Since the beginning, Ben & Jerry’s has been an advocate for social justice. This year, it launched a new ice cream flavor and partnered with the nonprofit Avaaz to build awareness about climate change and encourage action.
Climate justice is at the forefront of the company’s concerns. In December, leaders from around the world will gather in Paris for the UN Climate Conference. The ice cream maker, among others, hopes this meeting will produce a legally binding agreement to keep global warming in check – because ice cream, like the planet itself, is ruined if it’s melted.
To bring attention to the historic conference and give their fans the opportunity to be part of the solution, Ben & Jerry’s has created a new flavor called Save Our Swirled, made of raspberry ice cream, marshmallow and raspberry swirls, and dark and white fudge ice cream cones that seem to “melt” as the ice cream is consumed. It’s an extra reminder about the urgent threat of climate change and its potentially disastrous results.
Together with Avaaz, a worldwide organization that’s working to fight global warming, Ben & Jerry’s is encouraging consumers in more than 35 nations to sign the Avaaz petition calling for 100% clean energy production by 2050. It will be delivered to UN leaders prior to the Paris conference. The company is hoping the petition, which currently has more than 2.7m signatures, will encourage global leaders to commit to complete decarbonization by the mid-21st century.
To encourage Ben & Jerry’s fans to sign the petition and become informed, the Vermont company has also launched its Save Our Swirled tour. Traveling from coast to coast in a 100% electric Tesla that has been modified to include freezers for ice cream storage, Ben & Jerry’s will be visiting 12 cities around the US giving out free ice cream scoops and collecting signatures for the Avaaz petition.
“The most important thing that’s facing everybody around the world is climate change. There is an urgency to it that requires us all to take action,” Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Jerry Greenfield says.
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