Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. Releases Fiscal 2012 Sustainability Report

WATERBURY, VT, March 18, 2013 /3BL Media/ - Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (GMCR) (NASDAQ: GMCR), a leader in specialty coffee and coffee makers, today released its eighth annual sustainability report, outlining the Company’s environmental and social performance for fiscal 2012. The report details the Company’s long-standing commitment to sustainability and unveils a new focus on three specific practice areas: Resilient Supply Chain, Sustainable Products, and Thriving People and Communities.

“Our strategy framework, and the steps we will take in the next year to build it out, will build on our strong tradition of sustainability, create sharper focus on our areas of interest, and position us to deliver more value for our employees, the communities that host our facilities, our business partners, shareholders, and stakeholders all along our value chain,” said Michael Dupee, GMCR’s Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility.  

In the report, the Company announced that purchases of Fair Trade Certified™ coffees represented over 50 million pounds, or five million more pounds than fiscal 2011. In 2011, Fair Trade USA ranked GMCR the largest purchaser of Fair Trade Certified(tm) coffee in the world for the second year running.

GMCR delivered a 46% increase in net sales in 2012 while also improving energy efficiency, recycling more waste, and reducing the proportion of waste sent to the landfill. Highlights of the fiscal 2012 report include:

• GMCR more than tripled the amount of waste chaff, burlap, coffee, powder, and tea that it composted, and increased recycling of corrugated boxes, boxboard, paper, and plastics by 50% in its facilities, compared to the previous year.

• Over $10 million in grant money was allocated to supply-chain communities, including food security projects for over 20,000 coffee-farming families around the world.

• The Company maintained an employee retention rate of approximately 90%.

• Sixty-five percent of full-time employees volunteered through a company-sponsored program called Café Time, which allows employees up to 52 paid hours per year to volunteer.

The report also highlights GMCR’s goals for fiscal 2013, which include continuing financial support for projects addressing food security in coffee-growing communities, increasing the sourcing of sustainable coffees, and further reducing the amount of waste sent to landfills.

“There’s significant value at the intersection of innovation, relationships, and sustainability,” said GMCR President and CEO Brian P. Kelley. “Producing this report benchmarks our achievements and provides important transparency into our challenges. We’re creating a blueprint that integrates sustainability more deeply into our operations and across our value chain.”  

Full details of the fiscal 2012 report can be found at www.gmcr.com/sustainability.  

About Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR)

As a leader in specialty coffee and coffee makers, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) is recognized for its award-winning coffees, innovative brewing technology, and socially responsible business practices. GMCR supports local and global communities by investing in sustainably-grown coffee and allocating a portion of its pre-tax profits to socially and environmentally responsible initiatives. For more information, please visit www.GMCR.com, www.greenmountaincoffee.com, or www.keurig.com.

GMCR routinely posts information that may be of importance to investors in the Investor Relations section of its website, including news releases and its complete financial statements, as filed with the SEC. The Company encourages investors to consult this section of its website regularly for important information and news. Additionally, by subscribing to the Company’s automatic email news release delivery, individuals can receive news directly from GMCR as it is released.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain information contained in this release, including statements concerning expected performance such as those relating to net sales, earnings, cost savings, acquisitions and brand marketing support, are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Generally, these statements may be identified by the use of words such as "may," "will," "would," "expect," "should," "anticipate," "estimate," "believe," "forecast," "intend," "plan" and similar expressions intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements may relate to: the expected impact of raw material costs and our pricing actions on our results of operations and gross margins, expected trends in net sales and earnings performance and other financial measures, the expected productivity and working capital improvements, the ability to maximize or successfully assert our intellectual property rights, the success of introducing and producing new product offerings, ability to attract and retain senior management, the impact of foreign exchange fluctuations, the adequacy of internally generated funds and existing sources of liquidity, such as the availability of bank financing, the expected results of operations of businesses acquired by us, our ability to issue debt or additional equity securities, our expectations regarding purchasing shares of our common stock under the existing authorizations, and the impact of the inquiry initiated by the SEC and any related litigation or additional governmental inquiry or enforcement proceedings.

These and other forward-looking statements are based on management's current views and assumptions and involve risks and uncertainties that could significantly affect expected results. Results may be materially affected by external factors such as damage to our reputation or brand name, business interruptions due to natural disasters or similar unexpected events, actions of competitors, customer relationships and financial condition, the ability to achieve expected cost savings and margin improvements, the successful acquisition and integration of new businesses, fluctuations in the cost and availability of raw and packaging materials, changes in regulatory requirements, and global economic conditions generally which would include the availability of financing, interest, inflation rates and investment return on retirement plan assets, as well as foreign currency fluctuations, risks associated with our information technology systems, the threat of data breaches or cyber-attacks, and other risks described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly, any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law.

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