2023 Natural Grocers Environmental, Social, and Governance Report

CARE From caring about the wellbeing of our customers and good4u SM Crew, to humane treatment of livestock and protecting our environment, caring has been a part of Natural Grocers ® ’ culture since 1955. Across the company, we use the acronym CARE, which stands for Communicate, Assist, Respect, and Empower, as a guide for how we choose to interact with and support others. Our store Crew uses the CARE formula during every interaction to create a consistent and positive shopping experience for our customers as well as a great work environment. As part of CARE, we encourage Crew to request help or provide feedback in a way that is most comfortable for them. There is an open-door policy for Crew to talk with their store managers, regional manager, operations director, or even the vice presidents of operations and human resources. Crew also have the option for anonymous reporting through our Ethics Reporting Hotline. We regularly host focus group discussions comprised of a diverse panel to examine pertinent topics. We have a Safety Committee that regularly engages with Crew and performs store visits. We value our Crews’ feedback and insights. Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity At the heart of Natural Grocers’ commitment to our community and Crew is our belief that all people should be empowered to experience health and well-being! We stay true to this conviction by ensuring equitable opportunities, honoring diversity, and cultivating inclusion throughout every aspect of our organization.​ Our Crew is diverse in gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, abilities, and age. Celebrating our differences expands and shapes our perspective, energizing our mission of providing equitable access to health and wellness for all. We welcome everyone who would like to join us in this mission, with gratitude for each person’s unique life experience. We are committed to nurturing an inclusive ecosystem in which our Crew can thrive.​ Our commitment is evidenced in our approach to hiring and promotion, including our store management and company leadership. For example, we strive for diversity in our Store Manager Accelerated Readiness Training (SMART) Program group, to ensure we are developing future leaders with diverse backgrounds and experiences who represent the communities we serve. All Crew participate in annual training on civility and unconscious bias, and how to handle overt bigotry and prejudice at work. We have also undertaken multiple initiatives designed to engage our workforce, including conducting employee surveys to solicit feedback from our Crew, conducting regular focus groups with our store Crew to identify opportunities for process improvements at our stores, and conducting monthly calls with our store leadership to review priorities and celebrate accomplishments.​ WE BELIEVE OUR COMMITMENT TO AN EQUITABLE, INCLUSIVE, AND DIVERSE COMPANY CULTURE SUPPORTS CREW RETENTION.

Full Time 3,235

Part Time 938

Crew in Corporate, Bulk Packaging Facility and Distribution Center 373

Crew in Stores 3,800

As of September 30, 2023: 45% of store managers and 58% of assistant store managers were women 57% of director level managers and above were women

25

FISCAL YEAR | 2023

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