Ahold Delhaize announced Thursday it has updated its Climate Plan by outlining the goals it has set for reducing Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions.
The update comes at a time when the Dutch grocer says that it’s made “significant strides” in its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction efforts.
Ahold Delhaize said that it has made progress since its climate plan came out last year by refining its decarbonization levers with its GHG emission reductions, fine-tuning which categories feed into the reduction target for its supply chain and addressing challenges in meeting its reduction goals.
The Dutch grocery company has already set science-based (SBTi) emission reduction targets for Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions in line with the United Nation’s goal to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
For its Scope 1 and 2 emissions, Ahold Delhaize said in the updated Climate Plan that it is primarily focused on transitioning to lower-GWP (global warming potential) and natural refrigerants, tapping renewable energy and moving away from fossil fuels in heating and transportation.
The company’s goals are:
- Reduce refrigerant emissions to net zero by 2040
- Reduce electricity emissions to zero by 2035
- Achieve 100% fossil-fuel-free transport in both Europe and the U.S. by 2040.
Ahold Delhaize noted that Scope 1 and 2 emissions account for a fraction of its overall emissions, yet they are the outputs that the grocery company has the most direct control over.
For its supply chain emissions, Ahold Delhaize said it’s focused on addressing seven decarbonization levers that it says will have the biggest impact. The company said it will work with suppliers to set emissions-reduction targets “in line with the latest science,” work with suppliers to reduce the carbon footprint of its local brands’ assortments and encourage customers to buy lower emission products, noting that its banners are using loyalty programs and discounts to influence shopper behavior.
Currently, more than 50 of the Dutch grocer’s top 100 suppliers have either set science-based targets or are committed to doing so, the press release noted.
“With this update, we are taking an important step forward in defining a clear action plan on both our net-zero targets and interim (2030) targets,” Jan Ernst de Groot, Ahold Delhaize’s chief legal officer and chief sustainability officer, said in the announcement.
De Groot continued: “The challenge with long term net-zero targets is to connect these with immediate actions as well as concrete plans for interim targets. Ahold Delhaize is addressing this by providing a new level of disclosure in this plan.”
De Groot, who became Ahold Delhaize’s first chief sustainability officer in August 2022, will retire on May 31, 2024. Linn Evans, currently chief legal officer and general counsel at Ahold Delhaize USA, will fill the chief legal officer role on April 15, 2024, while Alex Holt will become the company’s next chief sustainability officer no later than June 1, 2024.
Ahold Delhaize reiterated its previously set commitments to become net zero by 2040 with an interim target of a 50% reduction by 2030 for its own operations and, for its supply chain to reach a 37% reduction by 2030 followed by achieving net zero by 2050.
In 2021, Ahold Delhaize accelerated its goal of reaching net-zero carbon emissions across its own operations by 2040 — 10 years earlier than previously targeted.
