How does Sara Lee define sustainability?
Ventrell: We are a food and household products company. So our definition of sustainability revolves around promoting wellness and nutrition, supporting our communities, and protecting our planet in a manner that is consistent with our values. We have basically three legs that we look at: wellness and nutrition, environmental responsibility, and social responsibility. Q: Does Sara Lee have any specific, quantifiable goals related to sustainability? Ventrell: We will have goals for package reduction, for water usage, and for energy that will be part of each Sara Lee employee’s goals for 2010. We will all be working toward the same set of numbers throughout the company. Q: When you are looking at designing a new package or redesigning an existing package for greater sustainability, what are some of the most important considerations? Ventrell: We use the five Rs—reduce, reuse, recycle, renew, and remove—as the premise of all design. Also, we are members of the Sustainable Packaging Coalit
