How is Ahold Delhaize Tackling Food Insecurity?

Multinational food retailer Ahold Delhaize operates with nearly 400,000 employees across 17 brands, reaching 77 million customers on a weekly basis. The company has positioned itself as a leader in innovation across healthy foods, sustainability initiatives and supply chain transformation, according to its latest annual report.

The organisation's 2025 Annual Report, titled Creating Value Every Day, outlines its impact across nature, communities and climate. The report details progress made towards ambitious environmental targets and highlights the retailer's growing commitment to building healthier communities through its operations.

Addressing climate and nature challenges

The annual report acknowledges the interconnected relationship between nature and climate, identifying climate change as a significant driver of biodiversity loss. Ahold Delhaize's sustainability approach focuses on achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions across its own operations by 2040.

The company recognises its reliance on natural systems, particularly the land and water resources that underpin farming and food production sectors. Working alongside partners throughout its value chain, Ahold Delhaize is addressing emissions reduction while building resilience for the long term.

Progress towards 2025 showed a 39% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, 41% of the company's top suppliers have established science-based sustainability targets. Zero-emissions electricity now accounts for 47% of its energy use, with the retailer working towards a 2035 target of 100% zero-emissions electricity across operations.

Frans Muller, President and CEO of Ahold Delhaize, says: "As we leave 2025 behind, we can be proud of the progress we achieved and the strong foundation we built during the first year of Growing Together.

"An important aspect of our Growing Together strategy is our healthy communities and planet priority. We believe we have the responsibility and the opportunity to drive change beyond our own operations."

Frans adds: "Our strategy has been pressure tested, our capabilities are evolving and our teams are operating in a strong rhythm, which is delivering compounding results.

"We are carrying this momentum into 2026 with confidence in our execution, our portfolio and our ability to continue creating value for customers, associates, communities and shareholders."

The retailer has placed particular emphasis on reducing emissions within its dairy supply chain.

Through collaboration with Danone North America and The Nature Conservancy, Ahold Delhaize has launched a pilot programme targeting Scope 3 emissions from dairy used in selected Danone yoghurt products. The initiative will support participating farms in adopting sustainable practices and technologies aimed at reducing methane generation and improving resource efficiency.

Tackling food insecurity goals

During the first quarter of 2025, Food Lion, one of Ahold Delhaize's brands, achieved its target of donating 1.5 billion meals to people experiencing food insecurity, reaching this milestone months ahead of schedule. The brand has subsequently established a new target to donate three billion meals by 2032.

The company aims to improve customer health and nutrition through a wide selection of healthier options available across its brand stores. This strategy centres on making healthy eating more accessible by offering affordable and nutritious products alongside support services, education and transparent labelling. Product reformulation efforts are also underway to enhance nutrition and encourage healthier lifestyles by reducing sugar, salt, colourants and additives.

Daniella Vega, Global Senior Vice President Health & Sustainability at Ahold Delhaize, writes on LinkedIn: "What strikes me most, reflecting on the health and sustainability thread throughout, is not a change in ambition but a shift in where the work sits.

"It's more embedded in how the business actually runs: sourcing, commercial decisions, finance, tech and customer experience. Health, climate, nature and circularity don't move separately.

"They converge in the same decisions, with real trade-offs, especially on affordability and scale."

The retailer's food donation programmes extend beyond Food Lion to include initiatives across its other brands. These efforts form part of a broader commitment to addressing food insecurity within the communities where Ahold Delhaize operates, combining immediate relief through meal donations with longer-term strategies to improve food access and affordability for vulnerable populations.

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Advancing packaging sustainability targets

Ahold Delhaize is working towards a more robust food system through efficient resource use and waste reduction. The company's approach focuses on enabling materials to circulate for extended periods, which could minimise costs and lower emissions throughout its value chain.

In 2025, the retailer achieved a 10.9% reduction in virgin plastic use, surpassing its 5% target. The company has also set a goal to reduce total food waste by 50% per €1m (US$1.18m) of food sales by 2030, measured against its 2016 baseline.

Across its brands, Ahold Delhaize is sourcing packaging that depends less on finite resources and is designed for multiple use cycles. While the company aims to incorporate more post-consumer recycled content into packaging, strict regulations surrounding food-grade recycled plastics have presented limitations to this ambition.

The company is also exploring innovative packaging solutions that balance sustainability objectives with food safety requirements. This includes partnerships with suppliers to develop alternative materials and design systems that support both circularity and compliance with regulatory standards, ensuring packaging innovations can be scaled across its global operations.