Dutch supermarket chain Albert Heijn has become the first global retailer to publicly disclose its methane emissions.
The business, part of retail giant Ahold Delhaize, took the move via a “discreet update to its sustainability report” earlier this month, said campaign group Mighty Earth. It is now urging other major supermarkets such as Tesco, Carrefour, and Lidl – plus Ahold Delhaize’s other brands in the US, such as Stop & Shop – to follow Albert Heijn’s lead.
The update showed that methane emissions accounted for approximately 14% of Albert Heijn’s total greenhouse gas footprint.
The retailer’s move follows civil society pressure for greater transparency, with a Mighty Earth report titled ‘Taking the Bull by the Horns’, published in April, estimating that Ahold Delhaize’s total global methane emissions footprint rivalled that of an entire country, such as Sweden or Denmark.
“For too long, retailers have been telling us that it’s too difficult to disclose methane emissions and yet this move by Albert Heijn shows that it’s clearly not that hard and it can be done,” said Mighty Earth’s Netherlands director Jurjen de Waal.
“Cutting methane emissions is one of the fastest and most cost-effective ways of curbing global heating, and transparent methane reporting is the first step towards tackling the issue head-on.”
And while Albert Heijn had made a “breakthrough” in transparency, the “same level of commitment needs to carry across the pond to Ahold Delhaize’s US operations, which our analysis found account for almost half of the group’s total global emissions”, de Waal added.
“Without urgent action from its US brands, Ahold Delhaize is risking its climate goals,” he added, with the group having set a net zero target of 2050.
“While not the only solution, shifting towards plant-based diets is one of the most effective measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, especially agricultural methane, to protect climate and nature. Retailers can follow Albert Heijn’s lead in this regard too, by setting a 60:40 split in favour of plant-based foods by 2030.”
Ahold Delhaize spokesperson Pauline van den Brandhof told The Grocer the retailer had decided to communicate its estimated methane emissions as “we see many stakeholders focusing on this topic, and we want to be transparent about it”.
She also told Dutch farming publication Nieuwe Oogst this week that, given the high global warming potential of methane, it was “prioritising reducing emissions in methane-intensive supply chains, particularly those associated with animal products”.
“Our goal is a 45% reduction by 2030 compared to 2018 and net zero by 2050,” van den Brandhof said.
“We are collaborating with suppliers to implement more sustainable agricultural practices, improve feed efficiency, and explore innovations in manure management.”
The business had “developed an integrated approach with our suppliers around four themes, including manure and animal feed”, she added.
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