It’s not often that you find a grocery store as dedicated to sustainability as Whole Foods Market. The company actually has a policy on their web page about how they have a vision of how their policy on sustainability can help future generations and how companies, governments, and institutions have a moral imperative to stop doing things to harm individuals and the ecosystem.
The policy mentions the following topics:
Holistic Thinking in a Conventional World
Whole Foods Market mentions how it is dedicated to offering products that are high quality, but have little processing, that are favorable and natural, sold at a workplace that is respectable to all its employees. The company also pledges to lead by example.
Holistic Actions for a Sustainable World
Whole Foods Market feels it leads in sustainability by its relationships with other companies, society, and environmental communities. How many businesses do you hear state that they are making the effort to make long-term changes to the way businesses usually operate, i.e., the profit is the most important thing?
Healthy Foods and Healthy Products Begin at the Source
Whole Foods Market was promoting organic products 20 years ago – way before the recent boom. They have relationships with organic farmers and work with them to determine the best products for their customers. It also supports naturally raised meat and poultry at a time when so many are concerned about the hormones and antibiotics found in some foods and the pesticides used on them and how all that may affects us.
Sustainability Beyond Organic Food
Whole Foods Market isn’t just about the food. It stocks less toxic cleaning products for consumers. It also takes into consideration waste reduction. If you go there, you won’t leave with several plastic bags. They sell the reusable bags and if you forget those, they will give you a paper bag, which is very recyclable. The company has been so successful at recycling and waste reduction that they have been recognized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a record-setter. Even their corporate headquarters in Austin, Texas is a green building, the first one given the “Green Building” award in that city.
Tomorrow, I’ll finish up talking about the policies.