2020 was a year of ebb and flow, but it wasn’t all bad. If anything, the challenges were a stark reminder of how very human we all are—and that the big global issues must be met with courage, determination, and a community spirit. For all the difficult headlines and challenges over the past year, we banded together and see an imminent light at the end of the tunnel. As a company, we did our best as an essential service provider to support communities and quietly achieved a few milestones along the way.
1) We launched the world’s Regenerative Organic Oatmeal.
Climate change is one of the defining issues of our time as accumulating greenhouse gasses trap heat in the atmosphere, much of it from the way we produce food. To realize our vision of combatting climate change, we created our limited-edition
Regenerative Organic Certified Instant Oatmeal, which is cultivated using farming techniques that draw more carbon from the air into the soil. Introduced on April 22
nd, the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day, our Regenerative Organic Oatmeal is working to fight climate change, one spoon at a time.
Climate Action Advances
2) Our CEO and co-Founder Ratana Stephens was a recipient of Business in Vancouver’s Influential Women in Business Award.
Business in Vancouver recognized Ratana Stephens as 2020's Influential Woman in Business (Retail & Manufacturing) in 2020. Her bio shares how the Lahore-born native, championed by her grandmother, became the first of five sisters to attend university. In a journey that spans halfway across the globe, Ratana relates her inspirational story from aspiring lecturer to small business owner to CEO and co-Founder of an industry-leading company for producing organic cereals, granolas, and many other products responsibly.
Influential Woman in Business
3) We introduced “hero pay” increases for all frontline workers.
The social and economic impacts of COVID-19 have been deep and far-reaching. Even with a vaccination in sight, pandemic-related unemployment remains a dire challenge impacting many families. As Nature Path’s General Manager, Arjan Stephens recognized the need to act with compassion and urgency. All frontline workers received a modest boost to their hourly pay, Team members employed on or before March 1st also received a one-time “heroic bonus”. We increased paid time off to two weeks, in addition to what was already offered. Finally, team members training new workers received increased premiums. All these initiatives were meant to help sustain families during more challenging times.
Our Efforts During the Stay at Home Order
4) Nature’s Path was recognized as one of Canada’s Greenest Employers of 2020.
We’re taking decisive steps to build a sustainable food future. Besides an ambitious 90 percent waste diversion rate, all our manufacturing plants are certified as zero-waste facilities by the US Zero Waste Business Council. We are continuously looking for ways to cut our energy and resource consumption and support worthy causes. For example, through our partnership with 1% for the Planet, one percent of sales generated from EnviroKidz is donated to non-profit organizations that support endangered species, habitat restoration, and environmental education for kids worldwide. We have raised over $4 million to aid conservation efforts to date.
Canada's Top Employers
5) “Foodraiser” filled 1 million bowls of organic food.
2020 marked a significant milestone for Nature’s Path. We successfully delivered more than one million bowls worth of donated food to ten US and Canadian organizations. Over the past 11 years, our Bite for Bite program generated more than $30 million worth of food to address food security, which is predictably hitting record levels during the pandemic. As a campaign specifically created to address childhood hunger, Eat Well Do Good has provided more than $335,000 worth of food to partners such as Feed the Children, Second Harvest Canada, Blessings in a Backpack, and many more.
One Million Bowls Donated
That’s a Wrap for 2020
Thank you for your support and joining us in a food movement that works to heal the soil, land, water, air (and people, too)! We believe what’s good for business is good for the planet, and that humanity can come together to tackle the biggest challenges facing the world today. Most of all, we believe that changing the world can and should taste great.
We are grateful to front-line workers, our team, our customers, production and delivery personnel around the world, and our retail partners supporting our communities when everyone needs them most.
We know we’re not out of the woods yet, so our goals in 2021 include donating $2 million worth of food that will benefit food banks, environmental partners, and many other causes. We are hopeful and look forward to the opportunities the new year. Stay happy. Stay safe. Our best to you for 2021!
