Protecting the Environment
Protecting the environment and reducing our environmental footprint are central to our mission and our business model. Indeed, we all depend on the earth for life. This is true in places where coffee is grown, like Indonesia, Guatemala, and Rwanda. It is true in China, where our Keurig Brewers are manufactured. And it’s true at our headquarters in Vermont, our production and distribution facilities across the country, and in any of the thousands of locations where our products are sold.
Waste reduction and responsible energy use have been two of our top priorities from the beginning:
- In 1983, with just seven employees, we began composting in our retail coffee shops.
- In 1984, an informal group of employees began taking on environmental projects and implementing solutions, including a recycling program.
- In 1989, we formally recognized this passion with the creation of an employee Environmental Committee, which led to the development of oxygen-whitened and dioxin-free Earth-Friendly™ Coffee Filters.
- In 1996 and 1997, the Environmental Committee was also instrumental in developing the first biodegradable coffee bag for bulk purchases, an achievement recognized by the 3M Corporation when it awarded us its Scotchban Innovation USA Paper Award.
- In 1999, we installed the first phase of our electricity co-generation system in our production plant.
- In 2002, we conducted an informal company-wide internal environmental assessment.
- In 2003, we began our greenhouse gas (GHG) offset program by estimating and offsetting emissions from our roasting and general operations.
- In 2004, we expanded our GHG offset program by defining a more complete set of operations (which included fleet, business and commuter travel), estimating related emissions, and fully offsetting them.
- In 2006, we introduced the ecotainer™, the world’s first to-go cup for hot beverages made with renewable materials.
- In 2007, we opened a 10,000 gallon biodiesel fueling station at our Waterbury, VT, distribution center and introduced new packaging for our Newman’s Own® Organics coffees, made with 19% renewable materials.
- In 2008, we commissioned a life-cycle analysis of our three main package types in order to help us quantify their environmental impact and focus our environmental improvement efforts most effectively.
