Dear readers,

Nature’s Path was founded on the principle of leaving the earth better than we found it (thanks to farmer-philosopher dad and grandpa, Rupert). If that’s not a sustainable quest, then we don’t know what is!

Our efforts at creating an ever-more sustainable company begin with a reminder of our vision, which is… to be a trusted name for quality organic foods, while being socially responsible, environmentally sustainable and financially viable. Frankly, it’s a lofty vision, but we strive daily to make it happen.

We approach our deeper purpose; earth stewardship and social responsibility, as our name, Nature’s Path implies. We seek to learn from Nature and apply those lessons to how we run the business and we view sustainability as a Path of continual improvement.

The following document is representative of another step for us along our Path to Sustainability and we’re proud to share our progress with you. In 2008, we signed the Declaration of Sustainability, which we’ve adopted as a key part of our sustainability framework and this report generally follows the flow of the Declaration (though we added a few things here and there).

Our Sustainability Report is the result of months of research, number-crunching and analysis of best practices of both corporate and social organizations. It’s a map, a blueprint, and a call to sustainability. And it lays the groundwork for some of the projects we’ll be working on in the future. As mentioned above, sustainability has never been just a goal, but a journey along a Path toward sustainability. The Path takes all sorts of actions, small and large, personal and company-wide, through our leadership and that of our customers. We’re excited to share a few key points of our journey with you.

Arran Stephens Jyoti Stephens CEO & Co-Founder Sustainability & Stewardship Manager

Further Down the PathThe 2008 sustainability update from the folks at Nature’s Path Organic Foods

“Sustainability is the future. Our survival as a society and as a company depends on it.

As each of us lives our tiny moment in history, we must live sustainability in every way possible.

At Nature’s Path we aim to be leaders in a movement toward a more secure and healthy world...”

~ N AT U R E ’ S PAT H S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y S TAT E M E N T

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Declaration of Sustainability

Of course, we recognize that there’s more to this whole “sustainability thing” than merely being organically certified. We’re challenged daily to find new ways to embody sustainability — to go “Beyond Organic”. Recognizing there were others with the same burning desire to effect change, we sought out trade associations and joined the Food Trade Sustainability Leadership Association (FTSLA) and even warm a seat on their Board of Directors. The FTSLA helps provide organic and natural food trade businesses with guidelines and recommendations on how to run their businesses in more ecologically sound and socially responsible ways. They spent years gathering input from organic growers, distributors, processors, retailers, and certifiers in order to come up with their action plan called the ‘Declaration of Sustainability in the Organic Food Trade.’

The Declaration is an “aspirational” pledge that encourages companies to voluntarily work toward best practices in sustainability in various areas of operation: Organics, Distribution, Energy and Climate Change, Water, Waste, Labor and Governance Packaging and Consumer Education. More than just a sustainability report card, the plan helps companies find ways to improve their practices and encourages the organic food trade to inspire, challenge, and support each other in our efforts to make positive changes in our products and our planet. Great ideas can come from everyone. Even those outside the boardrooms and lunch rooms at Nature’s Path.

In 2008 and 2009, we worked hard to track our progress in each of these areas. Additionally, we’d like to share our progress in a few other areas including nutrition and community giving. After all, how can you figure out where to go if you don’t know where you are? This document compiles the work we do in every department, to look at sustainability from as many angles as possible, and to develop goals for becoming more sustainable.

“More than a sustainability report card, the plan helps companies

...inspire, challenge, & support each other in our efforts

to make positive changes in our products and our planet.”

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Right on! As an organic company, we’d like to declare straight A’s in this category.

Nature’s Path’s Organic Program is based on the standards established by the National Organic Standards Board for USDA Organic Certification. It’s a well-known standard for us and to the other FTSLA members, and the basis for many of the food products that each of us make. As a Canadian-based company, who manufactures in both Canada and the USA, we are QAI certified.

Where We’ve Been:

Everything we make is certified •organic. That’s right folks, we only make certified organic food.

We built a new organic employee •garden at the Blaine, WA plant in addition to the existing one we have at our Richmond, BC headquarters.

Our sustainable purchasing policy •gives preference to company clothing that’s certified organic cotton, hemp and/or bamboo.

Company sponsored meals are always •vegetarian and when possible, meals are organic.

We’ve partnered with two committed, •organic farmers to expand our total Nature’s Path Family Farm land to 2,240 acres. Half of the land is already organic and the other half is being transitioned to organic (A three year process that may present significant financial difficulty

for many farmers. Hang in there guys). •To take a video tour of one of the farms, click here.

In partnership with Organic Valley, •the Rodale Institute, and Organic Gardening Magazine, we’ve supported the “Farmer’s Can Be Heroes” program, helping current and future organic farmers. Want to learn more? Click here.

We support the• FTSLA, Organic Trade Association, Organic Agriculture Center of Canada, “Organic Matters” campaign, and other efforts to promote healthy eating and healthy soil.

Organics.

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Declaration Aspirational Statement:

We recognize the many benefits of organic farming for the health of the soil, water resources, plant, animal and human communities.

We will strive to source the food products we vend from farms using organic methods. Furthermore, we will source all agriculturally derived products (fiber, bio-based fuels and packaging, company meals, etc) we use in our operations from farms and supply sources using organic methods and offering organically grown product lines.

We recognize the importance of independent third-party certification as an assurance that organic methods are being followed and will endeavor to verify all organic claims before vending a product.

Ray and Holly Peterson, Nature’s Path organic farmers in Thompkins Saskatchewan. The Thompkins family grow organic Kamut®, soft white wheat, peas and lentils.

Where We’re Going:

We’re working to ensure that GMO •crops out there don’t contaminate the world’s organic supply, and we’re busy raising awareness, educating people about biotechnology and the food they eat through listing our products and the Board of Directors of the “Non-GMO Project”. You can visit the project website here.

We’re supporting the development •of the newly launched “Canadian Organic Standard” through Dag Falck, our organic program manager who occupies a seat on their standards development board.

A higher percentage of our company •meals, promo items, and other neat swag should be organic and/or fair trade.

We have always used third-party certified organic ingredients. Through our commitment to organic agriculture, we have been able to:

transition 36,000 acres to organic, –prevent the use of 162,000 lbs of –pesticides, prevent 12 million lbs of synthetic –fertilizers from going into the soil and our earth.

Organics cont’d.

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Organic farming is not only better for humans, animals, and soil health, but synthetic fertilizer used in conventional farming creates “dead zones” like the one in the Gulf of Mexico, which is now larger than the state of New Jersey. Yikes!

Save the whales, buy Organic!

Nature’s Path outsources distribution, of our products, but just as we’re concerned about the impact of our ingredients on ecosystems before they enter our facilities, we’re also concerned with the impact of our products after they leave. Our primary distribution supplier is CH Robinson Worldwide Inc, whose stated sustainability position is as follows:

“ CH Robinson works closely with our customers, their suppliers and our contract carriers to develop and manage strategies that support efficient operations and sustainable supply chain goals.”

Further, they’re helping us to reduce carbon emissions and improve sustainability by finding emptied trucks that can be used for the miles back home. We’ve also asked them to help us be more efficient by reducing transportation miles and optimizing

the way we load the trucks. Because the more product we can fit in a truck, the fewer trucks we’ll be putting on the road. CH Robinson has been a member of the EPA’s SmartWay program since 2006. They’re also working with Wal-Mart’s Food & Agriculture Sustainability Network, the Sustainable Food Lab, and the Business Coalition for Sustainable Food. And they provide some pretty cool graphs that help us track emissions by product and marketplace so we can try to bring production closer to not only the ingredients, but also to the people who want to buy them.

Where We’ve Been:

We’ve taken steps to reduce our •packaging, which in turn means less shipping waste. Our smaller EnviroBox™ boxes saved about 400 truckloads last year alone.

85% of our products are shipped by •truck, 10% by rail, and 5% by ship.

We strive to source ingredients as •locally as possible and work hard to find creative solutions to farmers’ supply chain challenges (like our farm partnership and supporting transitioning farmers). That said, we still source some ingredients internationally, the biggest single ingredient being evaporated cane juice.

Canadian Sourced: 26% –American Sourced: 56% –Internationally Sourced: 18 –

We are also concerned about the •impacts of employee transportation. Employees are encouraged to commute by bike, carpool, and public transportation with incentive programs like up to $500 for a bicycle from our Get Fit program and a $1000 employee grant toward the purchase of a hybrid. (Also, those who carpool and have hybrids get much nicer parking spaces.)

Distribution & Sourcing.

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(Right) Our preferred parking for employees who drive hybrid vehicles. (Below) Up to $500 is available for employees to purchase bicycles.

Declaration Aspirational Statement:

We will strive to produce, pack, transport, and distribute products from field to market using the most efficient means possible with the most environmentally responsible renewable fuel sources.

We will systematically improve our energy efficiency, reduce our energy consumption, and reduce food-miles whenever possible.

Distribution & Sourcing cont’d.

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Where We’re Going:

Our goal year to year is to increase the •amount of product that we ship by rail and decrease our use of trucking. Our goal for next year is to have 15% of our distribution needs met by rail.

We’ll measure and reduce the carbon •impact of employee commuting and corporate travel through enhanced green transportation programs.

We’re constantly looking for ways to •bring the bigger picture of ingredient sourcing and product distribution into our product development and facility location planning.

Global Organics and The Green Cane Project

Global Organics supplies Nature’s Path with organic cane sugar from The Green Cane Project in Brazil. At about 33,400 acres (52 square miles) it is one of the world’s largest certified organic agriculture projects. They have created thousands of acres of Biodiversity Islands, about 14% of their land, and as a result are about 50% more bio-diverse than surrounding areas. The sugar cane fiber is used as a biofuel to generate electricity, and they are able to sell back to the grid enough electricity to power over 80,000 average US homes - for a year. A complete carbon inventory of the project was carried out and the project is certified carbon neutral. The Green

Cane Project has a strong commitment to their employees, and has recently achieved EcoSocial Certification. (A three part certification that incorporates the principles of fair trade as well as social and environmental accountability.)

“... bring production closer to not only the ingredients but also to the people who want to buy them.”

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Go By Rail!

In per passenger kilometers to the gallon, an airplane only gets 70 km/g, whereas a train averages between 600 & 900 km/g!

Who knew?

Loads Total Average Total Average Total lbs Ratio of lbs Miles Miles Weight Weight of CO2 CO2 vs Weight

2008 YTD 1,155 2,195,323 1,901 11,413,577 9,882 3,336,898 0.29242009 YTD 998 1,973,576 1,978 11,477,125 11,500 3,001,208 0.2615 % Difference -15.73% -11.24% 3.88% 0.55% 14.07% -11.19% -11.80%

A Look at Our Freight:

The fact that we consume energy is a given. We currently get some of our energy from wind power through our local utilities and are committed to sourcing even more of our energy from renewable sources. (We do have some very energetic employees. Treadmills anyone?) Most of our production facilities however, are located in the Pacific Northwest, where hydro-electric is the largest source of energy.

Before even looking at energy sources though, it’s important to look at how efficiently we use what we already buy. We’re always looking for new, innovative solutions, but we’ve sought out some experts too:

Washington State University –Extension Energy ProgramUniversity of Washington – –

Industrial Assessment CenterDepartment of Ecology –Bonneville Power Administration –

We currently calculate our emissions using the Green House Gases (GHG) Protocol worksheets from the World Resources Institute. We’re focusing our efforts first on energy reduction, working to make our facilities more efficient. This in turn reduces the need for carbon offsets, as well as bringing us ever closer to our goal of being certified “Climate Neutral” by 2020.

Energy & Climate Change.

“We’re focusing our efforts first on energy reduction working to make our facilities more efficient.”

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The multiple benefits of organic: According to the Rodale Institute, organic agriculture can remove 7,000 pounds of CO2 from the atmosphere per acre every year. If the US converted all of its cropland to organic techniques it would be the equivalent of eliminating 217 million cars from the roads.

Declaration Aspirational Statement:

We will strive to store, process, distribute and vend our products using energy resources in the most resourceful means possible with energy efficiency best management practices.

We will utilize the most environmentally responsible renewable energy opportunities whenever possible such as solar, wind, hydro, and geothermal.

We will strive to actively reduce all production, storage, processing, and retail practices that create the greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change.

We will measure the carbon footprint of our operations and strive for achieving carbon-neutrality in all of our business practices.

Where We’ve Been:

In our central office, we’ve installed •skylights, not only to reduce energy expenditures, but also to improve employee health and well-being. Let the sun shine.

We’re redesigning packaging to •reduce waste, which in turn reduces the amount of energy needed to produce the box. Our Envirobox™ boxes saved 942,128 kwh of energy, Eco-Pac™ saved 7,464 million BTUs.

We’ve tracked our electric and gas •usage per pound of product produced at each of our 3 manufacturing facilities, the averages are: 0.16 kwh/lb and .006 GJ/lb.

Our Blaine, WA facility gets 35% of its •energy from wind power.

Direct GHG Emissions (Scope 1) •and Electricity Indirect Energy GHG emissions (Scope 2) total annual metric tons of CO2: 7168 metric tons of CO2. 54.8% comes from electricity and 45.2% comes from the burning of natural gas. In 2008 carbon emissions lbs per lb of product produced was 23.

Where We’re Going:

In 2009-2010 , we’ll be investing in •new technologies to increase our oven efficiency, saving significant amounts of natural gas. Read about this project through a story in the Apollo Alliance Website.

We’re using product per pound •energy and gas usage numbers to set larger goals.

We’ll be working with our power •providers to purchase more green energy.

We’re increasing education programs •on climate change for employees to get everyone involved in setting up innovative new programs.

Energy & Climate Change cont’d.

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(Left) Green roof planting at our Richmond BC headquarters. (Center) Energy Star CFLs use 75% less energy and last about 10 times longer than typical incandescent bulbs. Nature’s Path will be actively replacing all standard incandescent bulbs with new floursecents like these. (Right) We continue to monitor and adjust the gas-powered ovens in our various manufacturing facilities.

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You can do your own home energy audit (though a professional one is best, and your utility might offer them for cheap). Pay special attention to:

Air leaks (windows, doors, and even •electrical outlets!)Insulation•Heating/Cooling equipment•Lighting•

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As you may have guessed, our primary uses of water are for making our foods and cleaning up after ourselves. We’re aware of the fact that we could do better, so we’re developing “best practices” for cleaning up and making wiser use of our water.

Going beyond our 4 walls, and together with Organic Gardening magazine, we’ve installed 15 water cisterns in community gardens to educate the public and facilitate local water conservation.

Where We’ve Been:

Through packaging innovations: •EnviroBox™ flaked cereal boxes saved 1,318,979 gallons of water, Eco-Pac™ 826,542 gallons of wastewater saved.

Last year 3,162,233 gallons of water •were used in production at all three facilities.

Organic farming practices promote •watershed protection and reduce water needed in growing crops. Our purchasing and support for organic farming directly impacts water usage.

Where We’re Going:

Working with the • Department of Ecology, we’ve determined some new projects that need to be integrated into our production systems:

25% of our wastewater is clean •condensate from our boiler, which could be reused in our allergen wash-down process, thus reducing our wastewater, and the energy used to heat the clean-up water.

Proper boiler adjustment will save •water.

New system for clean-up using hotter •water will allow waste to be collected for animal feed.

Water.

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Declaration Aspirational Statement:

We will strive to reduce our use of fresh water and to optimize our operations to be so that all water use is as efficient as possible.

We will raise awareness of regional and local water issues through education and information sharing.

We commit to managing our water resources with the realization that multiple water stressors exist today, creating a situation where water is an increasingly scarce resource.

Photos from a community graden in Tulsa OK., one of the water cisterns that Nature’s Path and Organic Gardening Magazine have helped sponsor.

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Three quarters of home water use is in the bathroom! Some tips to reduce your water consumption:

Put a tank bank, floater booster, or just a •brick (sealed in a ziplock!) in your toilet tank to create a low flow toilet. Saves as much as 3 gallons per flush! Shorten your shower: 1 minute= 2-8 •gallons (just turn it off while you soap or shave!)Check for leaks•Install water-saving shower heads and •faucet aerators.

At Nature’s Path we’re working hard to reduce the amount of waste-producing material both used to package and make our products. We’re also recycling our waste materials, re-using equipment when possible, and composting most of our office-created food scraps. One of our primary goals is to become “Zero-Waste” by 2010. Meaning that by the end of 2010, our aim will be to have nearly all our waste diverted away from landfills.

As with our energy and water use, we realize the importance of getting help when we’re trying to make big changes. For that reason we’ve sought out third-party analysis and advice regarding our waste. Currently, we are working with:

The EPA Green Suppliers Program – Department of Ecolog – y Bainbridge Graduate Institute Students –MJ Waste Solution – s

Where We’ve Been:

MJ Waste Solution• s Waste Audit and Waste Reduction Report for all four facilities, April 2008 found:

Waste Diverted From Landfill due –to Conservation Measures: 533,334 Kg, or 15,451 cubic yards with an diversion rate of up to 83% .We’re diverting waste by: sending –

inaccurately filled boxes to food banks, sending food spills to local farmers and implementing recycling and composting programs.Providing composting classes for –

employees for at-home use.

Where We’re Going:

A goal for next year is to broaden our •electronics recycling program.

Non-animal feed compostables •(Lunchroom waste, oven scraps) should be sent to a commercial composting facility, with a strong employee educational program.

Paper waste reduction marketing •initiatives: we’re moving toward an electronic approval process which will greatly cut down on printing waste.

Helping to control the waste our •products create by moving toward 100% recyclable or compostable packaging.

Waste.

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Many cities now pick up compost or you can buy enclosed composters. A worm bin is an easy way to have productive pets!) (Right) Ross Holdbak in our organic team member garden.

Declaration Aspirational Statement:

We will strive to reduce waste at the source and treat waste in a way that sustains all living systems, through reusing, donating, recycling, and composting.

When necessary we will utilize environmentally sound disposal systems.

We will continually redesign our operations so that eventually “waste” will be eliminated because all material will become the raw material for new products and uses.

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Last Year, Nature’s Path donated 12,000 pounds of food to local food banks.

According to the EPA, 12% of the US •waste stream is food and 25% of the food we buy, we throw out.Plan ahead—plan meals, don’t just buy •food you’re not sure you’ll useServe smaller portions•Use leftovers•Feed the birds•

Our commitment to waste reduction continues to influence our approach to packaging. Without sacrificing product quality, we’ve reduced paperboard by decreasing pack sizes, we use soy-based inks and vegetable dyes, and recycled content whenever we can. We’ve trademarked three innovative new reduced-size packages: EnviroBox™, Eco-Pac™, and EcoPackz™. And our future plans include biodegradable film and liners for cereal, thinner caliper boxes, and trying to find ways to repurpose our packaging to make other exciting new products from what would otherwise be waste.

Where We’ve Been:

Amount of Packaging Saved Due to •Conservation and Efficiency Measures (pounds).

In 2009 we reduced the thickness •of the cardboard used for our cereal boxes, which will result in saving 372,000 lbs of paperboard per year.

10% reduction in paperboard waste •(288,000 lbs) from reduced size EnviroBox™ boxes .

Up to 66% material savings with •implementation of Eco-Pac™, equaling 874,000 lbs of paperboard (note: this number varies from product to product. The average savings is 60% with a high of 66%).

All paperboard is 100% recycled, •containing industrial recycled content and a minimum of post-consumer content of 60%. Boxes are printed with vegetable based inks and are made using a chlorine-free process.

Where We’re Going:

Nature’s Path is working toward:

Developing non-GMO biodegradable •film structure to replace petroleum based material for Eco- Pac’s.

New packaging initiatives to further •reduce packaging material.

Incorporating sustainable packaging •considerations into the product development process.

FSC Certificatio• n for paperboard.

Packaging.

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Declaration Aspirational Statement:

We will strive to implement a zero-waste approach to packaging. This will entail:

reducing the amount of packaging we use,

actively participating in the development of packaging that is reusable, recyclable, and/or biodegradable;

considering packaging material contents when making all purchasing decisions, and

collaborating with buyers and suppliers on creative solutions which eliminate unsustainable packaging throughout the value chain.

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Buying in bulk at your local Co-op or Whole Foods store allows us to reduce packaging, reuse some you already have (produce and bread bags, perhaps?), and save money! You can buy cereals, grains, flour, dried beans and fruit, flour, and even soap, syrup, and oil.

Where We’ve Been:

Nearly 6 million consumers have been •reached with sustainability specific advertisements. We’ve been busy educating people on what we’re doing and what they can do as well.

We reached over 57,000 customers at •sustainability specific events, with fun and educational sustainability-related information and games.

Through a partnership with • Runners World, we created the Green Team website and program which was developed to encourage sustainable practices in the running and marathon world. Year to date, there have been over 50,000 visitors to the Green Team website.

Sustainability-focused PR reached •close to 900,000 people with information about some of Nature’s Path’s sustainability initiatives.

Nature’s Path provides the space •inside our EnviroKidz™ Boxes to not-for-profit organizations we support in order to educate consumers about their organizations and work.

A few years back, Nature’s Path funded •the creation of two organic food gardens for Vancouver’s inner-city schools, which continue to run to this day. These gardens were created as a means to educate and provide food to kids in these communities.

“Farmers Can be Heroes• ” Campaign will support farmers transitioning to organic with a donation of up to $25,000 for the Rodale Institute’s education and farm support program.

In our 2008 fiscal year, we donated over •$570,000 worth of food to not-for-profits including our local food banks.

We donate 1% of sales from all •EnviroKidz™ branded products to non-for-profits that work in the

following areas: species and habitat conservation and environmental education for kids. Since it’s inception in 2000, the EnviroKidz™ Give Back Program has donated over $1 million. Recipients include:

The Amazon Conservation Team, –The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, –The Australian Koala Foundation –Green Kids –Evergreen –Islandwood –Wildlife Trust –

Consumer Education and Community Giving.

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(Top) Organic Heroes Campaign. Working with the Rodale institute, Organic Gardening Magazine and Organic Valley we created a n awareness building program featuring the heroic organic farmer. (Middle) The EnviroKidz™ product line features imprinted box interiors with education on various endangered species and what kids can do to help. 1% of EnviroKidz™ sales go to assist environmental groups in the work with these species. (Bottom) The Green Team Website and program in partnership with Runners World.

Declaration Aspirational Statement:

We strive to will provide consumers, employees, our communities, and the media accurate, useful and timely information about all of the areas listed in this document.

Reasons of our own...Nature’s Path maintains a commitment to provide food and support to people and planet. Hopefully, leaving this place a little better than we found it.

Where We’re Going:

Start eco-conscious consumer social •network outreach.

Sponsorships: •Organic Trade Association, CHFA, BALLE, and Non GMO Project, Rodale Institute, Jeffrey Smith non-GMO

More Environmental education •through EnviroKidz™ website

Consumer Education and Community Giving. (cont’d)

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Canadian Health Food Association

(Top Left) Kids enjoy the fruits of the Nature’s Path Water Works Program. (Middle) Education is an important feature of the EnviroKidz™ website. (Bottom Right) The GMO Trilogy DVD. Produced by Jeffery Smith and featuring lengthy debate and informative statistics on domestic food production in North America. (Below) from left Dag Falck, Organic Program Manager , Guest Speaker, Jeff Smith, author of “Seeds of Deception” and Nature’s Path President, Arran Stephens.

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Here’s to Your Health!

Nature’s Path provides products that both accommodate common allergies (EnviroKidz™ cereals are all gluten free, many of our other cereals, waffles, and bars are gluten, wheat or soy free), and promote healthy snacking through Super Foods like:

Açaí, Agave, Chia, Flax, Goji, Inulin, Kamut® grain, Matcha green tea, Psyllium seed husks, and Quinoa

Working Conditions

The corporate head office in Richmond, BC is extensively renovated and brightened by 22 skylights, windows that open, indoor plants, meditation/religious observance room, a staff gym, showers, R&D kitchen and a large lunchroom. An open line of communication among all levels of employees is encouraged. Town hall meetings seek to give information to all employees on how the company is doing and any big developments, this is in addition to a monthly newsletter.

Benefits

Nature’s Path’s benefits include paid vacation, leave with pay, and flexible and generous leaves of absence. Nature’s Path has established Employee Incentive Plans based on Company profitability, which rewards employees for their overall success. They are also comprised of bonuses and benefits such as dental, vision care, medical etc.

Some non-traditional offerings include:

Financial assistance when enrolling in •a stop smoking program.

Up to $500 annually per employee to •pursue approved fitness activities.

$1000 cash reimbursement for hybrid •vehicle purchases.

Company products provided for free.•

An organic garden for employee use •in two of our locations.

Paid time-off available for employees •who do volunteer work.

Feedback Programs, Training and Educational Assistance Programs

Nature’s Path relies on two-way communication and employee education. Apart from setting employee annual objectives and participating in employee annual performance review, supervisors are also responsible for providing employees with ongoing and consistent feedback on the quality and quantity of their work. We’ve developed our own internal Lean training and Sustainability training programs to provide knowledge and tools to our staff. Additionally, all staff have sustainability competencies included in their performance evaluations. Nature’s Path provides career planning services and some financial support for work related continuing education.

Declaration Aspirational Statement:

We acknowledge that those communities which protect and work the land are particularly vulnerable and must be treated fairly. We will strive to ensure that growers and handlers of food products collaborate to guarantee basic labor rights and verifiable improvements in the lives of farm workers and their communities.

We will work to ensure that all workers are given the opportunity to give feedback about their needs and wants.

We will develop and implement company policies, procedures, training and internal reporting structures to ensure commitment to good labor practices throughout our organization. These labor practices will include ensuring that we compensate our employees to enable them to meet at least their basic needs and provide the opportunity to improve their skill and capability in order to raise their social and economic opportunities, promoting equal opportunity for our employees at all levels of the company, and provide a safe and healthy workplace.

Our Team: Team Members & Farmers.

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Where We’ve Been:

Nature’s Path buys a lot of • Fair Trade certified product like fair trade certified chocolate and cocoa.

The new Cherry Chocolate and •Chocolate Organic Toaster Pastry uses Fair Trade Cocoa.

Over 32,000 lbs. of fair-trade •ingredients purchased per year.

Where We’re Going:

Achieve 100% employee training in •sustainability in Richmond and Blaine locations.

Achieve 100% employee training in •Lean thinking in Richmond and Blaine.

Develop self-directed work teams •program, starting with a pilot project in our Blaine location.

Volunteer activities – instituting at •least 1 large employee activity per location.

One of our major sugar suppliers will •be achieving EcoSocial certification by the end of 2009. Learn more about EcoSocial here.

Our Team: (cont’d.)

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(top) Some of our team taking out the trash at our annual shore line clean-up. (below) Staff at our Blaine, Washington plant with totes of organic flour. (right) Cocoa Pods before harvest. We source only Fair-trade organic cocoa powder for all our products.

Stakeholder Governance

Nature’s Path is a independent, family-owned company, and we’re committed to staying that way. Year after year, large multinational companies swallow up smaller brands like ours in order to enter the organics market. In this increasingly faceless landscape of food corporations, independent companies like ours stand out. We don’t focus on shareholders, we focus on stakeholders: our farmers, the soil, our workers, customers, the communities where we work and the places we call home.

As mentioned in the “Our Teams” section, we’ve begun a number of cool programs in our offices, including the implementation of a “lean culture” to reduce waste and encourage creative problem-solving. We’ve developed our own internal Lean training and Sustainability training programs to provide knowledge and tools to our staff. Additionally, all staff have sustainability competencies included

in their performance evaluations. These are all part of our efforts to imbed sustainability into the fabric of our organization.

We’re also actively involved in a number of organic associations including membership in the Soil Association, Organic Trade Association, Whole Grain Council, IFOAM (International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements), and the Canadian Health Food Association helps guide Nature’s Path in both practice and policy. We’re committed through our staffing decisions too, with positions focused on sustainability regulations and outside certification. Sustainability and Stewardship Manager, Environmental Health and Safety Officer, Organic Program Manager, and positions overseeing the organic certification process are just as significant around here as Marketing, Finance and IT. We’ve put people on the job and have done so for many years.

Third Party Certifications:

Organic by QAI (Quality Assurance •International)

USDA (United State Department of •Agriculture) Organic

Kosher Certified•

Halal Certified •

Fair Trade Certified – for cocoa only•

HAACP certified (next year)•

Other Initiatives before the Nature’s Path Congress:

Add sustainability metrics to •operation KPIs and share progress with staff.

Share sustainability stories and •challenges on-line through company blog and “Do Good” section of website.

Volunteer activities – 1 large activity •per location.

Continue to support environmental •not-for-profits with EnviroKidz Donations and box messaging.

Declaration Aspirational Statement:

We will strive to review our progress toward these goals on a regular basis by conducting self audits and being transparent with all employees and the public with the results.

We will actively engage in communication across the trade to solve sustainability related challenges and will facilitate dialogue regarding action.

Governance.

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“we’re independent, and family-owned and committed

to staying that way.”

We’ve been talking a lot about our efforts to “Do Good”, but what about the “Eating Well” part? When we are launching new products, not only do they have to pass rigorous testing to prove their taste and nutritional appeal but we also spend time considering the most efficient and sustainable way to bring a product to market. For example, we take into account the packaging materials and amount of packaging needed as well as the ingredients and where they come from. In the spirit of continual improvement, we also strive to listen to our customers concerns whether it’s in regards to decreasing the salt or sugar content or making our cereal bags easier to open.

This year we reduced the sugar •content of our Optimum Blueberry Cinnamon Cereal by 25%

Our goal in 2010 is to work on •increasing the nutritional profile of our EnviroKidz™ cereals

We are working on new easy-to-open •cereal film-

We’re always striving to make food •that’s both delicious and good for you. Here’s a breakdown of how our products rank nutrition-wise.

Colored bars like these (and others) on our boxes help you find nutritional profiles of our products fast.

Consumer Health & Nutrition.

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Whole Grain 74 products are “Whole Grain”.

This means, 80% of our products are “Whole Grain”.

VeGan61 products are “Vegan”.

This means, 66% of our products are “Vegan”.

VeGetarianAll products.

100% of our products are “Vegetarian”.

Good Source of fiber45 Products are a “Good Source of Fiber”.

This means, 48% of our products are a “Good Source of Fiber”.(amounts over 3g per serving are considered a “Good Source of Fiber”).

hiGh fiber12 products have “High Fiber”.

This means, 13% of our products have “High Fiber”. (amounts over 5g per serving are considered “High Fiber” ).

loW SodiuM50 products are “Low Sodium”.

This means, 54% of our products are “Low Sodium”.(amounts less than 140mg per serving are considered “Low Sodium”).

Gluten-free21 products are “Gluten-Free”.

This means, 22% of our products are Gluten-Free.

Our Philosophy on Nutrition

At Nature’s Path innovation lies at the heart of everything we do, we pride ourselves on being an innovative group of people and like nothing better than to make things better. We spend our days and nights dreaming up new recipes, tracking down exotic new ingredients, and researching the latest (or most ancient) superfoods. When we make new products we only launch them if we believe they are going to stick around a while and add value to your life in some way. We want our products to be healthier, tastier and, of course, more sustainable.

Methods 1. Research and Data Collection

Jyoti Stephens, our resident “green evangelist” slash Sustainability & Stewardship Manager, has been busily contacting industry associates, researching online, combing our archives, newsletters, research documents and prodding staff from various departments in order to “get to the bottom of things”. What are the things we’re doing well? And where can we make improvements? As always, she takes a “just gimme’ the facts” approach and goes from there.

Great ideas can come from anywhere. We’ve found some excellent resources out there in the academic world, bringing in engineering students, sustainable MBA students from Bainbridge Graduate Institute, experts and academics from the University of Washington, Washington State University, the Department of Ecology, our utilities, and other people as obsessed as we are with soil, waste, water, energy, carbon, and of course, cereal. (Any idea how much cereal a student can put away? Yikes!)

2. Analyzing Data (or “How High School Math Paid Off at Last”)

All data and research for individual measurements in the sections was reviewed and analyzed. Black coffee was served double-strong to keep our “number jockeys” clear- headed. We prepared an overview for each of our current company practices and future goals with measurements. The full depth of the data is not presented here, but is in our report to the FTSLA. It would take a lot more black coffee for you to sift through that.

3. Benchmarking and Goal-Setting

What we DO want to present is a basic road map of where we’re at with all this and what we can do better. Each section begins with the “aspirational” statement from the FTSLA, followed by some measurements we took to track our progress, and ideas we have to improve our performance. Then we threw in some fun facts here and there to keep you from nodding off. Enjoy and let us know what you think!

W E H O P E YO U E N j OY E D O U R R E P O R T A N D W E L O O k F O R WA R D T O H E A R I N G F R O M YO U.

Please share your thoughts with us at consumerservices@naturespath.com

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Appendix.

Credits:

Arran & Ratana Stephens ............. Owners

jyoti Stephens ................................... Editor

julian O’Reilley, ................. Associate Editor

Brent Flink ...........................Senior Designer

Christine Sheaves ................Print Manager

Special Thanks To:Arjan Stephens, Maria Emmer-Aanes, Neil

Mandelman, Alfonso Crescenzo, Simon Colley,

Greg Nault, the MBA students of Bainbridge

Graduate Institute, staff and students from

University of Washington, Washington

State University and the Washington State

Department of Ecology.