New report: Top U.S. supermarkets’ climate failure
The Lion's Share
Download the report here.
Mighty Earth has released its first analysis ranking five leading U.S. supermarkets on their climate commitments and action. The report evaluates Dutch retail giant Ahold Delhaize’s U.S subsidiaries: Food Lion, Giant, The Giant Company, Hannaford, and Stop & Shop, as well as Albert Heijn in the Netherlands and Delhaize in Belgium. It finds these brands are not taking substantive action to reduce methane or other greenhouse gases, and as a result, they are undermining Ahold Delhaize’s group-level sustainability targets.
The assessment scored companies’ climate commitments and action across 18 indicators in five categories — acknowledging the role of methane, emissions reporting, commitments and action plans, food waste and landfill, and plant-based alternatives. European brands Albert Heijn and Delhaize ranked first and second, while U.S. brands lagged: Hannaford placed third, The Giant Company fourth, Giant and Stop & Shop tied for fifth, and Food Lion ranked last. All U.S. brands scored between 2.5-12 points out of 100; in contrast, top-performing Dutch-brand Albert Heijn scored 54 points, demonstrating that much greater progress is possible.
Ahold Delhaize, the fourth-largest food retailer in the U.S. by gross revenue, operates 17 brands across Europe, Asia, and the United States. Its five U.S. brands make up the largest food retailer on the East Coast and generate 61% of the company’s global revenue.
The report’s findings suggest that the lack of action by Ahold Delhaize’s U.S. brands risk undermining the group’s climate commitments, including a group net-zero by 2050 commitment and interim 2030 emissions reduction goals. The inaction by the U.S. brands – and the failure of Ahold Delhaize’s leadership to hold them accountable – poses potential harms to the business, investors, and consumer trust.
The role of methane
The report finds Ahold Delhaize’s U.S. brands fail to report methane emissions or to acknowledge any link between meat and dairy, methane, and global heating, even though meat and dairy make up an estimated half of Ahold Delhaize group’s Scope 3 emissions.
One of the key indicators analyzed in the report is the role of methane in its overall emissions. The UN has identified methane reduction as the “single most effective” and most “cost effective” strategy to keep global heating below 1.5 °C. Animal agriculture, particularly meat and dairy, is responsible for 32% of anthropogenic emissions—more than any other single source.
Almost half (49%) of Ahold Delhaize’s total methane emissions are generated by the company’s five U.S. brands. Despite this, Ahold Delhaize’s U.S. subsidiaries fail to acknowledge the link between meat, dairy, and methane emissions on their websites or in public communications. Not a single U.S. brand scored any points on the three methane indicators in the report, even though these products drive the largest share of the company’s emissions. By contrast, European brands lead on transparency and action: Albert Heijn scored 10 points and Delhaize 7.5.
Sammy Herdman, Senior Campaigner for Climate, Food, and Agriculture said:
“Our report makes clear that the Ahold Delhaize group’s climate commitments are not credible as long as its U.S. brands avoid taking real steps to curb their methane and other greenhouse gas emissions. While European brands are making some progress, U.S. brands, like Stop & Shop and Food Lion, are dragging down the group’s climate ambitions.”
“Methane from meat and dairy is a powerful but short-lived greenhouse gas—and rapid reductions can deliver immediate climate benefits, which Ahold Delhaize acknowledges on its website. Without urgent action to curb methane from its U.S. brands, Ahold Delhaize’s climate targets will remain an aspiration and the company will likely miss one of the fastest, most cost-effective ways to cut emissions and deliver big wins for the climate and nature.”
“It’s time for Ahold Delhaize to show the receipts on how it plans to meet its climate targets. Ahold Delhaize must hold its U.S. brands accountable and demonstrate real, tangible action on their climate commitments—not repeat the same empty promises.”
Mighty Earth is calling for Ahold Delhaize’s U.S. brands to take immediate action—starting with greater transparency in climate reporting, including disclosing methane emissions. As part of this work, companies must:
- Acknowledge methane’s major role in their emissions profiles and climate change plans and raise consumer awareness of this important issue.
- Adopt climate plans that are on track to meet Ahold Delhaize’s net-zero and interim targets, including a methane reduction action plan.
- Reduce methane emissions from landfill and food waste in their supply chains.
- Increase their ambition and financial support for scaling plant-based alternatives.
Ends
Notes to editors:
- Earlier this year, Mighty Earth and Changing Markets Foundation released Clean Up on Aisle 3: The Methane Mess Supermarkets Are Hiding, a scorecard rating the world’s 20 largest food retailers on methane action and commitments using nearly the same indicators as in this report. Ahold Delhaize scored 4th overall, earning 20-30 points more than its US brands Despite this discrepancy, Ahold Delhaize has not established a transparent, time-bound emissions reduction strategy to bring all of its brands up to its standards, leaving it unclear how, or if, Ahold Delhaize expects its US brands to contribute to the group’s climate targets.
- According to a Profundo analysis commissioned by Mighty Earth, the meat and dairy in Ahold Delhaize’s value chain create 11.7 million metric tons of methane emissions each year — that’s more than the country of Sweden, or the annual energy use of 44 million households.
- Food production alone will breach the 1.5C target, with methane accounting for 73% of food-related warming by 2050, driven by high methane foods including meat & dairy.
- The U.S. is the world’s second largest-methane emitter; beef and dairy account for about 70% of those emissions.
- Ahold Delhaize claims it will reduce its overall emissions by 37% in 2030, however research by the New Climate Institutes estimates current plans will lead to a 33% reduction, falling short of the 45% required by the Paris Climate Agreement and its own commitments.
About Mighty Earth
Mighty Earth is a global advocacy organization working to defend a living planet. Our goal is to protect Nature and secure a climate that allows life to flourish. We are obsessed with impact, and our team has achieved transformative change by persuading leading industries to dramatically reduce deforestation and climate pollution throughout their global supply chains in palm oil, rubber, cocoa, and animal feed, while improving livelihoods for Indigenous and local communities across the tropics.
