Sustainable Supply Chain

At Ocean Spray, we work with our suppliers and manufacturing facilities to ensure our cooperative is conserving and protecting workers, communities, and natural resources.

Energy Conservation

Ocean Spray is committed to managing our energy use and combating climate change in our food and beverage plants. We do this in our manufacturing facilities by implementing energy reduction programs, investing in energy-efficient equipment, and advancing measurement technologies.

Our growers are also on board with clean energy, as some have started using renewable energy such as solar and wind on farm. The wind turbines (right) are on the farm of one of our Massachusetts Ocean Spray farmer-owners.

Transportation Efficiency

Ocean Spray focuses on smart logistics by locating its plants close to where farmers grow fruit, meaning fewer miles driven to move ingredients and distribute product. To reduce freight emissions, Ocean Spray joined EPA's voluntary SmartWay Transport Partnership in 2008. As a SmartWay® Partner Ocean Spray is dedicated to improving our transportation energy footprint throughout our distribution network.

Here are some of the ways that we are lowering our transportation footprint:

  • As of 2016, 91% of all freight moved by Ocean Spray nationally was by SmartWay partners with the remaining 9%of goods moved by small, local carriers that support the local economies.
  • Ocean Spray won a 2017 U.S. EPA Environmental Merit Award for reducing freight greenhouse gas emissions by 67%.

Responsible Business

Ocean Spray also cares deeply about our employees and the communities in which they live and work. As a cooperative, we are committed to providing safe and respectful work environments that enhance the overall well-being of our workers. Our people mean everything to us, which is why we are members of Sedex one of the world’s largest organizations for helping companies manage responsible sourcing in their supply chain and their facilities. In 2018, we began completing 3rd party SMETA (Sedex Member Ethical Trade Audit), social and environmentally responsible audits. SMETA methodology uses the Ethical Trade Initiative (ETI) code and local law as the measurement tool. It evaluates four areas:

  • Health and safety
  • Labor standards
  • Environment
  • Business ethics

As of March 2019, we’ve successfully completed SMETA audits at 100% of our manufacturing facilities in the U.S.

Waste Reduction

Ocean Spray constantly strives to eliminate waste from our food and beverage plants. Today, more than 90% of the waste generated from our plants is recycled or repurposed!

We also have an entire Ocean Spray team dedicated to innovating new products to help ensure none of our cranberries go to waste.

Did you know?
Before Ocean Spray invented Craisins®, the cranberry husk left over from extracting juice went to waste. Today we use almost every part of the dynamic cranberry. After the juice is extracted from fresh cranberries, we bathe the cranberry hull in juice and dry it to create Craisins®!

Water Conservation
Juice line in Henderson Beverage Plant that contributes to annual water savings

Ocean Spray is dedicated to water conservation not only on farm, but in our plants as well. Each Ocean Spray owned plant has a team dedicated to finding and implementing sustainability and water-saving opportunities.

For example, many of our facilities conserve water by reusing it. Hot water used to clean and sterilize our juice bottles is captured and reused to cool freshly-filled juice bottles, saving millions of gallons of water a year!