Better Health for All

In 2024, 52.4% of Ahold Delhaize's own-brand food sales were from healthy products, a decrease from 54.8% in 2023.

The company aims for more than 51.7% healthy own-brand food sales by 2025 and 50% plant-based food sales for European brands by 2030. In July 2024, some U.S. brands faced a recall of deli meats due to possible Listeria contamination. Environmental groups also filed a complaint in November 2021 alleging the company failed to disclose key information about its use of plastics and associated environmental risks. Ahold Delhaize is committed to making healthier choices affordable, with European brands offering 7,700 own-brand products at entry-level prices and Albert Heijn introducing 15 new animal- and plant-based products priced the same or cheaper than fully animal-based equivalents. The company's U.S. brands committed almost $1 million to reach over 200,000 children with nutrition messaging in 2024 as part of the White House Challenge to End Hunger. Stop & Shop supports in-school pantries in 256 schools across five states, serving over 40,000 students and their families. Ahold Delhaize offers mental health and well-being resources for associates and their families, including access to online psychologists and support groups. Albert Heijn reduced the equivalent of 72 million sugar cubes, 70,000 kilograms of salt, and 240,000 kilograms of saturated fat in 2024 compared to 2023. Delhaize in Belgium aims for 87% of its own-brand canned vegetables to be free of added salt by 2026, expecting to reduce salt consumption by 7.71 tonnes. Local U.S. brands offer online nutrition education and free access to registered dietitians.

Fair Pay & Worker Respect

In 2024, 57% of associates were covered by collective bargaining agreements.

The workplace injury absenteeism rate was 1.81 per 200,000 hours worked in 2024, a decrease from 1.85 in 2023. Annual associate engagement surveys in 2024 showed an 81% inclusion score. Over the past three years, the company has incurred $5,258,014 in employment-related penalties, including $1,492,934 for wage and hour violations and $549,325 for workplace safety or health violations.

Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing

In 2024, the company reported high certification rates for several own-brand product categories: 97.4% for coffee, 96.5% for cocoa, 99.5% for tea, 96.7% for seafood, and 91.6% for wood fiber-based products and packaging.

Additionally, 100% of high-risk soy volume in own-brand supply chains was covered by accepted physical certification or credits in both 2023 and 2024. Social audits with worker interviews are conducted at least every two years, with annual re-audits for major non-compliance. In 2023, 78% of last-stage production locations were audited against a standard equivalent to amfori BSCI. In 2023, 13 social audits identified "deal-breakers" (less than 2% of inspections), and in 2024, six own-brand first-tier production units had "deal-breakers"; all were remediated. Reports from Speak Up lines were investigated and resolved within an average of 30 days in 2023. The company requires products to be traceable to the production batch and site within three hours, and own-brand suppliers must trace ingredients to the first stage of production. The origin of all processed and unprocessed fruit and vegetables must be traceable to farm/production level. The Standards of Engagement are an integral part of supplier contracts, but no specific percentage of contracts with enforceable ethical clauses is provided. In 2021, 33% of the soy volume in the supply chain was identified as high-risk and offset with RTRS credits.

Honest & Fair Business

In the past three years (2022-2024), the company incurred a total of $255,004 in regulatory fines for wage and hour, workplace safety, and benefit plan administration violations.

Ahold Delhaize has a 'Group Speak Up Policy' effective January 1, 2025, which encourages associates and third parties to report misconduct, outlines reporting resources, safeguards, and non-retaliation measures, and explicitly addresses EU whistleblowing rules. The 'Speak Up' line is administered by EQS Group, an independent third-party service provider. Reports are acknowledged within 7 days, with feedback provided within 3 months. The 2018 financial figures were restated due to the implementation of IFRS 16. Independent external audit coverage is 87% of consolidated net sales, 86% of consolidated assets, and 92% of consolidated income before income taxes. The company has a Global Anti-Corruption and Bribery Policy, effective August 1, 2024, which prohibits bribery, corruption, and money laundering, and requires proper record-keeping.

Kind to Animals

Ahold Delhaize USA reports that more than 65% of its egg assortment is cage-free, with a goal to reach 70% by the end of 2030 and 100% by the end of 2032.

The company's policy prohibits animal testing for private brand food, pharmaceutical, or cosmetic products and their ingredients, and they do not ask suppliers to conduct such tests, unless legally obligated. However, Ahold Delhaize allows the confinement of animals in cages for their entire lives, including pregnant pigs in 7-by-2-foot cages and hens in cages with less space than a standard letter. The company is a member of multi-stakeholder initiatives like SAI Beef (ERBS) and Global G.A.P. for improving animal welfare.

No War, No Weapons

Ahold Delhaize demonstrates a strong commitment to humanitarian procurement standards and human rights. The company has implemented the BRCGS Global Standard for Ethical Trade and Responsible Sourcing (ETRS) in its supply chain, as evidenced by its Mega Image branch in Romania.

Its 2024 Standards of Engagement outline comprehensive ethical principles for suppliers, detailing commitments to human rights, environmental protection, and ethical business practices. This includes monitoring compliance through social audits in high-risk countries and establishing remediation processes for violations, such as suspension or termination of suppliers. The company's human rights reports further detail its policies and practices, indicating that UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights are fully embedded in its strategy, with third-party assurance of performance.

Planet-Friendly Business

Ahold Delhaize reported total Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions of 66.14 million tCO₂e in 2024.

The company's near-term and long-term climate targets for Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions have been validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and align with a 1.5°C pathway. In 2024, 49% of electricity consumption came from zero-emissions sources. The company's water withdrawal volume in 2023 was 8,956 megaliters, with revenue of EUR 88.6 billion, equating to 101.08 m³ per €1 million revenue. Over 90% of waste was diverted from landfills in 2022. In 2023, 4% of total capital expenditure was aligned with climate change mitigation, and 32% was Taxonomy-eligible. The company has a no-deforestation commitment for own-brand products across critical commodities by 2025, with 93% of timber products and 76-99% of palm oil, soy, cocoa, and coffee Tier 1 suppliers mapped. No water-related regulatory violations, fines, or penalties were reported in 2023. The net-zero target for own operations (Scope 1 and 2) is 2040, and for the value chain (Scope 3) is 2050. Ahold Delhaize is a signatory to the TCFD and has fully adopted its recommendations, with climate scenario analysis included. The company discloses climate-affected assets and outlines a management approach for transitional risks. Albert Heijn cut 21.5 million kilograms of packaging material since 2018. For supplier engagement, 100% of Tier 1 suppliers by procurement spend are required to comply with GHG disclosure, with 26-50% in compliance. 30% of Tier 1-2 suppliers report emissions publicly.

Respect for Cultures & Communities

The provided articles do not contain specific, quantitative data points relevant to the defined KPIs for 'Respect for Cultures & Communities'. Information regarding formal partnerships with indigenous or local community groups, percentage of company revenue reinvested in local community development, cultural appropriation incidents, existence of a formal cultural impact assessment protocol, proportion of workforce recruited from local communities, coverage of formal grievance mechanisms for community concerns, average time to resolve community complaints, percentage of affected communities participating in FPIC processes, representation of community members in board or advisory bodies, percentage of reinvestment allocated to cultural or linguistic preservation programs, proportion of procurement spending directed to local suppliers, number of indigenous or minority-owned suppliers engaged, actions taken to protect cultural or heritage sites, percentage of operations with a documented social license to operate, percentage of revenue donated to cultural heritage organizations, percentage of non-core revenue distributed to community development funds, assessment score of language inclusivity in products and communications, effectiveness of response to cultural incidents or controversies, or percentage of employees completing cultural sensitivity training is not available.

The articles primarily focus on labor rights in the supply chain and general charitable giving by subsidiaries, which fall outside the scope of this specific ethical value as defined by the KPIs.

Safe & Smart Tech

Ahold Delhaize experienced a ransomware attack on November 5-6, 2024, which exposed the personal data of 2.24 million individuals.

The compromised data included names, Social Security numbers, health information, and financial account details. This incident involved an unauthorized third party accessing internal US business systems and obtaining files from employment records. The company disclosed the breach on July 1, 2025, and offered affected individuals two years of free credit monitoring and identity protection services. Regulatory filings were made with the Maine attorney general regarding the breach. The company states it protects data through encryption in transit and at rest. Ahold Delhaize maintains a 'Wall of Fame' for responsible disclosure of security vulnerabilities. The company states compliance with GDPR, U.S. federal and state privacy laws, and evolving AI legislation.

Zero Waste & Sustainable Products

In 2024, Ahold Delhaize recycled 74% of its total waste.

The company's own-brand primary plastic packaging was 33% reusable, recyclable, or compostable in 2024, up from 28% in 2023. The recycled content in own-brand plastic product packaging was 15.7% in 2024. The use of virgin plastic in own-brand primary product packaging was reduced by 10.3% by 2024 compared to a 2021 baseline. Hannaford, one of its brands, has achieved zero waste to landfill. The company has a target to reduce food waste by 50% by 2030 against a 2016 baseline, having achieved a 35% reduction in 2024. Ahold Delhaize encourages suppliers to set emissions reduction targets and performs quality assurance reviews and audits in stores, DCs, and at key suppliers. The company provides comprehensive disposal information with educational resources to customers on better storage methods and recipes to utilize food. Several brands offer recycling stations for customers to deposit materials like glass, paper, and batteries, and some provide facilities for deposit-return plastic and glass bottles.