MILFORD, Conn., Sept. 15 // PRNewswire // -- The SUBWAY(R) restaurant chain, which has made a commitment to make its restaurants and operations more environmentally responsible, recently honored some of its vendors for their contributions in helping the brand reach its sustainability goals.
Schreiber Foods, of Green Bay, Wisconsin, which provides cheese and dairy products to SUBWAY(R) restaurants in 36 countries, was recognized as the brand's Vendor of the Year.
Along with its global capabilities, responsiveness to the SUBWAY(R) franchisees and commitment to the brand, Schreiber Foods was also cited as a great business partner in the brand's sustainability efforts by reducing the innerleaf paper between cheese slices, saving about 450,000 pounds of paper in the process.
In addition, the SUBWAY(R) brand presented two Sustainability Awards to CHEMCO Corporation, which supplies Green Seal certified hand soap to all SUBWAY(R) stores in North America, and SSDC Sustainable Solutions, which provides California Air Resources Board certified glass cleaner and degreaser to the brand worldwide. These awards were recently presented at the annual SUBWAY(R) convention in Washington D.C.
"At Subway, we don't think sustainability is a fad; we have taken numerous steps in this area by opening Eco Stores and making positive changes to our packaging and distribution methods, all while finding ways to create cost savings for our franchisees," said Marketing Director Elizabeth Stewart, who oversees the brand's sustainability efforts. "We are proud of the steps we have taken so far, but realize that there is a lot more to do."
Tina Fitzgerald, Director of Produce and Social Accountability for the chain's Independent Purchasing Cooperative (IPC), adds: "We have made a commitment to be more environmentally responsible in everything we do. The Subway team appreciates the work and commitment on the part of our vendor partners to help make this happen."
SSDC provides glass cleaner and degreaser, as well as other cleaning supplies, for the brands 30,000-plus restaurants worldwide. Those products had previously been shipped "ready-to-use" in large containers which contained water as an ingredient. SSDC removed the water and instead started shipping both products as concentrated strips, which removes bulk and weight from the shipping process. That packaging reduction has resulted in a savings of about 180,000 pounds of plastic and 155,000 pounds of corrugate. SSDC has received California Air Resources Board certification on all of its products as being more environmentally responsible.
CHEMCO's Pure Lotion Hand Soap is now Green Seal Certified as an environmentally responsible and ecosystem-friendly product. It is readily biodegradable, non-toxic to even the most fragile organisms in nature, meets all federal guidelines for limiting carcinogenic ingredients, and is free of any volatile organic compounds (VOCs). In addition, everything about it is recyclable - from the lotion container to the case it is shipped in.
About SUBWAY(R) Restaurants
The SUBWAY(R) restaurant chain is the world's largest submarine sandwich franchise, with more than 31,500 locations in 91 countries. Headquartered in Milford, Connecticut, and with regional offices in Amsterdam, Beirut, Brisbane, Miami, and Singapore, the SUBWAY(R) chain was co-founded by Fred DeLuca and Dr. Peter Buck in 1965. The SUBWAY(R) brand was ranked the number one Franchise Opportunity and the number one Global Franchise Opportunity in the 2009 edition of Entrepreneur magazine's "Annual Franchise 500(R)" survey, an honor that the SUBWAY(R) chain has received 16 times in the past 22 years.
SOURCE SUBWAY
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