The Hershey Company was recognized Friday for its continuing commitment to environmental stewardship by Newsweek in its 2014 Green Rankings. Out of the top U.S. 500 companies named, Hershey placed 46, moving up 210 spots from the last ranking, in 2012.

“At Hershey, environmental stewardship is simply good business and something we're passionate about,” said Terence O’Day, Senior Vice President, Chief Supply Chain Officer. “’Doing well by doing good’ is part of our heritage, tracing back to our founder, Milton Hershey, creating a recycling center in 1937. We are honored to be carrying forward this legacy of environmental sustainability, driven by the passion of our employees to protect the environment.”

Hershey recently announced significant achievement against its aggressive environmental sustainability goals in its third corporate social responsibility report.

Since 2009, Hershey has achieved 73 percent water reduction, 22 percent emissions reduction, 38 percent waste reduction and 11 zero-waste-to-landfill facilities, with a total of 97 percent of U.S. production occurring at one of these facilities.

In the Food and Beverage category, Hershey was named as the No. 7 company. The company ranked No. 256 overall, when the report was last released. When Hershey first appeared on the Newsweek Green Rankings in 2010, the company was ranked No. 399.

The ranking includes the 500 largest publicly traded companies in the U.S., evaluating them based on their success in increasing revenue while reducing their environmental impact. A total of eight factors are taken into account, including carbon, energy, waste, water and the extent of internal governance toward sustainability.

6/9/2014