Zaandam, the Netherlands, July 11, 2024 – Today, Ahold Delhaize published its 2024 Human Rights Report. The company’s commitment to human rights is a foundational commitment towards its associates, its customers, its communities and the people in its supply chains. This commitment is deeply rooted in Ahold Delhaize’s Growing Together Strategy. The 2024 Human Rights Report provides an update of the company’s progress over the past two years.
Progress at Ahold Delhaize’s great local brands
Ahold Delhaize's great local brands made further progress in their human rights approach. For example, Dutch brand Albert Heijn published a supplier brochure on gender equality and women's rights and the Belgium brand Delhaize committed to a living wage in the banana sector. Romanian brand Mega Image introduced a Mega Ability program to provide job opportunities for people with disabilities. Each of Ahold Delhaize’s U.S. brands were once again independently recognized by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation as a Best Place to Work for LGBTQIA+ Equality.
Frans Muller, President and CEO of Ahold Delhaize said: “At Ahold Delhaize and its great local brands, people are at the heart of the business. Our associates, the customers and communities we serve, and the relationships we foster with supply chain partners, are paramount. It is our responsibility to support human rights everywhere Ahold Delhaize and our brands do business, even when confronted with global challenges, by conducting our business the right way, every day. By doing so, we believe we can continue to drive positive impact toward a more equitable society that recognizes and respects human rights.”
Sustainability due diligence
In 2023, in line with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the newly adopted European Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), Ahold Delhaize decided to broaden its approach from human rights due diligence to sustainability due diligence, encompassing both social and environmental impacts. Ahold Delhaize also conducted a thorough review of its Standards of Engagement, which are included in the agreements with suppliers, to better align with the broader approach to both social and environmental due diligence. Additionally, the Standards of Engagement include more explicit references to responsible recruitment, which requires that suppliers act with special attention when engaging and recruiting migrant workers, both directly and indirectly. The list of high-risk countries is also updated, in line with the amfori Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI).
Next steps
As a next step, Ahold Delhaize is setting up global human rights impact assessments focused on the most salient impacts in the supply chain, including forced labor, child labor, and migrant workers in agriculture. These assessments, building upon those initiated by Ahold Delhaize’s Dutch brand Albert Heijn, will be performed by external experts and complement the sustainability risk assessments, social compliance audits and commodity certification programs already in place. They will help us further assess these salient impacts and establish global action plans to address them collectively. More information about Ahold Delhaize's next steps on human rights can be found in the new Roadmap on Human Rights in the 2024 Human Rights Report. We will report our progress in the 2024 Annual Report.
Reporting on human rights commitments going forward
The 2024 Human Rights Report will be the last stand-alone report. Ahold Delhaize will continue to demonstrate progress on its Roadmap on Human Rights and report publicly and transparently on its human rights commitments in its Annual Report, in line with the CSRD and, eventually, the CSDDD.
