We make healthy and sustainable choices easy for everyone

In line with the latest climate science to limit global warming, we are committed to reducing carbon emissions in our own operations and across our value chain.

Wasting less and recycling more is crucial to protecting natural resources and improving food security.

Across the globe, millions of tonnes of plastic end up in landfills, burned or leaked into the environment – and that amount is rising every year. Our brands continue to improve their own-brand product packaging by switching to more environmentally friendly materials or reusable packaging, eliminating unnecessary plastic packaging and increasing the use of post-consumer recycled content. We follow a clear framework focused on moving towards a more circular system by reducing, reusing and recycling the packaging materials we use.

Biodiversity is the basis of life, water and soil. Essentially all food products that we sell are directly or indirectly derived from biological resources, either wild or domesticated. In addition, the bulk of what we build with, make medicines from, and use as industrial raw materials are derived from nature. Products that are not sustainably sourced pose a threat to biodiversity worldwide.

Around the world, forests continue to disappear, often for agricultural, ranching and logging purposes. Deforestation and land conversion are a particular concern for tropical rainforests and ecosystems as they capture carbon emissions (and thus help mitigate climate change), are home to much of the world's biodiversity, and support livelihoods across the globe.

As the world’s population grows, the challenge of feeding more people with less negative impact on the planet becomes more urgent, and with it, the global focus on building a more sustainable, equitable food and farm system. Consumers, employees, regulators and shareholders expect companies to tackle issues such as biodiversity, regenerative agriculture, circularity, deforestation and water usage.

Seafood is the daily source of protein for 3 billion people, making it an important part of our business. As marine fish stocks decline and demand increases, both the global fishing industry as well as the marine ecosystem face tough challenges. Destructive fishing methods and climate change are heavily damaging ocean environments. Similarly, the seafood industry experiences pressure from illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, undermining efforts to ensure sustainable production.

Palm oil is an important ingredient in many processed products like cookies, margarine and instant noodles, but also in non-food products like shampoos and detergents. This makes palm oil a highly versatile and key ingredient in our daily diets and routines. At the same time, palm oil production faces a number of key challenges.

Although a steaming hot cup of coffee or tea share many similarities, their production is quite different.The majority of the world’s coffee is grown on small farms, by farmers who sell only a small number of bags of coffee annually, while most of the world’s tea is produced by millions of hired workers tending to tea shrubs on large plantations. For both, earning a decent income can be difficult. The two crops are vulnerable to a changing climate, where erratic droughts and rainfall can lead to lower yields. At times this leads to worker exploitation and poor living conditions in the sector.

Soy is one of the most widely used ingredients in our food products, including tofu, soy drink, soy oil, soy flour, or soy lecithin. However, the clear majority of the soy used in our supply chains, is embedded in our animal protein supply chains (meat, farmed fish, eggs and dairy). This is because soy, a high in protein legume, is fed to animals to help maintain healthy growth. In recent years, there has been a sharp increase in demand for soy. This resulted in a rapid expansion of soy production in South America, particularly in Brazil, where there are large amounts of fertile land and water.

Chocolate is the ultimate feel-good treat, and at Ahold Delhaize, we want to make sure that everyone can feel good about the way it is produced. Over 70% of the world’s cocoa is produced in West Africa, where the majority is produced by hundreds of thousands of small farmers. These farmers face several problems including depleted soils, aging farms and farmers, pests and diseases, and low global cocoa prices.

Perhaps unknown to some, a large number of products in grocery retail contains wood fibers. Ahold Delhaize brands use wood fiber in the form of pulp and paper for products like toilet paper, kitchen paper, or paper plates, and in packaging. The wood fiber used in our products comes from either natural forests or pulpwood plantations, which both face sustainability challenges. Illegal logging of natural forests can result in forest and habitat loss, but also in major economic losses for production countries and communities.

Ahold Delhaize is a passionate supporter of the well-being and welfare of farm animals. Ahold Delhaize acknowledges animal consciousness and therefore embraces the globally recognized five freedoms (freedom from hunger and thirst, freedom from discomfort, freedom from pain, injury or disease, freedom to express normal behavior and freedom from fear or distress) of animal welfare as the basis of this approach.

Ahold Delhaize brands are dedicated to helping customers eat well, save time and live better. Our local brands focus on providing affordable nutritious choices and providing clear product information that enables customers to make choices that fit their needs, their tastes, and their values.

We strive to help customers make healthier choices, through our brands’ product assortments as well as the education and information we provide.

A safe work environment is fundamental, but the workplace should also offer opportunities for development and for a healthy life, as well as a true spirit of inclusiveness and diversity. Investing in health and inclusion programs increases morale and job satisfaction, creativity and innovation.

It is our responsibility to respect human rights and to conduct our business the right way, every day.

The protection of personal data is paramount to Ahold Delhaize. Customers, associates, and business partners entrust our businesses with their personal data and we are committed to safeguarding this information. At Ahold Delhaize and its brands, we strive to use customer data to benefit customers, whether it is checking their home address for grocery deliveries, accessing their shopping history to receive personalized benefits or confirming account details for online orders.

By 2050, the global population is expected to reach almost ten billion people. How can we feed everyone and guarantee high levels of food safety and nutrition, without depleting our natural resources? It is a challenge that must be addressed at all stages of the supply chain.

At Ahold Delhaize we have implemented a variety of mechanization solutions for both our supply chain and e-commerce businesses. Mechanization covers any automated physical handling of items in our operations, from creating mixed-case pallets destined for our stores, to bringing individual products to one of our brands’ associates to pick and prepare an online order.

At Ahold Delhaize, we seek to make a positive impact in the communities where our brands operate and be good neighbors. We do this by paying taxes in a way that takes into consideration social and corporate responsibility and the interests of all our stakeholders. Our overall tax approach is in line with Ahold Delhaize’s Business Principles, ESG strategy and Code of Conduct.