Company: NGVC
Filing Date: 2025-01-24
Form Type: DEF 14A
Source: 0001437749-25-001800
Chunk: 26

Company: Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-01-24
Form: DEF 14A
Chunk 26
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 at the Annual Meeting.

The Board will evaluate candidates properly recommended by stockholders based on the same criteria applied to other director nominees. However, for candidates recommended by stockholders, the Board may consult with certain members of the Isely family who are parties to a Stockholders Agreement that control the election of our directors, to ensure that such nominees will make a meaningful contribution to the Board and are likely to receive the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the outstanding Common Stock.

As described in the Company’s Corporate Governance Guidelines, the Board identifies candidates based on the following criteria:

| • | judgment, character, expertise, skills and knowledge useful to the oversight of the Company’s business; |

| • | diversity of viewpoints, backgrounds and experiences; |

| • | business or other relevant experience; and |

| • | the extent to which the integrity of the candidate’s expertise, skills, knowledge and experience with that of the other Board members will build a Board that is effective, collegial and responsive to the needs of the Company. |

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As described above, the Board considers the diversity of viewpoints, backgrounds and experiences in identifying and evaluating director nominees, but does not have a formal policy with regard to diversity. The Board identifies director nominees based on the above criteria by consulting with other industry leaders and members of the business community.

Sustainability and Social Responsibility

We are committed to operating our business in a manner that promotes corporate social responsibility and supports environmentally sustainable products and practices. In addition to selling only organic produce, we have put in place standards for dairy, eggs, meat and seafood that prioritize sustainable and ecologically responsible agricultural practices. We have also implemented measures to eliminate food waste, reduce our carbon footprint and optimize the diversion of waste to recycling and compost at our stores. In addition, we donate cash and usable products to local food banks and non-profit organizations. We do not provide single-use paper or plastic bags at our registers, and have eliminated single-use plastic produce bags at all our stores. We expect to continue adopting practices that improve our relationship with the environment and enhance our commitment to social responsibility.

In February 2024, we issued our environmental, social, and governance report for fiscal 2023, which describes our progress, initiatives and core principles regarding sustainability. We expect to issue our sustainability report for fiscal 2024 in February 2025. For more information regarding our sustainability practices and to review our sustainability report, please visit our website at naturalgrocers.com/sustainability. The inclusion of our