Zaandam, the Netherlands, July 5, 2021 – Today the European Commission launches the EU Code of Conduct for Responsible Food Business and Marketing Practices as part of the European Green Deal and the Farm to Fork Strategy. Ahold Delhaize is among the first signatories to the Code, and pledges 10 commitments in the areas of healthier choices, product transparency, eliminating waste and climate impact.
The purpose of the Code is to unite on a common path towards a sustainable food system, inviting businesses of all sizes that are active in the production, trade, processing, promotion, distribution and serving of food. The code marks an important first step within the Farm to Fork Strategy, which is in line with Ahold Delhaize’s healthy and sustainability ambitions. They underscore the company’s commitment to play its part in transitioning to a sustainable food system. Therefore, Ahold Delhaize’s pledges include some existing and some new ambitions, resulting in 10 measurable actions.
Our pledges under the Code of Conduct
Ahold Delhaize believes that what’s healthy and sustainable should be accessible and available to all. Strongly rooted in Europe with great local brands in Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxemburg, Greece, Portugal, Serbia, Czech Republic and Romania, its brands have a long history of providing healthy foods, piloting, adopting and scaling sustainable business practices, and delivering high-quality ingredients.
In the first half of 2020, building upon its previous work, Ahold Delhaize committed to bolder 2025 targets. Its goals: helping customers make healthier choices, increasing product transparency, eliminating waste and reducing climate impact.
Frans Muller, CEO of Ahold Delhaize: “For 150 years we have focused on helping people eat well and live better. As we serve more than 54 million customers each week in Europe, the United States and Indonesia, our brands are committed to helping their customers make healthier choices. We cannot do anything else but be ambitious here. For this reason, one of our commitments is to work towards raising sales of healthy own brand products to greater than 52% by 2025, so that generations to come can find joy in healthy, tasty and affordable food.”
An overview of the Ahold Delhaize commitments:
| Commitment* |
| Ahold Delhaize’s brands are working across the value chain, together with customers and suppliers, towards our target of reducing food waste in our own operations by 50% from 2016 – 2030 |
| Ahold Delhaize’s brands are working towards zero plastic waste from own-brand packaging by 2025 by making the plastic packaging we use 100% recyclable, compostable or reusable |
| Ahold Delhaize’s brands are working towards 25% of own-brand plastic product packaging made from postconsumer recycled content by 2025 |
| Ahold Delhaize’s brands are working towards 50% reduction in absolute greenhouse gas emissions from our own operations (scope 1 and 2) between 2018 – 2030 |
| Ahold Delhaize’s brands are working towards 15% reduction in absolute greenhouse gas emissions from our value chain (scope 3) between 2018 – 2030 |
| Ahold Delhaize’s brands are working towards being net-zero before 2050 |
| Ahold Delhaize’s brands are working towards 100% sustainable sourcing for seafood in our own brand products by 2025 |
| All Ahold Delhaize brands to have customer-facing nutritional guidance systems in place by 2025 for own brand products |
| Ahold Delhaize brands are working towards zero deforestation by 2025 through 100% sustainable sourcing of soy, palm oil, cocoa, coffee, tea, wood fiber for our own brand products |
| Ahold Delhaize’s brands are working towards raising sales of healthy own-brand products to >52% by 2025 |
*Excluding joint ventures
Ahold Delhaize believes that every actor in the value chain is needed for the transformation of the food system to be effective. Frans Muller: “In partnership, we can drive the systemic changes that are needed to accelerate more sustainable production and consumption. The Code recognizes that actions taken only by operators in the middle part of the chain are not sufficient to transform the food system and we fully agree to that. As an industry, we need to cooperate with farmers and governments, to stimulate sustainable production. And doing this through regenerative agriculture, focusing on soil health, strong biodiversity and climate resilient net positive carbon farming systems, while ensuring farmers’ livelihoods.”
Ahold Delhaize embraces the initiative of the Code and encourages other companies in the middle part of the European food supply chain to join, in order to drive global change.
The first annual progress report covering Ahold Delhaize’s advancement on the commitments will be delivered by April 2022. Furthermore, Ahold Delhaize discloses its ESG performance in its annual report. For more information on the Code of Conduct, please visit this website.
