Ahold Delhaize, Danone and Nature Conservacy in Scope 3 emissions programme

Ahold Delhaize USA, the East Coast’s largest grocery retail group, Danone North America and The Nature Conservancy, a global conservation organisation, announced a value chain collaboration that seeks to enhance farm and supply chain resilience and reduce Scope 3 emissions from dairy production. The pilot, which will start this year, targets a shared reduction in methane emissions from the dairy supply in selected Danone North America yogurt products sold by retailers, including Ahold Delhaize USA brands, over the next five years.

This methane-focused project will support Danone North America’s dairy farm partners in identifying and implementing sustainable agriculture practices. The selected dairy farms are part of the dairy supply chain that supports the local brands of Ahold Delhaize USA – Food Lion, Giant Food, The GIANT Company, Hannaford and Stop & Shop.

On-farm practices will include manure separation, compost turners, manure spreaders and tools specific to irrigation efficiency, all of which contribute to improved resource management and operational efficiency at the farm level.

The Nature Conservancy will bring experience ranging from agricultural and ecological systems to impact investing strategies. The organisation will also play a key role in project governance by providing technical assistance to farmers and helping to ensure long-term viability of on-farm practices. Additionally, the collaboration will bring in the expertise of NatureVest, The Nature Conservancy’s in-house impact investing and sustainable finance team, to identify market mechanisms that agrifood companies can leverage to help implement these sustainable supply chain solutions. The results associated with this project will be validated by an independent third party.

“As we continue our work to support healthier people and a healthier planet, we’re excited to embark on our first dairy-focused pilot and for the learnings to follow,” said Kendrick Repko, VP, health & sustainability at Ahold Delhaize USA. “By focusing on the yogurt production supply chain, we complement our other partnerships in the regenerative agriculture space by continuing to explore practical, scalable methods to decrease emissions across the value chain, this time assessing methane reduction in dairy farming.”

“At Danone, our mission is to bring health through food to as many people as possible. We strive to work hand-in-hand with our farm partners to implement resilient and regenerative practices that benefit farms, climate, local communities and our business. But we can’t do it alone,” said Jessie Copeland, head of regenerative agriculture at Danone North America. “As a purpose-driven food and beverage company, we understand the importance of collaborating with farmers and organisations such as Ahold Delhaize USA and The Nature Conservancy who share our vision to drive change at scale.”

“There has been so much excitement and energy around the idea of decarbonizing dairy in the past few years, and this effort represents a bold step forward toward executing on those ideas,” said Alisha Staggs, dairy program director at The Nature Conservancy. “By leading with science, centering farmers and smartly collaborating with aligned industry leaders, this project is poised to lead the dairy industry in making good on our promises to be part of the climate solution.”

This initiative is Ahold Delhaize USA’s fourth farmland-focused sustainable agriculture project. It is also a key component of the Danone Impact Journey, which helps regenerate nature through investing in and scaling Danone’s best-in-class regenerative agriculture programme.