Wellington, Fla. – Whole Foods Market in Wellington has been named the 2013 Environmental Business of the Year by Florida Atlantic University’s Pine Jog Environmental Education Center. The award was presented to Team Members from Whole Foods Market as part of FAU’s Green Gala.
Whole Foods Market Wellington is considered among the “next generation of environmental leaders” by the Pine Jog Environmental Education Center for its commitment to green initiatives.
Since opening in 2008, Whole Foods Market Wellington has been supporting environmental efforts in its store and community. The 52,000 square-foot facility was built utilizing many eco-friendly materials such as recycled cork, plastic bottle sky lights, coconut shells tiles in the café, and additional energy saving materials. The store has made it a priority to be involved with as many local environmental organizations as possible. The Sierra Club, Resource Depot, Palm Beach Soil and Water Conservation District’s Envirothon Competition and Wellington Elementary School and High School Ecology Clubs are just a few of the green organizations that Whole Foods Market Wellington has supported.
The Wellington store, like other locations in Florida, has a full-time team member dedicated to educating the community, customers and team members about Green Mission initiatives. The Florida region of Whole Foods Market has a strong commitment to environmental stewardship and green mission initiatives.
In 2012, the Florida region recycled 7 tons of cork through its partnership with Cork ReHarvest, which helps to collect and recycle some of the billions of natural corks that are produced each year. The primary goal of the recycling program is to ensure that we would not add to the corks’ carbon footprint.
In support of Clean Air Month this May, the Florida Region of Whole Foods Market will participate in the Clean Air Challenge, which encourages Team Members to carpool, take city transit, ride their bicycle or walk to work in an effort to reduce our impact on the environment.
As part of Whole Foods Market’s goal of Zero-Waste (as defined by the Environmental Protection Agency) by the year 2015, we do the following to divert waste from landfills:
· Beach and waterway clean ups several times a year (all stores)
· Composting in four stores with a goal of seven by the end of May
· Region-wide phone recycling program; provides refurbished phones for elderly and battered woman to call 911
· Provide a drop off for our customers who can’t recycle No. 5 plastic through our Gimme 5 program.
In January, the EPA ranked Whole Foods Market No. 3 on the quarterly 100 percent Green Power Users list and one of only three retailers in the top 10. Whole Foods Market was also ranked No. 2 on the EPA’s Top 20 Retail list, No. 4 on its National Top 50 list, and No. 4 on its Fortune 500 Partners list.
