Keurig Green Mountain Inc., Waterbury, Vt., launched its 12th annual Sustainability Report. The report’s theme of “Brewing Transformation” showcases Keurig’s efforts in local communities and across the globe in three main focus areas: environmental responsibility, strong supply chains, and thriving people and communities, the company says.

“As our new sustainability report shows, there’s much to be proud of here at Keurig,” said Bob Gamgort, chief executive officer of Keurig, in a statement. “Our progress on the sustainability front will enable growth for the company, opening doors of opportunity for our employees, our customers and our business as a whole.”

In the report, Keurig highlights accelerated progress toward a number of priority 2020 environmental responsibility commitments, which include the following:

• Targeting a new recyclability milestone, with plans to produce 100 percent of K-Cup pods in Canada in a recyclable format by the end of 2018;
• Meeting its 2020 target to reduce life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions of brewed beverages by 25 percent; and
• Near completion of its 2020 goals to balance 100 percent of the water used in brewing beverages and 100 percent waste diversion from landfill for its operations across North America.

“We know that reducing the resources that we and our consumers use every day yields environmental sustainability for our business, and we are proud of our accelerated progress,” said Monique Oxender, chief sustainability officer for Keurig, in a statement. “Keeping those resources in use, at their highest value is also critical, and delivering on pod recyclability achieves that in a meaningful way for our products and our communities.”

The following are additional highlights from this year’s sustainability report:

• Environmental responsibility: A top sustainability priority for Keurig is ensuring that 100 percent of K-Cup pods are recyclable by the end of 2020, and the company is on track to meet that goal, it says. In addition to announcing its accelerated recyclability milestone in Canada, the report highlights Keurig’s work to improve recycling systems and education through investments totaling more than $1 million a year with partnership organizations such as The Closed Loop Fund and The Recycling Partnership. Keurig also continues its award-winning testing at recycling facilities, aimed at helping the industry understand how K-Cup pods and other plastic items travel through recovery equipment so that the company can help to catalyze system-wide change to ensure that those plastics get a second life as a new consumer product, it adds.
• Strong supply chains: Keurig aims to build strong supply chains and improve the livelihoods of coffee farmers within its supply chain, the company says. For three years, Keurig has supported Root Capitol’s Coffee Farmer Resilience Initiative, assisting farmers in fighting coffee rust disease and investing in the quality of their crops. In total, with the support of additional partnerships with organizations such as Save the Children and Catholic Relief Services’ Blue Harvest program, Keurig has engaged more than 417,000 people across its coffee supply chain to improve their farm management techniques, plan for changes in climate and strengthen their communities, it says.
• People and communities: Keurig encourages its employees to contribute to their communities and create positive change in the places where the company does business around the world, it says. In fiscal 2016, 70 percent of Keurig’s employees participated in one of its sustainability programs, including 56 employees who visited coffee communities in Latin America through the company’s unique employee source trip program. In addition, Keurig’s Community Action For Employees program, which entitles every full-time employee to 52 paid volunteer hours annually, it continued to see industry-high levels of participation, with 55 percent of Keurig’s total workforce taking part in 2016, it adds.

Full details of Keurig’s 2016 Sustainability Report can be found at BrewingABetterWorld.com. For more information about Keurig’s recycling efforts, visit KeurigRecycling.com.