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Frontier Releases Sustainability Report
May 25, 2010
2 Min Read
NORWAY, IowaFrontier Natural Products Co-op, a U.S. manufacturer and marketer of natural and organic products, released its bi-annual corporate sustainability report, covering the years 2008 to 2009. Following reporting requirements of the Food Trade Sustainability Leadership Association (FTSLA), Frontier established benchmarks that improve the accountability and transparency of its sustainability efforts. The co-op uses the comprehensive report to both assess its current sustainability performance and develop effective goals for the future.
Frontier focused its sustainability efforts on 10 key areas: sourcing, energy, climate change, resource waste and use, packaging and supplies, stakeholder involvement, employee health and well-being, community, social spending and product.
Some of the key results for the co-op include:
Increasing organic, Well Earth and Fair Trade Certified products by nearly 60 percent to 500,000 pounds total in 2009;
Offsetting 100 percent of energy-use emissions while eliminating 56 tons of CO2 emissions;
Registering 7,000 square feet of building renovation for LEED certification;
Replacing foam packing peanuts with biodegradable packing peanuts;
Achieving 30 percent recycled content for packaging materials;
Engaging with our community of customers and stakeholders through social media;
Investing $70,000 in employee education and training programs;
Implementing a volunteer program in which employees are paid for eight hours of community service;
Establishing a perpetual scholarship for hands-on apprenticeship in organic farming techniques at the University of California, Santa Clara; and
Investing in new food safety technology with the installation of a new steam sterilization unit.
Our complete and detailed reporting provides a way for us to communicate about sustainability both inside and outside our company, said Tony Bedard, chief executive officer, Frontier. By providing an example that may be helpful to others managing their own sustainability programs, we hope to influence the growth and adoption of sustainability by our members, suppliers, customers and policy makers.
"As this report shows, we are making a difference, said Kathy Larson, Frontiers VP of sustainability. Weve had a formal sustainability program since 2006. Its a focused, company-wide effort to evaluate overall sustainability, set goals for the future and measure progress against those goals. One of the most exciting changes is the growth of our Well Earth sustainable and ethical sourcing program. Through Well Earth, Frontier has helped feed hungry schoolchildren in India; supported a free, traveling health clinic among indigenous Mayan farmers in Guatemala; helped hundreds of farmers in Sri Lanka earn fair prices for their crops; and much more.
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