The Hershey Company has been recognized as a top-ranking green company in part because of its fleet of battery-electric vehicles such as the Nissan LEAF.

Newsweek ranked Hershey 46 out of 500 companies included in its 2014 Green Rankings. Hershey placed seventh in the food and beverage category.

The company set broad-ranging sustainability goals in 2009 as part of its Corporate Sustainability Report that it updates each year. View the 2013 CSR here.

Among its fleet-related goals, Hershey has set goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in its distribution and transportation operations by 10 percent. Since 2009, Hershey has reduced overall emissions by 22 percent. Emissions rose 3.15 percent from 2012 to 2013 "due to increased global demand for our product," according to the report.

The company's logistics department is seeking ways to reduce truck miles traveled and maximize truck loading. Through an agreement known as the Hershey-Ferrero Alliance, the company has used consolidation to remove 584 trucks from the road during the past two years.

"'Doing well by doing good' is part of our heritage, tracing back to our founder, Milton Hershey, creating a recycling center in 1937," said Terence O'Day, senior vice president and chief supply chain officer. "We are honored to be carrying forward this legacy of environmental sustainability, driven by the passion of our employees to protect the environment."