Dutch retailer Ahold Delhaize has introduced ‘open source climate hubs’ for suppliers to learn about carbon emissions and access resources about emissions reduction.
These hubs are available across Ahold Delhaize’s European operations, including the banners Albert, Albert Heijn, Alfa Beta, Delhaize Belgium, Etos, Gall & Gall, Maxi, and Mega Image. They form part of Ahold Delhaize’s scope 3 decarbonisation pathway.
The platforms aim to assist suppliers in starting their decarbonisation journey with step-by-step guidance, including instructional videos and links to external resources such as the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and Science Based Target initiative (SBTi).
Emissions targets
Ahold Delhaize has set targets to reduce carbon emissions across scope 1, 2, and 3, aligning with the UN’s aim to limit global warming’s rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The scope 1 and 2 targets have already been validated by the SBTi.
The retailer states that a significant portion of emissions within its brands’ value chains originate from products and services acquired from suppliers, constituting approximately 88.1% of scope 3 emissions.
Efforts are being made to encourage suppliers to participate in emissions reduction activities, focusing on areas such as livestock farming, raw material sourcing, processing, transportation, packaging, deforestation, food waste reduction, and agricultural practices.
These initiatives are projected to address the majority of Ahold Delhaize’s scope 3 emissions by 2030.
‘A complex system’
“Our value chain is a complex system with thousands of suppliers, producers and farmers around the world supplying hundreds of thousands of products,” commented Jan Ernst de Groot, CLO and CSO, Ahold Delhaize.
“These products and their related packaging materials, in turn, are composed of materials and ingredients from other suppliers. Mapping the emissions from all these products and materials is a major challenge, for which we need input from our partners. The climate hubs are a great way to encourage our suppliers to track and reduce their emissions.”
Read more: Consumers demanding greater transparency from retailers on sustainability
To learn more about how to improve sustainability in your business, make sure you read www.sustainabilityonline.net.
