Ahold Delhaize makes sustainability hire

Ahold Delhaize has announced that Jan Ernst de Groot has been appointed as chief sustainability officer at the retailer.

In the newly created role, Ernst will be accountable for the success of Ahold Delhaize’s ”integral vision, strategy and goals relative to all aspects of environmental sustainability, healthy eating, social impact, ethics, human rights and governance”.

“For a long time, sustainability has a central position in our organisation,” said Frans Muller, chief executive at Ahold Delhaize. ”It is one of our four key strategic focus areas, and a critical driver of our purpose: Eat well. Save time. Live better.

”Our activity and performance in this area are attracting increasing interest from customers, (future) associates, investors and other stakeholders,” he continued. ”With the appointment of Jan Ernst, we ensure that the full scope and dimension of sustainability and ESG are holistically represented at the executive committee level.”

The retailer said that its sustainability strategy was based on the belief that what’s healthy and sustainable should be available and accessible to all.

”Centred around the conviction that the world’s health crisis and climate crisis are intrinsically linked, our approach ensures the decisions we make are grounded in doing the right thing for people and planet,” the group stated. ”We collaborate closely with our partners and our brands to make this possible.”

“At Ahold Delhaize, we want to lead the transition to a sustainable food system,” Ernst explained. ”I look forward to working with Daniella Vega, our senior vice-president health and sustainability, and other senior leaders across our organisation to further define the right, ambitious and future-oriented strategy and ensure execution and delivery of our targets, for the betterment of society as a whole.”