Ahold Delhaize emits as much methane each year as the entire country of Sweden. Nearly half of that methane comes from its US brands:

Food Lion, Giant, The Giant Company, Hannaford, and Stop & Shop.

We’re calling on Ahold Delhaize and its US brands to disclose their methane emissions, set emission reduction targets, and publish action plans to meet them.

Mighty Earth’s new report, The Lion’s Share: Ahold Delhaize’s U.S. Brands Fall Short on Climate Action, reveals that US brands are indeed lagging behind on climate targets and actions. Compared to some Ahold Delhaize brands in the EU, the inactivity of US brands is even more stark: real progress is possible, but US brands are choosing to avoid it.

The Lion's Share

This report evaluates seven of Ahold Delhaize’s most prominent brands, revealing that its US brands indeed lag behind on climate targets and actions. In doing so, Ahold Delhaize’s US brands undermine the company’s climate commitments and escalate reputational, financial, and operational risks posed by climate change and climate inaction.

Overview

Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, contributing to fatal heatwaves, harmful air pollution, and rapidly increasing the rate of global warming. According to a study commissioned by Mighty Earth, Ahold Delhaize’s US brands emit nearly HALF of the company’s overall methane footprint.

Unfortunately, it seems that Ahold Delhaize isn’t holding its US brands accountable to its parent company’s climate targets. Unlike the US brands, EU-based Ahold Delhaize subsidiaries are working towards:

• Net-zero emissions by 2050
• 2030 interim targets, like reducing emissions from food, land, and agriculture by 30.2% compared to 2020, and
• Selling 60% plant-based proteins and only 40% animal-based proteins by 2030 (the best way to reduce methane emissions)

So what do the US brands do…nobody knows!

For Ahold Delhaize’s overall climate targets to hold up, their US brands need to pull their weight. For accountability and transparency, they must publish their methane and other greenhouse gas emissions and the climate plans to reduce them. Without that information, the climate commitments made by Ahold Delhaize to investors and consumers worldwide lose their credibility. That’s why we asking Ahold Delhaize USA and its brands, like Stop & Shop, to Release the Climate Files.