General Mills Expands Ahold Delhaize Partnership With New Emissions Measurement Effort
General Mills is extending its multi-year collaboration with Ahold Delhaize USA to address Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions across the supply chain.
The two companies will co-invest in areas where key ingredients are sourced, known as priority supply sheds, with the goal of supporting regenerative farming practices.
Through a partnership with non-profit Ecosystem Services Market Consortium (ESMC), farmers will receive technical and financial support to implement techniques intended to bolster emission-reduction processes. As part of this, a combination of field sampling and modeling will estimate net greenhouse gas emissions.
Partnership Scope
ESMC, which will facilitate the program, will work with local implementing partners to help advance regenerative agriculture management on more than 70,000 acres of farmland in Kansas and Saskatchewan by 2025.
This represents the approximate number of acres General Mills engages to source key ingredients, including wheat and oats, for its products sold at grocery stores operated by Ahold Delhaize USA’s Food Lion, Giant Food, The Giant Company, Hannaford, and Stop & Shop brands.
Marc Stolzman, chief sustainability officer at Ahold Delhaize USA, noted in a statement that its relationship with General Mills shows how essential strategic collaboration is for addressing climate impacts and creating positive environmental outcomes.
The grocer has partnered with other CPGs, including Kellanova, for similar sustainability efforts. and Frans Muller, president and CEO of parent company Ahold Delhaize, is a co-chair of the Consumer Goods Forum, a consortium of retail and CPGs focused on cross-industry collaboration to drive positive environmental impact.
“We champion a farmer-centered approach across key regions where the ingredients we source are grown, aiming to produce positive environmental, social, and economic outcomes,” added Mary Jane Melendez, chief sustainability and global impact officer at General Mills. “Ahold Delhaize USA is a natural fit for collaboration with shared goals of creating a more healthy and resilient food system.”
Greenhouse gas reductions and soil carbon sequestration will be verified by an independent third-party organization.
