Dutch retailer Ahold Delhaize has announced its commitment to reach net-zero carbon emissions across its operations by no later than 2040 (scope 1 and 2) and across its entire supply chain, product development and services network (scope 3) by 2050.
The group, which recently announced its third-quarter results, had originally planned on achieving net zero by 2050, but is bringing forward its targets in order to 'enable a 1.5°C-future', the group said in a statement.
'Committed To Do Our Part'
"As a 150-year-old company, we are committed to do our part and ensure we can keep serving our customers and communities in a responsible way for the next 150 years," commented Frans Muller, Ahold Delhaize chief executive.
"We believe we are taking the right steps, through stakeholder feedback and third-party recognition like the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, ranking us in the top 10% of companies and from MSCI, recently upgrading Ahold Delhaize from an ‘A’ to an ‘AA’ ESG rating.”
Business Ambition For 1.5°C
Ahold Delhaize also announced that it joined the Business Ambition for 1.5°C, a global coalition of UN agencies, business and industry leaders, in partnership with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and the UN led campaign ‘Race to Zero’.
The retailer's initial target is to reduce carbon emissions from its brands’ own operations by 50% by 2030, against a 2018 baseline.
In terms of addressing scope 3 emissions, the group said that it believes the biggest opportunity to achieve this target can be made in agriculture, working with farmers and suppliers and incentivising sustainable change.
“Ahold Delhaize’s local brands work with thousands of farmers and suppliers who create hundreds of thousands of products," added Daniella Vega, global senior vice president, health & sustainability. "We consider this a huge responsibility and a huge opportunity. The brands can drive supplier engagement and work with them to protect and restore forests and other eco-systems.”
© 2021 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine
