Oliver’s became Sonoma County’s first certified Green grocery store in 2011, with the Business Office, Cotati store and Montecito store completing the program. The Stony Point store was added in 2014 and then all were recertified in 2016, including the newly opened Windsor store.

As part of the 2021 renewal, a comprehensive Oliver’s Market Sustainability Policy was adopted, which includes goals and guidelines designed to increase the company’s positive impact on the environment and community in the following areas:

1. Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (purchasing that considers all aspects of the below categories)
2. Energy Conservation (use less energy be efficient with energy used)
3. Water Conservation (use less water be efficient with water used)
4. Zero Waste (eliminate, reduce, divert, reuse, repurpose, donate – then recycle/compost)
5. Transportation (improve ways to reduce fleet’s, operations’, employees’ & visitors’ carbon footprint)
6. Toxics Reduction (reduce the number of toxics we generate)
7. Wastewater Pollution Prevention (eliminate wastewater pollution)
8. Employee Education (educate employees on all aspects of this Sustainability Policy)
9. Employee Wellness, Equity, Inclusion (caring for employees by creating environment where everyone is treated fairly and thrives)
10. Community Leadership & Engagement (going above and beyond and engaging community)

Oliver’s Market is fortunate to have a full-time Sustainability Coordinator, Annie Sherman, to oversee these programs and monitor our progress in these critical areas.

Think Globally, Act Locally

In addition to our operational commitments to sustainability, as a locally owned and operated company selling as many locally produced products as possible, we reduce our carbon footprint and improve our supply chain while creating more local jobs and more dollars in our tax base than a national company. We have commissioned several studies on this topic with economist Dr. Robert Eyler, which lay out the many benefits of shopping locally and buying locally made products. Read more HERE.

Shopping Sustainably

At the other end of our business, we have the many food producers we work with who are working to reduce their use of resources by creating more sustainable packaging solutions.

According to the Truvium Packaging 2021 Buying Green Report:

• 54% of consumers say the sustainability of the packaging is a factor in their product selection process.
• 52% of consumers look for information on the recyclability or sustainability of the packaging of the products they buy; and
• 57% of consumers are less likely to buy products with packaging that is harmful to the environment.

Consumers are asking for better packaging solutions, and food producers are answering the call, often in innovative ways. According to Winsight Grocery Business, sustainable packaging trends for 2022 include

Reusable and refillable packaging, more legislation around sustainable packaging and recycling; and low impact packaging.

For this week’s ad, our Oliver’s Market buying team has selected some innovative and pioneering producers and products to feature at special prices. Check out some of the stories below and give one (or two!) of them a try this week as you think about small ways to reduce your own environmental footprint.

Note: Prices in effect through April 26, 2022 at all four Oliver’s Market locations. See this week’s ad here.

Stemple Creek Ranch

Stemple Creek’s goal is to work in harmony with Mother Nature to promote optimal biodiversity that ensures the long-term health and productivity of the ranch. They use regenerative, organic agricultural practices, which means they seek to enhance and rehabilitate their entire ecosystem by focusing on soil health and increasing carbon in their land.

Stemple Creek Organic Ground Chuck, 80% Lean, $6.99/lb.

Use Stemple Creek Chuck in this Gourmet Burger Recipe.

Wine Country Cuisine

Founded by Greg Nilsen in 1985, Wine Country Cuisine provided the innovative chefs creating “California Cuisine” with vegetables and fruits grown in Sonoma County. Today, Wine Country Cuisine grows three acres of CCOF certified culinary herbs, leafy greens, and seasonal vegetables just south of Santa Rosa.

Organic Arugula, Grown by Wine Country Cuisine, 4 oz. Package, $2.99/ea.

Clover Organic Milk, 64 oz. Carton, $3.49

Good things come in renewable materials! Clover Sonoma is the first dairy in the U.S. to switch to a100% plant-based, renewable carton. Their longstanding support of family nutrition, sustainable family farms, thriving communities, and renewable packaging has helped set the high standard for the dairy industry. It’s a responsibility they take very seriously. It not only impacts how they produce their products, it drives innovation in packaging they then share through educating the communities they love.

Alter Eco Chocolate Truffles, 4.2 oz. Bag, $4.99

Alter Eco is a chocolate company based in San Francisco, CA who launched the world’s first compostable wrappers for their chocolate truffles in 2013 as well as a compostable stand-up pouch for their quinoa in 2016. Fun fact: the truffle wrappers and pouch are made from eucalyptus and birch with non-toxic ink and the pouches have another layer made of non-GMO corn.

Straus Family Creamery Milk, 64 oz. Bottle, $4.69

Since beginning in 1994, Straus Family Creamery has sold their organic milk in reusable glass milk bottles, leading the zero-waste movement before it was popular. Upon purchase, customers pay a small deposit which then gets refunded if they return the bottles to the store. After, the bottles are returned to the Creamery where they are washed, sanitized, and reused about five times before re-entering the recycling stream. Straus also leads the quest for carbon neutral dairy operations, which they hope to achieve in the next two years!

12 Tides Kelp Chips, 2 oz. Bag, $3.49

As an ocean-friendly brand, sustainable packaging has been at the core of their company since day one. Their packaging is ASTM D6400 compostable, meaning it will decompose into compost within 6 months in an industrial setting. Their products are good-for-you, good-for-the-planet snacking!

Boxed Water Is Better, 33.8 oz. Carton, $0.99

Boxed Water is Better offers a more environmentally friendly alternative to plastic bottles. The 100% recyclable box is 75% paper. The cap is made of plastic, and the rest is aluminum lining. The packaging is free of BPAs and phthalates. The paper comes from well-managed forests, and they use some of their profits for planting trees in areas affected by deforestation and fires. The boxes flatten for shipping to regional filling locations, reducing the company’s carbon footprint by using one truck for every 26 trucks needed for shipping plastic bottles.

Culina Plant Based Yogurt, 5 oz. Cup, $2.99

Culina’s plant-based, dairy-free yogurts are made using organic ingredients like coconut cream and maple syrup. Each of its flavors come in reusable cups that can be re-purposed as pots to grow flowers and other plants. Genius!

Alexander Valley Vineyards

The Wetzel family’s commitment to their vineyards and winery is informed by their respect for the surrounding land.  When the family bought their Alexander Valley property in 1962, they were attracted by the ranch’s natural beauty; rugged hillsides, rolling meadows, rushing winter creeks and plentiful wildlife.  Since that time the family has focused on protecting this land.

• Alexander Valley Vineyards Chardonnay – 2019, Alexander Valley, $12.99
• Alexander Valley Vineyards Merlot – 2019, Alexander Valley, $14.99
• Alexander Valley Vineyards Dry Rosé of Sangiovese – 2021, Alexander Valley, $14.99
• Alexander Valley Vineyards Gewurztraminer – 2020, Mendocino County, $9.99

Batiste Silver Rhum 750 ml. Bottle $ 19.99

Batiste Rhum, the First Sustainable American Craft Rum, announces that its proprietary rum production process, from farm to bottle, has been rigorously reviewed and validated as being carbon-negative by Third Partners, a boutique management consultancy working for positive change. With this third-party validation, Batiste Rhum becomes the only known beverage alcohol in the world to have a climate-positive production process without the purchase of carbon offsets.