Sustainability in the Global Food Supply Chain

BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire - March 12, 2009) - New research by Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company (NYSE: HHS), entitled "Sustaining the Global Food Supply Chain: Three Keys to Gaining Competitive Advantage" investigates the sustainability initiatives of food and beverage sector companies. The study was conducted in support of the Marrakech Process of the United Nations agenda on Sustainable Consumption and Production, and reveals the strategies and capabilities of companies with sustainability-framed initiatives to increase food quality, safety, and overall corporate responsibility. In fact 56% of respondents rank "the need for competitive advantage" as the top business pressure driving their organization to focus on a sustainability initiative. To obtain a complimentary copy, visit: http://www.aberdeen.com/summary/report/benchmark/5368-RA-global-food-supply.asp.

Survey results show that top performing firms have made a resoundingly strong business case for integrating sustainability into corporate strategy. Leading companies in this study achieved the following performance improvements:

--  19% decrease in energy costs
--  17% decrease in waste / disposal costs
--  13% decrease in defects / non-conforming goods over last 12 months
--  5% decrease in year-over-year overall operational costs relative to
    changes in volume of business
--  15% increase in customer acquisition rate
    

"Top performing companies are driving down operational costs while increasing operational efficiency," states Jhana Senxian, research analyst and report author. "This has especially high impact during economically challenging times. The hyper-visibility and critical nature of food company practices -- and missteps -- have driven thought leading companies to adopt strategies geared to responsibly sustaining the business while also sustaining the environmental and social infrastructures upon which the business depends."

A complimentary copy of the report is made available due in part to the support of the following organizations: Lawson, Food Quality Magazine, IAMA, and the Sustainable Food Lab. To obtain a complimentary copy, visit: http://www.aberdeen.com/summary/report/benchmark/5368-RA-global-food-supply.asp.

About Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company

Aberdeen is a leading provider of fact-based research and market intelligence that delivers demonstrable results. Having benchmarked more than 30,000 companies in the past two years, Aberdeen is uniquely positioned to educate users to action: driving market awareness, creating demand, enabling sales, and delivering meaningful return-on-investment analysis. As the trusted advisor to the global technology markets, corporations turn to Aberdeen™ for insights that drive decisions.

As a Harte-Hanks Company, Aberdeen plays a key role of putting content in context for the global direct and targeted marketing company. Aberdeen's analytical and independent view of the "customer optimization" process of Harte-Hanks (Information - Opportunity - Insight - Engagement - Interaction) extends the client value and accentuates the strategic role Harte-Hanks brings to the market. For additional information, visit Aberdeen http://www.aberdeen.com or call (617) 723-7890, or to learn more about Harte-Hanks, call (800) 456-9748 or go to http://www.harte-hanks.com.

Contact Information: Media Contact: Jhana Senxian Aberdeen Harte-Hanks (617) 854-5363 Jhana.senxian@aberdeen.com