Richa Naidu, Ross Kerber

LONDON / BOSTON (Reuters) – The board of Ben & Jerry’s aims to work out a “new arrangement” for sales in Israel before the end of the year, Unilever (NYSE:) PLC’s CEO said on Thursday, after the U.S.-based independent ice cream brand last year committed to halting sales in Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories.

“Our absolute focus right now is to figure out what the new arrangement will be for Ben & Jerry’s,” CEO Alan Jope said on a conference call with journalists after the company announced earnings.

Jope made the most detailed comments about the actions taken by the Vermont-based ice cream company. Ben & Jerry’s said in July that it would halt sales in Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories, sparking backlash including divestments by some U.S. pension funds.

Ben & Jerry’s, which has its own quasi-independent board under the terms of its 2000 purchase by Unilever, said it was “inconsistent with our values” for its product to be sold in those areas. Many countries view Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory as illegal. Israel contests this.

Ben & Jerry’s often speaks up on political and social questions. On February 3, the brand stated on Twitter (NYSE 🙂 that the U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision to send troops into Europe in response to Russia’s threats to Ukraine “only fuels the fire of war.”

Jope did not directly criticize Ben & Jerry’s activism. He said that Unilever brand brands are not credible or knowledgeable on certain subjects. We recommend they avoid the discussion.

“Ben & Jerry’s is a great brand – most of the time they get it right – they have a great track record of campaigning on important issues that are relevant to their consumers,” Jope added.

Jope is being watched by investors as they test his ability to manage marketing and social issues while still achieving financial results.

Kevin Dreyer is a Gabelli Funds portfolio manager and owns approximately 225,000 Unilever shares. He stated that, while Unilever customers like green-labeled products but some Unilever brands may be political activists.

Jope has previously said Ben & Jerry’s board acted independently and that Unilever does not support efforts to isolate Israeli, where it employs nearly 2,000 people. Ben & Jerry’s had said it would continue to sell ice cream in Israel “through a different arrangement.”

“We’re a values-led company with a long history of advocating for human rights, and economic and social justice,” Ben & Jerry’s said in July when it announced its sales halt plans.

Ben & Jerry’s accounts for about 3% of the world’s ice cream market. Unilever reported that sales of the brand grew by 9% in 2013, surpassing 4.5% overall sales growth. However, the company didn’t provide any further details about sales.

“I definitely would not make a connection between those (Ben & Jerry’s) statements and its sales growth,” Jope said on the call.

“The growth that we’re seeing on Ben & Jerry’s is driven much more by their innovation programme,” Jope added.