Albertsons Cos., The Wonderful Co., Campbell Soup Co. and Keurig Green Mountain all have been named finalists for the 18th annual Corporate Citizenship Awards, which “honor businesses for their significant positive impacts in communities around the world.” The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation will present the winners with their awards on Nov. 15.
Albertsons Cos.—Best Disaster Response and Community Resilience Program Finalist
When a disaster strikes, first responders rely on community partners to serve as frontline resources—proving supplies and manpower to help those in need.
During the August 2016 floods in Louisiana, Albertsons Cos. activated its Disaster Relief and Outreach Initiative to serve a critical need in impacted communities. Efforts included fundraisers, food and product donations, logistic assistance and cash donations. Store facilities coordinated with sister stores and vendor partners—and even transformed into emergency shelters and command centers for the local the fire and police department, mayor’s office and the Department of Homeland Security.
In a disaster that caused roughly $8.7 billion in damage and destroyed more than 60,000 homes, Albertsons employees worked around the clock to serve their community, tending to the needs of others while disregarding their own loss and hardships.
“We’re excited to be recognized for an outreach program that has touched and helped countless people, most recently after Hurricanes Harvey and Irma—our Disaster Relief and Outreach Initiative,” said a company representative.
The other two honorees for that award are Mastercard and The Walt Disney Co.
The Wonderful Co.— Best Commitment to Education Program Finalist
Agriculture is the lifeblood of the San Joaquin Valley. By 2020, an estimated 58,000 job openings across the region’s agriculture industry will require post-secondary education and training. However, only 30 percent of youth in the Valley graduate from high school ready for college or careers.
Leveraging The Wonderful Co.’s strength as one of the largest employers in agriculture, the company launched Wonderful Agriculture Career Prep, or Ag Prep, a program to increase academic achievement throughout the Valley and create a locally grown talent pipeline in agriculture.
Ag Prep immerses students in a rigorous, early college academic program, while also developing work readiness skills—all tuition free. Ag Prep graduates can then enter the industry’s skilled workforce with a high-paying skilled job, guaranteed by The Wonderful Co., and/or transition to a four-year college as a junior, finishing in half the time at half the cost.
Campbell Soup Co. and Keurig Green Mountain—Best Environmental Stewardship Program Finalists
At Campbell Soup Co., the health and sustainability of agriculture
systems are an utmost priority. That’s why the company partnered with a local farmers’ cooperative, Eastern ProPak and the Food Bank of South Jersey to simultaneously support local farmers and food insecure neighbors through the Just Peachy salsa creation.
Using its production resources and employee expertise, Campbell was able to bring the shelf-stable peach salsa to market in just six months. The salsa program has diverted nearly 100,000 pounds of nutritionally sound but undersized peaches from landfills. It also has generated $300,000 in revenue for Food Bank of South Jersey.
The Just Peachy program is a triple-win partnership—local farmers reduce food waste and become more sustainable; Campbell’s engages the passion and skills of its employees; and it supports food insecure populations in Southern New Jersey.
Keurig Green Mountain works to design, source and manufacture products that benefit the communities it touches while minimizing its environmental impact. The company worked with partners in the recycling industry to ensure that its recyclable polypropylene (PP) #5 K-Cup pods could find new lives as recycled durable goods.
Most recycling facilities were built to recover bottles and cans, not the array of products that consumers now use. Many in the industry worried that small-format plastics, like yogurt cups, butter containers and Keurig’s own PP K-Cup pods, would be lost in the processing.
Over the course of three years, the company engaged with other businesses, recyclers and industry organizations to fully understand the recycling system and challenges—ensuring that future business innovations are paired with sustainable recycling developments.
