The main reason why I chose Ben and Jerry’s this semester was because I whole-heartedly agree with their thoughts on politics, such as the environment. I have also learned from this blog that I agree with their stance on the use of technology and when and when not to use it. The first two technological ideas benefit the environment by eliminating harmful substances and cutting down energy. The last example shows that Ben and Jerry’s chose to not use a technology, which is incredibly inspiring, which I believe, is a goal for the company: to inspire people to do the right thing.
One way Ben and Jerry’s has used technology for their company was by teaming up with Greenpeace to “bring climate friendly freezers to the United States.” A good amount of refrigerators today use harmful fluorinated gases, Hydrofluorocarbons (HFC’s), but these new freezers use Hydrocarbons as a refrigerant. “Nearly one-fifth of the cumulative global warming pollution in our atmosphere is F-gases; chemicals commonly used in refrigeration and cooling units.” Greenpeace has impacted Asia and Europe as well by introducing these freezers, and now they will be able to penetrate the American market. These green freezers will cause no harmful pollution, and using them seems to be right up Ben and Jerry’s “alley.” Ben and Jerry’s has advertised their new freezer, so this more than likely improved their image, gave their customers more reason to trust their products, and improved customer loyalty. “This climate-safe freezer will keep pints of Chunky Monkey and Cherry Garcia as cold as ever, but it’s also going to help cool our planet,” said John Passacantando, Executive Director of Greenpeace USA (www.Greenpeace.org).
In May of 2009, Ben and Jerry’s selected a modern cash register called the MICROS e7 Restaurant Point-of-Sale System. It is basically a touch-screen computer system that works like a cash register. Ben and Jerry’s selected the MICROS e7 for its stores because “of its core functionality and its simplified support and installation process.” This little machine is also “green,” of course. Ben and Jerry’s was “impressed with the sustainability and low carbon footprint.” It is disk-less and does not use a fan to regulate heat, so it requires only half the energy compared to a regular electronic cash register. Over the next 18 months starting this past May, the MICROS e7 is being shipped to all Ben and Jerry’s stores across America and Canada (www.Reuters.com).
Another spin to the technology issue is that, in some ways, Ben and Jerry’s don’t use technology to improve their company. An example: Ben and Jerry’s don’t use cows injected with hormones. Particularly, Ben and Jerry’s opposes Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (RBGH). This hormone has been genetically engineered to increase milk production in cows, but causes health risks to these cows. Farmers that provide milk to Ben and Jerry’s must sign a pledge opposing RBGH. I applaud Ben and Jerry’s for not using this drug on their cows. This shows that the ice cream company does not use all the possible updated technology, but this is not necessarily a bad thing (www.Benjerry.com).
Ben and Jerry’s is one of the top-selling ice cream companies in the world, and the use of technology is an issue they must consider. Ben and Jerry’s has used technology for a whole range of things from freezers to cash registers to not using technology, such as hormones. In whatever way Ben and Jerry’s chooses to use available technology, they seem to choose technology that helps the environment and keeps the ingredients to their ice cream as safe as possible.
