Ahold Delhaize’s European retail banners have introduced open-source climate hubs, online platforms aimed at providing suppliers with insights into carbon emissions. These hubs offer resources for understanding our commitment to emission reduction and navigating the process of addressing and reporting emissions. Part of our scope 3 decarbonization strategy, which focuses on emissions across our value chain, the initiative involves thousands of suppliers and hundreds of thousands of products.
These hubs are open-source platforms designed to assist suppliers in initiating their decarbonization journey, offering step-by-step guidance, instructional videos, and links to external resources such as the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and Science Based Target initiative (SBTi).
Jan Ernst de Groot, CLO & CSO at Ahold Delhaize, emphasized the complexity of the value chain, spanning numerous suppliers, producers, and farmers worldwide. The climate hubs serve as a means to encourage suppliers to monitor and reduce their emissions.
Ahold Delhaize has set carbon emission reduction targets for scope 1, 2, and 3 in alignment with the UN’s goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. While scope 1 and 2 targets have been validated by SBTi, the scope 3 target is currently undergoing validation.
The majority of emissions in the brands’ value chains stem from products and services procured from suppliers. Engaging suppliers in setting emission reduction targets through the SBTi aims to drive improvements across various aspects of production, including livestock farming, raw material sourcing, processing, transport, packaging, deforestation, and food waste reduction. These actions are projected to address most of Ahold Delhaize’s scope 3 emissions by 2030.
All local climate hubs are now operational. Wouter Kolk, CEO of Ahold Delhaize Europe & Indonesia, highlighted the collaborative effort between brands, with the initiative originating from Albert Heijn and subsequently being embraced by Delhaize and other European brands. This collaboration underscores the importance of sharing best practices across the organization.
