Jamba Juice Co., Emeryville, Calif., enhanced its comprehensive eco-sustainability strategy by forming a strategic relationship with the Global Green USA’s Coalition of Resource Recovery (CoRR), an industry working group dedicated to accelerating waste diversion programs. The alliance will help support Jamba Juice in its efforts to reduce waste and energy consumption and increase the use of more environmentally friendly materials, including the phasing out of polystyrene, which Jamba intends to complete during 2013, it says.

“We officially announced our eco-sustainability platform in 2009, and one of our key initiatives was focused on the next evolution of our cold beverage cup,” said Susan Shields, senior vice president and chief innovation officer for the company, in a statement. “We are committed to reducing our environmental footprint and to working with like-minded organizations, such as CoRR, in the exploration of new packaging technologies and waste management infrastructures that enable continuous improvement.”
 
Jamba has been working with a variety of organizations examining alternative options for removing polystyrene and other materials from its waste stream, expanding its use of more sustainable packaging and managing energy consumption. These efforts include forming strategic relationships in distribution, manufacturing and waste management to find more sustainable solutions to reduce the company’s eco-footprint.

“We are thrilled to be working with Jamba Juice to find ways to enhance their environmental performance, including strategic solutions for improving the recycling or composting of their waste streams," said Lily Kelly, director of Global Green USA’s Coalition for Resource Recovery, in a statement. “There is a rapid movement toward more sustainable solutions for product packaging, in particular persistent waste streams, such as polystyrene, that are not commonly recycled. With this program, Jamba is not only improving the recoverability of its own product packaging but raising the bar for [its] restaurant industry peers and spurring them to do the same.”

In addition to serving “better-for-you” beverages, Jamba Juice also is actively engaged in socially responsible programs, such as its sponsorship of “Team Up for a Healthy America,” a grassroots pledge program designed to engage adults and youth alike in the fight against obesity by living a more active lifestyle and eating healthier. It also is a proud sponsor of “It’s All About the Fruits and Veggies” garden grant program in partnership with the National Gardening Association and Whirl’d Soccer, a locally driven, community-based company initiative focused on keeping kids active through sponsorship of youth soccer programs.