Ahold

Ahold is an international group of quality supermarkets in Europe and the United States with more than 2900 stores and net sales of about 28 billion euros.

Fairfood and Ahold
Fairfood International first approached Ahold requesting information on the sustainability level of the private label products of one of their supermarket chains (Albert Heijn). Over time through a persistent approach and close contact, Fairfood International gradually increased the pressure on Ahold for more sustainable products and Fairfood was there to applaud Ahold for their positive undertakings. For example, in 2009 Fairfood unfurled a huge banner in one of Amsterdam’s busy shopping streets (Damrak) warmly welcoming the introduction of the Puur & Eerlijk line. However, Fairfood was also there to disapprove of Ahold for inadequate steps. For example, Ahold was pressured to be more transparent and demanding about the sustainability level of the products under the brand name Puur & Eerlijk. [hashtag_tweets hashtag="ahold" number="4"]

Current Status
There is regular contact between Fairfood International and Ahold, in order to maintain the positive sustainability dialogue between the two parties. Recently, the focus of this dialogue has been Ahold’s participation at the IDH (the major Dutch multi-stakeholder initiative for a more sustainable future). Fairfood International sees Ahold’s participation as a step in the right direction and is at the same time pressuring them to be more ambitious with their input towards this initiative. We expect the next update from Ahold by the end of September.