Dive Brief:

• Food Lion announced on Monday new sustainability goals aimed at reducing food waste, increasing sourcing transparency and cutting carbon emissions.
• As a part of the plan, Food Lion will create a program that helps shoppers buy products that align with personal priorities like using less plastic, buying chemical-free products and supporting humane animal treatment. 
• Previously, the company set sustainability goals in 2015, most of which the company has already reached, Food Lion President Meg Ham said in the announcement. The new plan comes several months after parent company Ahold Delhaize refreshed its targets.

Dive Insight:

The focus on sustainability comes at a time when grocery companies are setting ambitious targets, from Imperfect Foods looking to become a net-zero company to Kroger aiming to make its private label packaging 100% recyclable, compostable or reusable. 

Food Lion’s target of halving both carbon emissions from its operations and food waste and reducing suppliers’ emissions by 15% by 2030 match Ahold Delhaize’s goals. Both Food Lion and Ahold Delhaize have set 2025 as a deadline to improve sourcing transparency on where products came from and how they were grown or produced. 

By 2025, Food Lion aims to have all of its plastic packaging converted to 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable material. By that same year, the retailer is also looking to offer a 100% cage-free shell egg assortment and have more than 48% of its private label food sales account for healthy sales. 

In comparison, Ahold Delhaize is striving to boost sales of healthy private label products to 51% of all store brand sales by 2022. Both companies are working with the Partnership for a Healthier America to boost access to healthier food and publicly share how much of its sales are tied to healthier products. 

In the private label area, Food Lion and Ahold Delhaize have said that they will roll out a new labeling option to better identify foods that include genetically modified organisms with the goal of putting a disclosure on bioengineered private label products by Jan. 1, 2022. 

In recent years, Food Lion has worked to boost its energy efficiency, sell products rated by the nutrition rating system Guiding Stars, turn to more climate-friendly refrigerants and reduce plastic through reusable bag sales and recycling.  

Several of Ahold Delhaize’s other U.S. grocery banners have also ramped up their environmental-friendly initiatives. Last year, The Giant Company had four more stores reach zero-waste and rolled out the Flashfood app service, which helps cut food waste, to dozens of stores. Last fall, Giant Food joined the Ocean Disclosure Project, which helps retailers share seafood sourcing information and also includes Food Lion, Hannaford, Stop & Shop and The Giant Company.