2.12.2008 - 11:59pm ET

(CSRwire) NORWAY, IA - February 12, 2008 - Frontier Natural Products Co-op, a leading U.S. manufacturer and marketer of natural and organic products, announced today that it has completed its first Sustainability Report. The company, which has a long tradition of environmental and social responsibility, felt the comprehensive report was essential to both assessing its current sustainability performance and developing effective goals for the future.

Kathy Larson, Frontier's vice president of sustainability, notes the report is significant for customers, suppliers, and employees. "Even though sustainability is ingrained in our corporate culture, we wanted to bring more focus to the programs we're currently pursuing – like our Well Earth(TM) sustainable sourcing program – and begin to measure our effectiveness at integrating those activities across all areas of our company," Larson says. "As one of the pioneering companies in the natural food industry, we believe that making our commitments public will further challenge us – and other members of our industry – to work toward greater sustainability."

Frontier Natural Products Co-op evaluated itself across the categories of sourcing, products, facilities, operations, people and community. As noted by Tony Bedard, Frontier's CEO, "There is now a whole new language of sustainability – new concepts and tools to measure and evaluate progress. This is why we created a new position reporting directly to the CEO, the Vice President of Sustainability, to lead our sustainability efforts."

When the Frontier management team began planning how to approach tracking, analyzing and measuring sustainability activities, they quickly recognized the daunting task that lay ahead of them. But as Bedard notes, "We just decided we had to start somewhere, and that by publishing our efforts, we would send the message that now is the time to get engaged in making sustainable activities a rallying theme for the natural and organic industry."

The report is available at www.frontiercoop.com/company/socialresponsibility.html and can be downloaded in sections or in its entirety. Hard copies of the report are also available by submitting a written request online or through the customer service department by calling toll-free 800-669-3275.

Founded in 1976 and based in Norway, Iowa, Frontier Natural Products Co-op(TM) offers a full line of natural and organic products under the Frontier(TM), Simply Organic(R), Aura Cacia(R) and Aura Cacia Organics(R) brands. Products include culinary herbs, spices and baking flavors; bulk herbs and spices; and natural and organic aromatherapy products. Frontier's goal is to provide consumers with the highest-quality organic and natural products while supporting and promoting social, environmental and financial responsibility. For more information, visit Frontier's website at www.frontiercoop.com.

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