U.S. Banners Shine in Ahold’s 2014 Responsible Retailing Report
Ahold has published its Responsible Retailing Report 2014 to inform stakeholders of the progress it's made during the year on its five priority areas: healthy living, community well-being, people, responsible products and care for the environment. Responsible Retailing is one of the six strategic pillars of Ahold’s Reshaping Retail framework.
The report includes stories from across Ahold's businesses, including U.S. banners Giant Carlisle, Giant Landover and Stop & Shop, about how associates are working toward the company’s 2015 targets.
"We want to bring our customers great value, high quality and affordable fresh products, and to do so in a responsible way," noted Dick Boer, CEO of the Amsterdam-based international retail conglomerate. "We cannot do this in isolation and will continue to work closely with our partners and stakeholders."
In the area of healthy living, Ahold USA piloted a reorganized fresh produce department, offering local, exotic and organic fruits and vegetables and ready-to-eat products, and staffed by specially trained associates. It will be introduced at additional stores in 2015.
Among the company's strides in community well-being, Ahold USA received Progressive Grocer's 2014 Retailer of the Year award in recognition of its community support, which includes supporting food banks and health education.
In the realm of responsible products, Ahold's U.S. supermarkets were the first in the country to introduce own-brand UTZ certified-sustainable chocolate bars, following Dutch sister banner Albert Heijn’s lead.
Under care for the environment, the Ahold USA divisions have cut back on the number of disposable bags distributed in their stores by 547 million since 2011, as part of the Billion Bag Reduction Program.
With the current five-year targets under the Responsible Retailing strategy set to expire at the end of this year, Ahold is currently putting the finishing touches on new goals for 2020, which will be revealed in the second half of 2015.