Whole Foods 2015 Annual Report Download - page 11

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solutions to food access and health in their communities. Urban farms that collaborate with nutrition education programs to offer
affordable healthy food, cooking classes, and health and wellness information are one example. To date, Whole Cities Foundation
has focused its partnerships in New Orleans, LA, Detroit, MI and Jackson, MS, with future partnerships to be established in
Englewood, IL and Newark, NJ.
Green Mission®
We are committed to practicing and advancing environmental stewardship. Over the years, we have purchased over 4.3 billion
kilowatt hours of wind-based renewable energy, earning seven Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Green Power awards.
In 2014, we announced our commitment to reduce energy consumption 20% by 2020 as an official partner in the Department
of Energy’s Better Buildings Challenge. We have 24 stores and one distribution center using or hosting rooftop solar systems,
one store with wind turbines, six stores with rooftop combined heat and power (CHP) systems, four stores with non-HFC
refrigeration, and two stores with rooftop farms. We also have installed electric vehicle charging stations at nearly 60 U.S. stores.
We build our new stores with the environment in mind, using green building innovations whenever possible. Twenty of our
stores have received Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (“LEED”) certification by the U.S. Green Building Council;
43 stores have earned Green Globes certification from the Green Building Initiative; and 45 stores have received GreenChill
Certification awards from the EPA. This includes one store that was honored in 2015 with the EPA’s GreenChill Store Re-
certification Excellence Award for five consecutive years of GreenChill Certification.
Since 2008, we no longer offer disposable plastic grocery bags at the checkouts in our stores, and we offer a refund of at least
a nickel per reusable bag. We were the first national retailer to provide Forest Stewardship Council certified paper bags originating
from 100% post-consumer recycled fiber. Unless located in a community that does not support recycling and composting, all
of our stores are involved in a recycling program, and most participate in a composting program where food waste and compostable
paper items are regenerated into compost. Fourteen of our stores have been Zero Waste Certified (defined as having a 90%
overall diversion rate of waste from landfills) by the U.S. Zero Waste Business Council. In addition, we continue to partner with
packaging suppliers and vendors to ensure the highest standards for sustainable quality packaging, including the use of fiber
packaging in many of our prepared foods departments as a compostable alternative to traditional petroleum and wood- or tree-
based materials. We also are working to eliminate the use of Styrofoam in packing materials shipped to our Company and in
product packaging in our stores.
Recognitions
Whole Foods Market was recognized on a number of lists in fiscal year 2015, including but not limited to: FORTUNE’s “World’s
Most Admired Companies,” “100 Best Companies to Work for in America” and “Companies that Change the World” lists;
Forbes’ “America’s Most Inspiring Companies,” “World’s Most Innovative Companies,” and “Most Trustworthy Large Cap
Companies in America” lists; and Reputation Institute’s “America’s Most Reputable Companies for Social Responsibility” and
“America’s Top 50 Most Reputable Retailers” lists. We also earned the top spot three years in a row on Greenpeace’s “Carting
Away the Oceans” seafood sustainability report, and Newsweek named us to its list of “Top Green Companies in America.”
Trademarks
Trademarks owned by the Company or its subsidiaries include, but are not limited to: “Whole Foods Market” and the “Whole
Foods Market” logo, “365 by Whole Foods Market” and the “365 by Whole Foods Market” logos, “365” and the “365” logo,
“365 Everyday Value” and the “365 Everyday Value” logos, “AFA,” “Allegro Coffee Company” and the “Allegro” logo,
“America’s Healthiest Grocery Store,” “Awesome Eats,” “Bread & Circus,” “Eco-Scale,” “Food from a Happy Place,” “Fresh
& Wild,” “Fresh Fields,” “Friends of 365,” “Green Mission,” “Greenlife Grocery,” “Harry’s Farmers Market,” “Health Starts
Here” and the “Health Starts Here” logo, “Ideal Market,” “Improving Lives with Every Purchase,” the Leafy “O” logo, “Merchant
of Vino,” “Mrs. Gooch’s,” “My Street Grocery” and the “My Street Grocery” logo, the “Responsibly Grown” logo, “Vine Buys,”
“Wellspring,” “Whole Body” and the “Whole Body” logo, “Whole Catch,” “Whole Cities Foundation,” “The Whole Deal,”
“Whole Foods, Whole People, Whole Planet,” “Whole Foods Market Brewing Company,” “Whole Journeys,” “Whole Kids,”
“Whole Kids Foundation,” “Whole Paws” and the “Whole Paws” logo, “Whole Planet Foundation,” “Whole Story,” and “Whole
Trade”. The Company and its subsidiaries have registered or applied to register numerous trademarks, service marks, stylized
logos, and brand names in the U.S. and in many additional countries throughout the world. In addition, the Company licenses
certain trademarks, including “ENGINE 2” and “PLANT-STRONG,” which are trademarks owned by Engine 2 for Life, LLC.
The Company considers certain of its trademarks to be of material importance and actively defends and enforces such trademarks.
The duration of trademark registrations varies from country to country; however, trademarks are generally valid and may be
renewed indefinitely as long as they are in use and/or their registrations are properly maintained.
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Executive Officers of the Registrant
The following table sets forth the name, age, and position of each of the persons who was serving as an executive officer of the
Company as of November 11, 2015:
Name Age Position
John Mackey 62 Co-Chief Executive Officer
Walter Robb 62 Co-Chief Executive Officer
A.C. Gallo 62 President and Chief Operating Officer
Glenda Flanagan 62 Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
James Sud 63 Executive Vice President of Growth and Business Development
David Lannon 49 Executive Vice President of Operations
Kenneth Meyer 47 Executive Vice President of Operations
Jason Buechel 37 Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer
John Mackey, co-founder of the Company, has served as co-Chief Executive Officer since May 2010, was the Chief Executive
Officer from 1978 to May 2010 and was President from June 2001 to October 2004. Mr. Mackey co-authored Conscious
Capitalism: Liberating the Heroic Spirit of Business, a 2013 New York Times and Wall Street Journal best seller. To date, profits
from books sold at Whole Foods Market stores, along with 100% of the royalties received by Mr. Mackey, have resulted in
donations of nearly $180,000 to Whole Planet Foundation.
Walter Robb has served as co-Chief Executive Officer since May 2010. Mr. Robb also served as the co-President and co-Chief
Operating Officer from 2004 to May 2010, as Chief Operating Officer from 2001 to September 2004, and as Executive Vice
President from 2000 to February 2001. Since joining the Company in 1991, Mr. Robb has also served as Store Team Leader and
President of the Northern California Region.
A.C. Gallo has served as President and Chief Operating Officer of the Company since May 2010. Prior to that, he was co-
President and co-Chief Operating Officer since September 2004. Mr. Gallo also served as Chief Operating Officer from December
2003 to September 2004. Mr. Gallo has held various positions with the Company and with Bread & Circus, Inc., which was
acquired by the Company in October 1992, including Vice President and President of the North Atlantic Region, and Executive
Vice President of Operations.
Glenda Flanagan has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the Company since December 1988.
James Sud has served as Executive Vice President of Growth and Business Development of the Company since February 2001.
Mr. Sud joined the Company in May 1997 and served as Vice President and Chief Operating Officer until February 2001. Mr.
Sud served as a director of the Company from 1980 to 1997.
David Lannon has served as Executive Vice President of Operations of the Company since February 2012. Prior to that, Mr.
Lannon had served as President of the Northern California Region since December 2007 and President of the North Atlantic
Region from March 2001 to December 2007. Mr. Lannon has held various positions with the Company and with Bread & Circus,
Inc., which was acquired by the Company in October 1992, including Store Team Leader, Director of Store Operations and Vice
President of the North Atlantic Region.
Kenneth Meyer has served as Executive Vice President of Operations of the Company since February 2012. Mr. Meyer also
served as President of the Mid-Atlantic Region from October 2004 to February 2012. Mr. Meyer has held various positions with
the Company and with Fresh Fields Market, which was acquired by the Company in August 1996, including Store Team Leader,
Vice President of the Southwest Region, and President of the South Region.
Jason Buechel has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer of the Company since July 2015. Mr.
Buechel joined the Company in 2013 and served as Global Vice President and Chief Information Officer until July 2015. Prior
to that, he spent 12 years at Accenture, where he most recently served as Managing Director and Partner in the company’s retail
operations practice, leading the retail channels practice for North America. In September 2015, Mr. Buechel was recognized by
FORTUNE magazine as one of the 40 most influential young people in business on its 2015 “40 Under 40” list.
Available Information
Our corporate website is www.wholefoodsmarket.com. We make available through the Investor Relations section of this site,
free of charge, the Company’s Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filings, including annual reports on Form 10-K,
quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, interactive data, current reports on Form 8-K, proxy statement, Section 16 filings, and all