Corporate Social Responsibility Report - Ahold

Compliance with GRI standardsAhold has decided to use the standardsdeveloped by the Global ReportingInitiative (GRI) as the framework toguide our approach to and reportingon CSR.The GRI is a global, multi-stakeholdernetwork of business people,representatives from labor and civilsociety, investors, accountants andothers, working together to developan internationally accepted standardfor CSR reporting, called theSustainability Reporting Framework.This provides a universally applicable,comparable framework in which tounderstand disclosed informationabout sustainability performance.The vision behind the framework isthat reporting on CSR is as routine andcomparable as financial reporting.Ahold is adapting its reportingaccording to the GRI standards.In the GRI cross-reference table inthis report, we provide a summaryof our compliance. We are alsodiscussing the implementationof more GRI indicators for the reportnext year. The GRI frameworkoutlines several levels of reportingcompliance, depending on acompany’s capabilities andambitions. We are targeting theachievement of the entry levelof reporting standards with thisyear’s report.“ Respecting people, the environmentand the communities we serve isbecoming more important toinvestors and ultimately supportscorporate profitability.”Kimberly Ross, Executive Vice President andChief Financial Officer (Acting member of andnominee to the Corporate Executive Board)Managing our activitiesMost of Ahold’s CSR activities are managed locally, withoperating companies responsible for developing their ownprograms and activities to address the specific needs oflocal stakeholders.Our operating companies have also established, or are in theprocess of establishing, committees dedicated to making furtherprogress on each of the main themes in Ahold’s CSR strategy.Target settingNow that we have defined our focus areas for CSR, the CSRCoordinating Committee is putting processes in place tocollect information that we can use to track and evaluateour performance.The coordinating committee is also working with our operatingcompanies and their senior management to help us establishCSR performance targets and indicators.In line with our commitment to integrate CSR into our business,the targets will become part of our regular business reviews withoperating company management teams.Ahold CSR Report 2007 7