Sustainable and Regenerative Agriculture
Poor farming practices can have adverse impacts on soil, waterways and biodiversity. As well as resulting in environmental damage, these practices can also undermine the resilience and productivity of food supply chains, which has consequences for communities, food security and businesses alike. We feel the responsibility to provide input into how food production and sourcing will look in the future and how food can be produced sustainably, with respect for people, the environment and biodiversity. We start with a focus on our own-brand products, as we have the greatest capacity to impact what is sold as well as how and where it is produced.
Ambition and targets
Our overall ambition is to protect nature and biodiversity by promoting sustainable and regenerative agriculture and water stewardship, and by working to stop ecosystem conversion and pollution, while respecting people, animals and habitats.
Our brands are working to further integrate sustainable agriculture expectations into sourcing requirements. Many work directly with suppliers to adopt sustainable agriculture practices that include conserving natural resources, improving soil health and managing pesticides and water use.
Ahold Delhaize’s local brands support sustainable and/or regenerative agriculture through multiple channels, including:
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Use and contribution to the development of standards and certifications. Many of our brands use certifications such as Global GAP and the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative Platform’s Farm Sustainability Assessment for their own brand fruit and vegetable supply chains. We also play a role in contributing to the development of new and emerging standards, such as the SAI Platform’s Regenerating Together framework, which sets the industry standard on regenerative agriculture.
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Establishment of brand-specific farming programs. Many of our brands have set up their own sustainable farming programs. One such example is Albert Heijn’s Better for Farmer and Nature Program, which covers more than 1100 Dutch Fruit and Vegetable, Dairy, Pork and Poultry suppliers.
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Partnerships with suppliers. Recent examples include ADUSA’s pilots with Kellanova and General Mills, and DLL’s partnership with a bakery supplier on regenerative practices. These projects focused on applying regenerative practices to crops such as wheat and oats.
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Support for NGOs and farming groups. Engagement with farmers and farming groups is critical for a successful food systems transition. Some of our brands’ work with local farming groups and NGOs to support farmers looking to transition.
As a group, we work to identify key learnings across these activities, and to scale and share them across our brands.
For further information on each of our focus areas and commodities, please refer to the following pages that offer more details:
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Ahold Delhaize USA and The Campbell’s Company launch regenerative agriculture pilot to reduce scope 3 emissions associated with potato farming
Building on its commitment to understanding and reducing emissions across the value chain, Ahold Delhaize USA has announced a Scope 3 pilot program focused on the potato crop. With The Campbell’s Company, work will be done to reduce scope 3 emissions associated with potato farming.
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Albert Heijn introduce the Positive Produce for People and Planet Program
Albert Heijn, in collaboration with its international fruit and vegetable suppliers, is introducing the Positive Produce for People and Planet Program. The program is based on sustainable agricultural, social and environmental standards that go beyond the standard certification requirements and conditions.
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Albert Heijn and World Wide Fund for Nature are taking action to halve the ecological footprint in the Netherlands by 2030
Albert Heijn and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-NL) have developed an approach that Dutch supermarkets can use to halve the ecological footprint of the food system by 2030. In recent years, WWF-NL and Albert Heijn have worked together with scientists to implement this approach. Albert Heijn is the first Dutch supermarket to commit to this approach to halve its footprint by 2030.
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Delhaize and La Lorraine Bakery Group launch more sustainable bread range
Thanks to a new step in the partnership between Delhaize and La Lorraine Bakery Group, Belgian consumers will now buy more sustainable bread. The basis is Belgian wheat, grown using regenerative agricultural techniques. The first 3,000 tonnes have now been harvested and leads to a CO2 footprint that is more than halved compared to conventional wheat.
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Ahold Delhaize USA, Kellanova and Bartlett announce farm-to-shelf regenerative agriculture pilot to decrease emissions across value chain
Ahold Delhaize USA has announced a partnership with global snacking leader Kellanova and agribusiness Bartlett to reduce Scope 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from wheat farming across the value chain. This collaboration aims to decrease Scope 3 emissions, improving farm and supply chain resiliency.
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Albert Heijn welcomes third parties to its renowned Better for Nature & Farmer program
Every day, Albert Heijn is committed to making the fresh supply chains (meat, poultry, dairy, eggs, fruit and vegetables) as sustainable, transparent and fair as possible with its Better For programs.