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Corporate Social Responsibility Report - Ahold

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Sustainable strawberriesAlbert Heijn partnered with theWorld Wide Fund for Nature(WWF) to encourage sustainablestrawberry growing in Spain. SinceFebruary 2007, customers buyingSpanish strawberries in AlbertHeijn stores have found a smallbooklet embossed with the WWFPanda attached to the packaging.It tells them that by buying thosespecific strawberries at AlbertHeijn, they are helping to protectan important wetland naturereserve, the Coto Doñana in thesouth of Spain. The wetland ishome to many migratory and waterbirds, as well as rare plants andanimals, including the Iberianlynx, one of the world’s mostendangered species.ObjectivesOur objectives in sustainable trade fall into three areas:1. Product safety: providing safe products to customers in allour markets is non-negotiable. It is the foundation for helpingto safeguard our customers’ health and well-being.2. Responsible sourcing: we take steps to ensure that oursuppliers respect the rights of their workers and provide safeworking conditions while at the same time preserving theenvironment.3. Buying close to home: buying locally can be good for theenvironment and help communities and small and localbusinesses to develop.Our companies apply stringent foodsafety policies and procedures, whichmeet the highest international standards.Product safetyAll products at <strong>Ahold</strong> companies need to meet the highest levelsof food safety. In order to secure this, all of our companiesmaintain a food safety policy based on: Product safety starts where products are made or grown.We require our private label product suppliers to follow properproduct safety practices and to demonstrate compliance withinternationally accepted standards, and we support them inmaking improvements.Our companies apply stringent food safety policies andprocedures that meet the highest international standards.We provide our employees with extensive communication andtraining on product safety. We have established appropriaterecall procedures and respond rapidly to crisis situations. Manyof our companies have implemented food safety standards intheir logistics and store operations. In order to achievecontinuous improvement in the way we manage food safety,compliance with these standards is assessed on a regular basisby qualified auditors. We have introduced clearer food allergenlabeling on our products in response to customer concerns andlegal requirements.<strong>Ahold</strong> has been the first global retailer to specify acceptanceof any food safety certification endorsed by the GFSI for oursuppliers of private label food products. In addition, we alsorequire GlobalGAP certification as an assurance of appropriatefood safety management at farm level.In Europe, we are implementing the British Retail Consortium(BRC) Consumer Products certification for private labelsuppliers of higher risk non-food products. In the United States,we are implementing a strict third-party testing program for highrisk non-food private label products.<strong>Ahold</strong> CSR <strong>Report</strong> 2007 19

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