Responsible sourcing

• On this page:
• Workers' rights and labor conditions
• Critical commodities
• Fairtrade
• Developing communities
• Sustainable seafood
• Animal welfare

Workers' rights and labor conditions

Contracts that we sign with private label suppliers contain "Ahold standards of engagement" that establish clear minimum standards regarding issues such as working conditions for their employees with respect to the International Labour Organization (ILO) guidelines. We are focused primarily on suppliers of our private label products because this is the area where we have the most influence. But we are also committed to taking part in discussions and joining organizations that work toward improvements across the entire food industry.

Ahold is in the process of implementing the BSCI program with all of its private label suppliers in high-risk countries. In 2007, third-party audits were performed in Asia and Africa.

Our companies are involved in other projects that protect and further the rights of employees and third-world suppliers. For example, the Swedish NGO Fair Trade Center said in 2007 that ICA was one of the few companies importing canned tuna from Thailand that enforce on suppliers a code of conduct covering wages, working hours and UN working rights conventions.

Critical commodities

Our efforts in working towards socially acceptable production are mainly focused on the products sold in our stores, not the ingredients in these products. However, for certain critical commodities, we are engaged in initiatives that drive particular social or environmental issues connected with these commodities.

We participate in organizations that promote responsible production, such as the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), which promotes the growth and use of sustainable palm oil through cooperation within the supply chain and open dialogue with its stakeholders. We are also members of the Roundtable on Responsible Soy (RTRS) that aims to set up a multi-stakeholder and participatory process promoting economically viable, socially equitable and environmentally-sustainable production, processing and trading of soy.

We also sell products certified by independent standards for socially- and environmentally-responsible production. For example, all "Perla" private label coffee sold at Albert Heijn and all ICA coffee is Utz Certified. This standard seeks to provide an independent and credible system for assuring good practices in coffee production. 100% of the coffee produced by the Ahold Coffee Company is Utz Certified. This standard drives improvements by awarding farmers with certification if they pledge to adhere to a code that includes fair wages and health care for workers and environmental standards.

Fairtrade

The Fairtrade movement is gaining increasing attention as growing numbers of customers express a preference for products that meet the highest standards for socially responsible production and trade. In response to customer demand, all of our supermarket companies carry a selection of Fairtrade certified products and continue to add new ones. In 2007, Albert Heijn cooperated on the launch of a new Fairtrade coffee brand, Café Oké, developed jointly with the Ahold Coffee Company and the development organization Solidaridad.

Our goal is to provide our customers with choices that satisfy their concerns about responsible production.

In 2007, ICA in Sweden introduced a private label brand of Fairtrade roses, building on years of work with certified rose growers, while Giant-Carlisle became one of the only grocery store chains in the United States to carry Fairtrade roses.

Developing communities

We are committed to working with smaller suppliers in developing economies to help grow their businesses and give them access to wider markets. Our goal is to provide our customers with choices that satisfy their concerns about responsible production while working to meet the needs of our other stakeholders.

The Ahold Sustainable Business Development (ASBD) program is an example of how we couple business with social responsibility. The program aims to help suppliers in the developing world, particularly in Africa, to meet minimum standards for production and quality so that they can access more developed markets. Several tropical products sold in Albert Heijn and ICA stores were facilitated by the ASBD program.

Through the project, our people are transferring knowledge and expertise to African producers and manufacturers, and creating sustainable business relationships. At the same time, our access to organic and Fairtrade fruit and vegetables is enhanced. For example, Albert Heijn is targeting the ability to offer the consumer a year-round assortment of combined fresh organic and Fairtrade products, often identifying vendors through the ASBD program.

In September 2007, Albert Heijn and development organization ICCO expanded their cooperative efforts in Africa, announcing a new partnership with the organization FairMatch Support, which encourages European companies to adopt more sustainable trade practices. The partnership focuses on improving the living conditions and future prospects for African fruit and vegetable growers. Through the newly established Albert Heijn Foundation, the company is financing projects in Africa.

Albert Heijn, ICCO and FairMatch Support are working to strengthen African fruit and vegetable purchasing in three ways: giving financial support to projects focusing on education, housing and health for fruit and vegetable growers; ensuring that fruit and vegetable production for Albert Heijn in Africa meets internationally accepted social standards; and, wherever possible, supporting small-scale producers in providing fruits and vegetables to Albert Heijn's African suppliers and supply chains.

Through the Ahold Sustainable Business Development program, our people are transferring knowledge and expertise to African producers and manufacturers, and creating sustainable business relationships.

In 2006 and 2007, Ahold and Albert Heijn worked together on a trial program, sending experts to work with a mango-packing plant in Bamako, Mali. The goal of the program was to teach people how mangos need to be handled and packed for Western markets, thus giving them access to these markets. Albert Heijn's logistics partner, Bakker, cooperated in this program by delegating a warehouse manager from South Africa to support the program during the season.

Sustainable seafood

Demand for seafood has doubled over the last 30 years, raising concerns among many people about the associated impacts during production and harvest. By working together to promote sustainable seafood, Ahold's operating companies are meeting customer demand while helping to protect a precious resource and an important global industry.

Sustainable seafood is an important topic to many of Ahold's stakeholder groups. Increasingly, the issue is gaining importance for the investment community as well as environmental organizations, such as Greenpeace and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), which have begun rating seafood producers' ecological sustainability levels. Growing numbers of customers and employees are asking directly about the sustainability of the products we sell in stores - including seafood.

For many years we have been carrying out activities to address these concerns. Since 2000, Ahold USA has been working with the New England Aquarium (NEAq) on a program called Choice Catch. The Aquarium's scientific experts assess the sustainability of seafood sources. It helps Ahold USA identify sustainable sources and work with suppliers to improve their performance. Both ICA and Albert Heijn have strong relationships with the WWF and also work with the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), which runs a sustainable fisheries certification program.

The Ahold Sustainable Seafood Initiative comprises all of our company's policies and actions regarding seafood sustainability, and is managed and driven by the Ahold Sustainable Seafood Group. This team consists of senior cross-disciplinary sustainability experts from around Ahold. It is supported and advised by external experts from the WWF and the NEAq.

Our mission is to provide our customers with the highest achievable level of sustainability in seafood products offered. In doing so, our operating companies cope flexibly and responsibly with the complex task of securing sustainable seafood production.

Our goals for delivering sustainable seafood into our stores are:

• To promote the sale of seafood harvested in an environmentally-responsible way;
• Avoid the sale of species that have been overfished or are in jeopardy;
• Actively work with the industry, NGOs and government to monitor and improve long-term viability.

We have developed and are implementing a group-wide seafood sustainability policy, rules for the sourcing and sale of sustainable seafood, and a supplier assessment tool to achieve measurable, continuous improvement.

Animal welfare

We respect local regulations on animal welfare and often implement even stricter controls. We seek to improve living conditions for animals while at the same time delivering customers the safe, quality products they demand. For example, in Europe we require producers of meat and seafood to demonstrate compliance with audit standards that include food safety, animal health and welfare issues.

Our goal is to balance the need for a controlled environment, which must be maintained to meet our regulatory responsibilities, with the desire to provide conditions that meet the needs of the animals. To this end, we are involved in a European research project aimed at accommodating societal concerns and market demands and developing reliable on-farm monitoring systems, product information systems and practical strategies to improve animal welfare based on scientific research. The forthcoming animal-based welfare indicators can be used to assess compliance during routine food safety supplier audits at relevant points in the supply chain.

This will provide our consumers with assurance where animal welfare issues are concerned when deciding to buy private label meat and seafood products.

Ahold does not commission any animal testing. No current private label Health and Beauty products are tested on animals except where legally required.

Our companies are engaged in dialogue with various stakeholders about animal welfare-related issues and are making continual improvements to address the concerns of stakeholders. We have supported the establishment of a European Animal Welfare Platform to address issues of concern with suppliers, researchers, NGOs and other retailers.