that food would have been disposed.”
–– Food Waste Reduction Alliance
8
Environmental success stories in the Consumer Packaged Goods industry
Innovation, collaboration,
and donations
As evidenced by the stories below,
GMA members are finding creative
ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle their
waste. These efforts include packaging
optimization, the use of more
sustainable materials, and giving new
life to waste in ways that benefit the
local community or generate a revenue
stream for the company.
The GMA and its members also
teamed with the Food Marketing
Institute, the National Restaurant
Association, and other stakeholders to
establish the Food Waste Reduction
Alliance (FWRA) in 2011. Working
collaboratively across sectors,
the FWRA aims to reduce the
approximately 40 million tons of waste
that is sent to landfills every year while
increasing the amount of food that is
donated to American families in need.
Reduction
Campbell Soup Company:
Sustainable packaging
Campbell’s global packaging
development organization is committed
to continuously improving its sustainable
packaging footprint. As a result,
the company’s brands are achieving
significant reductions in packaging
material use.
The Campbell’s V8 Packaging Team,
for example, stopped putting cardboard
inserts inside the trays of 1.89L V8
and V8 Splash products. This simple
change eliminated approximately
900,000 cardboard sleeves and generated
annual savings of approximately
$230,000. Another Campbell’s
business, Pepperidge Farm, used more
than 4 million 100-percent postconsumer-recycled shipping cases in
its Denver, Colorado and Downington,
Pennsylvania bakeries. The Denver
bakery entered into an agreement with
a third party to measure and maximize
landfill diversion and recycling of
waste products. Overall, Campbell
saved 2,416,533 pounds of packaging
materials in FY12.
MOM Brands: Bag the Box
MOM Brands’ commitment to
innovation and the environment is
reflected in the company’s long-range
goals to reduce their use of resources
and waste. One way MOM Brands
minimizes its resources use is by selling
cereal in a bag without the additional
box. Malt-O-Meal bagged cereals have
75 percent less packaging waste than
comparable size cereals in a box. Even
when the box size is smaller, the net
weight of boxed cereal and the inner bag
is still greater than the net weight of the
larger Malt-O-Meal bag. MOM Brands
estimates that it has saved 156 million
pounds of paperboard since 2001 by
packaging its cereals in bags.
–– MOM Brands Website: Bag the Box
–– Campbell Soup Company Website: 2013
Performance Update of the Corporate
Social Responsibility Report
Environmental success stories in the Consumer Packaged Goods industry
9
“A simple change in the
way Campbell’s V8 and V8
Splash beverages are packaged
and shipped eliminated
approximately 900,000
cardboard sleeves.”
— Campbell Soup Company
Reuse and recycling
SC Johnson: Concentrating on reuse
American consumers buy 320 million
cleaning products in trigger bottles each
year, and millions of them end up in
landfills. If just 20 percent of those bottles
were refilled rather than discarded, it
could save millions of pounds of plastic.
To encourage reuse, SC Johnson has
developed concentrated refills that greatly
reduce packaging, decrease shipping
impacts, and reduce waste.
Starting with an online test of the
Windex® Mini concentrated refill pouch
in 2011, SC Johnson now has a fivebrand lineup of concentrates in easy-topour bottles made of the same recyclable
plastic as a milk jug. These bottles require
79 percent less plastic than the standard
bottles and avoid the transport of 19 to
23 fl. oz. of water per bottle. After consumers refill the trigger bottle, the refill
bottle can be recycled in most community
recycling programs.
–– SC Johnson 2013 Public Sustainability
Report
10
Environmental success stories in the Consumer Packaged Goods industry
The Hershey Company: North
American packaging reduction
The Hershey Company is working
toward its goal to eliminate 25 million
pounds of packaging between 2009 and
2016. To date, it has saved 14 million
pounds of material through nearly
180 projects.
For example, a multi-year effort led to
significant changes to the HERSHEY’S
Syrup bottle. Every bottle size was
redesigned to remove material from
the body and improve the bottle cap.
In total, these changes eliminated 770
metric tons (1.7 million pounds) of
high-density polyethylene—a type
of plastic.
Through other projects in 2013, the
Hershey Company reduced packaging
by 1.5 million pounds through
reductions in corrugated cardboard
used for shipping between facilities
and by converting to bulk product
shipping practices.
–– The Hershey Company
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters:
Giving waste a second life through
creative recycling
At Green Mountain’s specialty coffee
manufacturing and distribution facility
in Sumner, Washington, the team has
come up with creative ways to reduce
waste. Green coffee beans are shipped in
large burlap bags, and these bags would
once have been sent to a landfill. Now
they’re given new lives holding soil on
construction sites, as part of a wheelchair
ramp at a Seattle playground, and as
rainwater filters to reduce pollution
runoff into Puget Sound. The team has
also found value and new life for some
waste materials such as wood and scrap
metal, selling it to third-party recyclers
and earning the plant $7,800 in a single
month during fiscal 2012.
This waste reduction and recycling
program has come a long way since
its inception in August of 2009. That
month, Green Mountain recycled 4.5
tons of materials, including corrugated
boxes, boxboard, paper, and plastics;
in September 2012, by contrast, that
number had grown to over 400 tons.
Food Waste Reduction Alliance (FWRA) Analysis: Food manufacturers
diverted 94.6 percent of food waste generated from landfills to higher
uses, such as donation and recycling, in 2011.
5.4%
Food diversion breakout*
Disposed (landfill
or incineration)
94.6%
Diverted to a
higher use

2% Donated

73% Animal feed

20% Land application

2% Composting

4% Other
* Total does not sum to 100%
due to rounding.
Source: Analysis of U.S. Food Waste among Food Manufacturers, Retailers and Wholesalers,
FWRA, April 2013.
–– Green Mountain Coffee Roasters
Sustainability Report Fiscal 2012
Environmental success stories in the Consumer Packaged Goods industry
11
Water
“The proportion of respondents identifying [water] opportunities
increased to 70 percent from 64 percent in 2012. Furthermore,
the vast majority of opportunities reported (79 percent), such as
cost savings and sales of new products or services, are expected to
materialize now or within the next 5 years.”
–– CDP Global Water Report 2013: Moving beyond business as usual; A
need for a step change in water risk management
12
Environmental success stories in the Consumer Packaged Goods industry
Water as a success factor
opportunities to improve their brand
value as well as introduce new products
and services.3
GMA members are exposed to water
risks—in their own operations and
across the value chain—including
scarcity, flooding, declines in water
quality, regulatory uncertainty, and
increased compliance costs.
In spite of these risks, many companies
also see water as an opportunity.
According to CDP’s 2013 Global Water
Report, more than half of Consumer
Staples companies see an opportunity
for cost savings in increased water
efficiency. Many companies also see
Companies also have an opportunity
to engage their stakeholders, and
GMA members are working with
their customers and communities to
understand their water impacts in
order to reduce risk while capitalizing
on opportunities.
3 CDP Global Water Report 2013: Moving
beyond business as usual; A need for a step
change in water risk management,
CDP 2013
Recycling
PepsiCo: Near Net Zero
Frito-Lay’s Casa Grande, Arizona plant
turns more than half a million potatoes
into Lay’s and Ruffles brand potato
chips every day. It is also a great example
of how PepsiCo is working to minimize
its impact on the environment. In fact,
Casa Grande’s goal is to run almost
entirely on recycled water and renewable
energy while producing nearly zero
waste—they call this effort “Near
Net Zero.”
Companies disclosing targets, goals, or actions (%)
CDP 2013 S&P500 Water Information Request Results: 63 percent of respondents report exposure to water
risks in their direct operations or supply chain. The Consumer Staples sector is reporting more targets, goals,
or actions than the S&P500 in nearly all categories.
94%
50%
█ Consumer staples
█ S&P 500
89%
43%
38%
32%
38%
32%
25%
19% 21%
Community
engagement
Direct
operations
Public
policy
Supply
chain
Transparency
24%
Watershed
management
Source: CDP US Water Report 2013: From water management to water stewardship; Companies facing a need to build resiliency,
CDP North America 2013
Environmental success stories in the Consumer Packaged Goods industry
13
Water conservation is important in Casa
Grande’s location. In July 2010, the
Near Net Zero team installed a water
recovery/reuse facility, which combines
advanced water treatment, filtration, and
purification technologies to recycle up
to 75 percent of all the water used in
the facility.
to reduce use. Measures implemented
ranged from installation of flow
restricting devices to optimizing plant
sanitation and defrost schedules. On top
of a 19 percent reduction in 2011, the
facility achieved a 14 percent water use
reduction per pound in 2012, saving 30
million gallons of water.
–– Frito-Lay Website: Working Toward
Minimal Impact
–– Con-Agra 2013 Citizenship Report
Conservation
Con-Agra: Watch It! That’s My
Water Too!
Con-Agra emphasized awareness
building and communications to
achieve water use reductions without
major capital investments in two
manufacturing plants. Its Wesson
Oil facility in Memphis, Tennessee,
created an internal tool to track weekly
water use and other impacts. Regular
communication of these metrics
to plant management and hourly
associates resulted in a number of
projects intended to conserve water
use, including boiler operators more
accurately managing the reservoir to
meet production demands. These efforts
conserved 169 million gallons, reducing
water use by 15 percent. The Lamb
Weston frozen vegetable processing
plant in Paterson, Washington,
conducted a comprehensive review of
water processes to identify opportunities
14
The Kellogg Company: A sticky
situation
A Kellogg snack plant in Rome, Georgia
faced a unique challenge as they assessed
their water use: “We make Rice Krispies
Treats®, among other things,” said
Dave W., Rome plant director. “And
let’s face it, Rice Krispies Treats® are
extremely sticky.”
The plant therefore traditionally used a
lot of water to clean the conveyor belts.
Like most plants, the Rome facility uses
a system of hoses and nozzles, known
as belt washers, that cleans the conveyor
belts with high-pressure streams of
water. But the Rome plant has a lot of
them (about 50), and back in 2006 they
each sprayed about ten gallons of water
per minute.
Kellogg engineers set to work designing
and installing a new belt-washing
system. Since the most recent upgrade,
which was installed in 2012, they each
use just two to three gallons per minute.
Through these and other measures,
Environmental success stories in the Consumer Packaged Goods industry
the Rome plant succeeded in reducing
its water use (per metric ton of food
produced) by 69 percent in 2012. Since
2005, the baseline year, they’ve reduced
this measure by 80 percent.
–– The Kellogg Company 2012 Corporate
Responsibility Report
Unilever: Products (and consumer
studies) to cut home water use
Unilever’s water footprint is calculated in
seven water-scarce countries, accounting
for around half the world’s population.
Around 39 percent of the domestic
water footprint occurs when people use
the company’s soaps, shower gels and
shampoos. Therefore, Unilever must
understand how to influence people’s
showering behavior to reduce their
water footprint.
Unilever has undertaken several studies
in different countries to improve their
understanding of people’s shower
behavior. For example, they conducted
a shower study of 100 households
in Australia. By installing sensors to
measure the duration, water use and
frequency of showers. They found the
average shower lasts about nine minutes,
longer than the average UK shower of
eight minutes. However, despite the
longer shower times, the Australians in
this study did not necessarily use more
water than in the UK because on average
the Australians had showerheads with a
lower water flow.
These studies will help Unilever to
understand the triggers for changing
behavior and will inform the
development of new products, innovative
formulations, and collaborations with
other organizations. Direct action
through Unilever’s products included
the roll-out of dry shampoo under
many brands such as Dove, Suave and
TRESemmé; a promotional offer of a
free aerator with Radox shower gel in
South Africa; and crowd sourcing fresh
ideas on how to encourage consumers to
reduce heated water in the shower.
–– Unilever Sustainable Living Plan
Progress Report 2012
Water quality
Tree Top: Wastewater management
leads to cleaner groundwater
Managing wastewater can have
surprising benefits to the ecosystem.
Tree Top uses water to clean fruit,
to float fruit from one station to the
next, and to wash up. Handling nearly
300,000 tons of fruit each year requires a
lot of water and the company continually
strives to conserve and treat the water to
maintain environmental integrity. One
successful project is near Tree Top’s main
campus in Selah, Washington, where the
company sprays wastewater containing
some residual waste from fruit over a
field that it worked to establish as a
conservation area. Growing here are hay
and alfalfa, which absorb nutrients from
the fruit residue as they help further the
purification of the water before it finds
its way back to groundwater.
Not only is the conservation area now
a habitat for the native blue heron,
but local cows also enjoy the benefits
of the nutrient rich crops, and Tree
Top is able to recuperate some costs
from its production. Most important,
though, is the regular monitoring of
the wells located under the spray fields.
These wells are monitored routinely for
compliance with the Department of
Ecology to ensure the cleansing process
is working. And it is—the level of
nitrates in Tree Top’s wells is generally
less than 1ppm, significantly below
allowable limits.
“Around 39 percent of
Unilever’s domestic water
footprint occurs when people
use the company’s soaps,
shower gels and shampoos.
Understanding how consumers
use these products and
offering products that use less
water helps both the company
and consumers reduce their
environmental footprint.”
— Unilever
–– Tree Top Corporate Social
Responsibility Report for FY11
and FY12
Environmental success stories in the Consumer Packaged Goods industry
15
For further information
Mike Gruber
Vice President,
Federal Affairs
Grocery Manufacturers Association
1350 I Street, NW
Suite 300
Washington, DC 20005
Tel 202-639-5900
MGruber@gmaonline.org
www.gmaonline.org
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