Ahold Delhaize publishes inaugural Human Rights Report

Zaandam, the Netherlands, June 15, 2020 – Ahold Delhaize today announces the publication of its inaugural Human Rights Report. The report is an important milestone to show what steps Ahold Delhaize and its great local brands are taking to safeguard human rights, both within the organization and across the supply chain, as well as increase transparency on the highest priority human rights issues for Ahold Delhaize and its brands.

The report is based on the UN Guiding Principles Reporting Framework and is the result of a global human rights due diligence process that began in 2018. This due diligence process was designed to increase engagement on human rights – both internally and externally – and to assess current human rights management policies, processes and governance. The Human Rights Report outlines the outcome of this due diligence and provides a roadmap for future actions.

In consultation with internal and external stakeholders, Ahold Delhaize has identified six salient human rights issues that it will focus on as initial priorities, followed by six additional relevant issues. Furthermore, Ahold Delhaize is strengthening its governance to ensure human rights are fully embedded within its strategy and to support the brands as they ensure that the protection of human rights is an integral part of their business activities. Additionally, these issues will be assessed to understand how they are impacting local markets and where action can be taken when needed.

See below an overview of our salient human rights issues:

"2020 is an historic year of unprecedented events arising from the COVID-19 outbreak and the worldwide protests in support of racial justice and equality. These events once again make us realize that, as a global retailer, we play a pivotal role in society. We have a big responsibility to set the right example and help dismantle structures that systematically disadvantage some and advantage others,” said Frans Muller, Chief Executive Officer of Ahold Delhaize. "To this end, I am pleased to see we are making progress in our human rights policies, but we’re not there yet and more work must be done. Our commitment to respect human rights and address the many challenges related to that commitment cannot be fulfilled alone. It requires collaboration and partnership both across the food chain and in our communities.”

The company will continue reporting publicly and transparently on its human rights commitments in the Annual Report, to external stakeholders, and against relevant benchmarks, and will eventually issue a sequel to this report to demonstrate progress on the roadmap.
 The company welcomes feedback and input on this report and its roadmap. Please send any comments or questions to sustainableretailing@aholddelhaize.com.

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