Summary
This ESL lesson for B2 English students explores the unique success story of Ben & Jerry's, a company known for blending delicious ice cream with impactful activism. Students will delve into how the brand maintains its social mission despite corporate ownership and discuss the role of businesses in addressing social and political issues. The lesson includes a video, practical vocabulary, grammar exercises focusing on the past simple passive, and engaging discussion questions designed to foster critical thinking and improve communication skills.
Activities
- A warm-up discussion where students share their favorite ice cream flavors and debate the role of corporate social responsibility.
- Video comprehension tasks based on a short documentary about Ben & Jerry's history, its activism, and its "linked prosperity" business model.
- A vocabulary matching exercise to master key terms from the video, such as "quirky," "activism," "take a stance," and "backlash."
- Grammar practice focusing on the past simple passive, helping students describe events and processes related to the company's journey and decisions.
- Practice with idioms like "held their ground" and "stay in their lane" to express nuances in corporate and social discourse.
- Further vocabulary and grammar application exercises to reinforce learning.
- Speaking practice through discussions on corporate responsibility, allowing students to apply new language in meaningful conversations about ethics and business.
(pensive music) (spoon sliding)
- [Narrator] Phish Food, Chunky Monkey,
these quirky flavors are unmistakably Ben & Jerry's.
But what really sets the brand apart
is its activism despite being owned
by one of the largest food companies in the world.
- It's been really fascinating to see
that Ben & Jerry's has really held their ground.
- [Narrator] Companies that take a stance
on social and political issues
are becoming more important to consumers.
According to research by the polling firm Ipsos,
60% of consumers said they would be more likely
to consider a brand that's aligned
with their own views.
So how does the company blend activism
into its business model?
This is The Economics of Ben & Jerry's.
- Ben & Jerry's really takes a fairly liberal stance
on a lot of political issues.
And Ben & Jerry's has not shied away
from making those positions very public.
- [Narrator] The company's social mission
is rooted in the values of its two founders,
and their life experience having grown up in the 1960s.
- What's going on is genocide.
- [Narrator] Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield founded
the company in Burlington, Vermont in 1978.
Two years later, they were selling pints to grocery stores.
And in the late '80s, they began using their ice cream
to support social causes.
- They've spoken out about how they were advised
by counterparts in the industry
that speaking out and taking these activist positions
would hurt their bottom line.
This was just not something
that businesses were doing.
- [Narrator] But Ben & Jerry's pushed ahead
and by 1999, it reported $237 million in sales.
Today, the company says the overwhelming majority
of its sales comes from selling packaged ice cream
in supermarkets and convenience stores.
- What the company has shown over the years
is that if your product is delicious,
is attractive in other ways to consumers,
you can do these things
and still be a successful business.
- Hi. - Thanks so much.
- [Narrator] Ben & Jerry's centered its business
on an idea it calls linked prosperity,
which means that has the company profits,
its communities should too.
So when Ben & Jerry's needed investors
to build its first manufacturing facility in 1984,
it offered stock exclusively to Vermont residents first
as a way to give back to the community
where it got its start.
A year later, the Ben & Jerry's Foundation was born.
It received 7.5% of the company's annual pre-tax profits
to fund community-oriented projects.
In 2000, multinational food conglomerate Unilever
bought Ben & Jerry's for $326 million
but the ice cream maker negotiated a deal
where it could maintain
its own independent board of directors.
- While Unilever has made statements
over the years saying
that these are not the issues of the whole company,
they have not been able to stop Ben & Jerry's
from making statements on social media
that get a lot of attention
because of how controversial they are.
- [Narrator] After the killing of George Floyd in 2020,
many companies started posting on Instagram
to show their support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
While Ben & Jerry's released this statement,
saying "We must dismantle white supremacy."
- They were so much more direct than other companies
and that's where Ben & Jerry's
has continued to be different.
Because they've been doing this for decades,
they have that credibility.
- We need to have people sitting in at their Congress,
people's offices, at their senators' offices
and telling 'em we ain't leaving
'til you pass a Green New Deal.
(people cheering)
- [Narrator] But these bold statements
haven't been without backlash.
For example, in 2021, Ben & Jerry's announced
that it would stop selling its products
in Jewish settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank
and contested east Jerusalem.
This decision was criticized by Jewish communities
around the world.
- And I will give up on my Ben & Jerry
and everything that Unilever produces.
- [Narrator] And by Israeli politicians.
Two months later, several state funds sold
or threatened to sell their investments in Unilever
accusing the company of breaking state laws
that prohibit the boycott of Israel.
Unilever didn't respond to requests for comment.
At the time, the company declined to discuss the divestments
but reiterated its commitment to Israel.
In February, Ben & Jerry's posted
this tweet criticizing President Biden's decision
to send US troops to Ukraine.
- Unilever CEO said Ben & Jerry's needs
to stay in their lane basically
and said that they should not speak out about things
that they're not experts in.
- [Narrator] A spokesman from Ben & Jerry's said,
"We don't believe one must be a foreign policy expert
to promote the ideals of peace
and to oppose armed conflict
as a solution to solve problems."
(spoon banging)
In addition to its public statements,
the company's social justice initiatives
are also baked into every aspect of it business model,
how the ice cream is made,
how it's packaged and how it's served to consumers.
- There you are. No problem.
- Thank you, thank you very much.
- [Narrator] For example, the brownies that are used
in flavors like Half Baked come
from a bakery in New York
that hires people who face barriers to employment.
Ben & Jerry's also uses milk and cream
from family-owned dairy farms,
and all of its flavors are fair trade certified
which guarantees that farmers who grow vanilla,
cocoa and coffee beans get a fair price
for their harvest.
- There's a flavor that's gonna be supporting
the Poor People's Campaign.
- [Narrator] For special edition flavors,
Ben & Jerry's often works with nonprofit organizations.
- And a portion of the proceeds
will be donated to be supporting the campaign.
- So it's a real influence,
not just with consumers
but also by using their profits
to give back to these organizations.
- Can I please have a Mint Chocolate.
- [Narrator] Ben & Jerry's also has
about 215 independently owned scoop shops across the US.
As corporate activism becomes more important
to consumers, we might see more companies voice their social
and political stances online.
So does this mean it's the end of an era for Ben & Jerry's?
A spokesman from the company says,
"Ben & Jerry's acts on values it cares about
but trying to go at it solo was never the intention."
(lively music)
Vocabulary focus
The vocabulary section introduces terms essential for discussing business ethics and social engagement. Key terms include "quirky," "activism," "take a stance," "rooted in," "conglomerate," and "backlash." Students will learn to use these words to describe companies' positions on social issues and consumer reactions.
Grammar focus
This lesson concentrates on the past simple passive (was/were + past participle). This grammatical structure is used to describe actions or events where the focus is on what happened rather than who performed the action, which is particularly useful when discussing historical events or corporate decisions where the agent is less important.
