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Keurig Green Mountain's 2020 Targets Address Company's Biggest Sustainability Challenges

Keurig Green Mountain's ninth annual Sustainability Report, released today, reveals progress on the company’s 2013 initiatives, and also announces the company's ambitious new 2020 targets with a focus on three main practice areas: Resilient Supply Chain, Sustainable Products, and Thriving People and Communities.

By Aarthi Rayapura | Published 10 years ago | About a 2 minute read

The new targets were established based on a materiality assessment conducted in 2012, which engaged more than 120 of the company's internal and external stakeholders. The company says the 2020 targets take a long-term, strategic outlook to proactively address the biggest sustainability challenges facing the company as well as the planet. The company is trying to address some long-standing issues faced by the industry such as disposable K-cups and fair-trade practices.

Resilient Supply Chain:

Significantly improve the livelihoods of one million people in the manufacturing and agriculture supply chains
Source all primary agricultural and manufactured products according to the Company's responsible sourcing guidelines

Sustainable Products:

Making all K-Cup® packs 100 percent recyclable
Reduce life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions of brewed beverages by 25 percent vs. 2012 baseline
Achieve zero waste-to-landfill at all owned and operated manufacturing and distribution facilities

Thriving People & Communities:

Engage all employees to understand Keurig Green Mountain's vision and values and present opportunities that allow them to contribute to the Company's targets
Provide access to clean water to one million people worldwide

"Our new targets demonstrate our need to tackle pressing issues both inside and well beyond our own corporate walls," says T.J. Whalen, Chief of Strategy and Sustainability at Keurig Green Mountain.

President & CEO Brian Kelley adds that the report “demonstrates our company values of partnering for mutual success, and using the power of business to make the world a better place."

According to the report, in 2013 Keurig Green Mountain continued to be the world's largest purchaser of Fair Trade coffees with 56.8 million pounds purchased, up from 51 million pounds in 2012; an estimated $1 million of development funds were provided towards community development through the company's fair trade purchases for Nantucket Blend coffee; 83 percent of its waste was diverted from US landfills; and approximately $37 million were spent towards sustainability programs and initiatives.

In other mission-driven coffee news, TOMS founder Blake Mycoskie announced the launch of TOMS Roasting Company on Tuesday in Austin. The latest venture and third “one for one” product from TOMS was formed around Mycoskie’s goal of providing clean water to the countries from which it sources its coffee beans – Peru, Honduras, Guatemala, Malawi and Rwanda.