Engaging on climate and nature at Ahold Delhaize
Last May, PGGM attended Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize NV’s Strategy Days, where CEO Frans Muller presented the ‘Growing Together’ strategy, focusing on a healthier future for people and planet.
Engaging Ahold Delhaize on Regenerative Agriculture
PGGM encourages Ahold Delhaize, a global player in the food retail sector, to show concrete actions to advance regenerative agricultural practices.
In a verbal statement at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) on April 9th, 2025 of Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize N.V., PGGM, together with MN and other institutional investors, urged the company to outline concrete steps towards ensuring positive impact on regenerative agriculture. In addition, we commended Ahold for their efforts in assessing nature risks within their value chain using the TNFD framework , which provides guidelines to assess the dependency on natural resources and developing strategies to manage these.
A significant finding from this assessment was the dependency of their supply chain on clean freshwater and healthy soils. Ahold acknowledged the need to enhance their water management strategies and is actively considering how to proceed. In his response to our statement, Ahold’s CEO, Frans Muller, mentioned that he expects Ahold to have a regenerative agriculture strategy ready in 2026 or 2027.
Engaging Ahold Delhaize
Ahold Delhaize is part of PGGM’s engagement program with the food sector on issues related to climate change and biodiversity. Ahold Delhaize is a key player in the food sector, with significant influence over supply chains and consumer choices. Our engagement focuses on encouraging Ahold to adopt sustainable practices that align with their climate, nature, and health goals.
By addressing issues such as regenerative agriculture, water management, and biodiversity, we aim to drive positive impact and accountability within their operations and value chain. In February 2025, we organized an in-person engagement meeting at Ahold’s headquarter in Zaandam with NZEI and NA100+, two investor coalitions engaging Ahold on climate change and biodiversity loss, respectively. During the meeting, we stressed that the company should consider the interlinkages between the food sector, climate change, biodiversity loss, and human health.
Looking ahead, as stated by Mr. Muller, Ahold Delhaize plans to develop a regenerative agriculture strategy in the coming years, which shows a recognition of its importance in their sustainability goals. We will continue our dialogue with Ahold to ensure that this commitment translates into a clear plan. In parallel, we will build our own expertise in this new and promising field.
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