© Sustainalytics 2020 
 
 
Ahold Delhaize 
Type of Engagement: Annual Review 
Date: June 15, 2020 
Engagement Team: 
Jonathan Laski, jonathan.laski@sustainalytics.com, (+1) 647 264 6640 
Winnie Toppo, winnie.toppo@sustainalytics.com, (+1) 647 317 3648 
 
Introduction 
In June 2019, Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize N.V. (“Ahold Delhaize”) issued €600 million of sustainability bonds 
to finance its transition to sustainable food systems as well as low carbon operations. In 2020, Ahold Delhaize 
engaged Sustainalytics to review the projects funded through the issued sustainability bonds and to provide 
an assessment as to whether the projects met the Use of Proceeds criteria and the Reporting commitments 
outlined in its Sustainability Bond Framework (“Framework”).   
Evaluation Criteria 
Sustainalytics evaluated the projects funded in 2019 based on whether they: 
1. 
Met the Use of Proceeds and Eligibility Criteria outlined in the Framework; and 
2. 
Reported on at least one of the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for each Use of Proceeds criteria 
outlined in the Framework. 
Table 1: Use of Proceeds (UoP), Eligibility Criteria, and associated KPIs 
UoP  
Theme 
UoP Categories 
Eligibility Criteria 
Key performance indicators 
(KPIs) 
Procurement of Sustainably Produced 
Products 
Environmentally 
Sustainable 
Management of 
Living Natural 
Resources and 
Land Use 
Procurement of sustainably produced 
products, including certified sustainable 
products, in the year of issuance. Costs 
related to: 
• 
Procurement of third-party certified 
products (including tea, coffee and 
seafood) 
• 
Installation of the "Urban Farm" (to 
contribute to providing local 
sustainable products as well as 
educational programs and 
workshops for schools) 
 
• 
Percentage of sales from 
sustainability sourced own-
brand products (for 
Certified seafood, tea, 
coffee and cocoa) 
 
Climate Impact 
Renewable 
Energy 
Expenditures related to investments in 
renewable energy including from on-site 
or off-site solar, wind, geothermal, and 
bio-digesters. Feedstock for bio-digesters 
to be derived from retail store and 
distribution center food waste, and 
possibly other waste streams. 
• 
Annual GHG emissions 
reduced/avoided in tonnes 
of CO2 equivalent 
• 
Annual energy savings in 
MWh (electricity) and GJ 
(other energy savings) 
Energy Efficiency 
Expenditures related to increasing energy 
efficiency of stores and distribution 
centers. Costs related to: 
• 
Energy efficiency projects: LED 
lighting installations, efficiency 
devices on heaters and heat pumps; 
installing doors or curtains on 
• 
Annual GHG emissions 
reduced/avoided in tonnes 
of CO2 equivalent 
Annual energy savings in 
MWh (electricity) and GJ 
(other energy savings) due 
to installation of energy

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1Shrink is as any removal of food from the food supply chain which is or was at some point fit for human consumption, but has been disposed of, or has 
spoiled or expired, mainly as a result of economic behavior, poor stock management, neglect, theft or cash shortages.  
cooling cabinets; insulation; 
purchase of energy efficient 
equipment 
• 
Refrigeration projects: upgrading 
refrigeration equipment to improve 
energy efficiency 
efficient fixtures /devices 
/equipment. 
• 
Annual GHG emissions 
reduced/avoided in tonnes 
of CO2 equivalent 
Annual energy savings in 
MWh (electricity) and GJ 
(other energy savings) due  
upgrading refrigeration 
equipment. 
Green Buildings 
Expenditures related to stores, offices or 
warehouses that have received or are 
expected to receive Gold or Platinum 
LEED certification, BREEAM ‘Excellent’ or 
‘Outstanding’ certification, or a nationally 
recognized equivalent certification. 
• 
LEED, BREEAM, or 
equivalent environmental 
certification scores 
Pollution 
Prevention and 
Control 
Expenditures related to waste prevention, 
including operational improvements and 
food donations, food waste recycling, 
waste recycling, optimizing packaging for 
sustainability. Costs related to: 
• 
Optimizing replenishment processes, 
ordering, and stock management to 
reduce shrink1:  
• 
Plastic and packaging reduction, 
increase in recyclability or 
compostability of plastics  
• 
Improving collection and recycling, 
including packaging and other 
operational waste. 
• 
Changing refrigerant to natural or 
climate-friendly substances 
• 
Percentage of total food 
waste recycled 
• 
Tonnes of food waste 
reduced  
• 
Tonnes of waste recycled 
• 
Tonnes of plastic reduced 
 
Promoting Healthier Eating 
Access to 
Healthy Food 
Expenditures related to implementation 
and expansion of healthier eating 
initiatives while maintaining affordability, 
including R&D for reformulated products 
and marketing and distribution of 
healthier products. Costs related to: 
• 
Reformulation of own brand 
products to improve the nutritional 
quality of products while maintaining 
product affordability 
• 
Maintenance and improvement of 
the Guiding Stars System, an audited 
nutritional rating system in U.S.  
• 
Investments in rating products 
against the Choices International 
criteria (Europe), an audited 
nutritional rating system developed 
by a panel of third-party scientists, 
• 
Percentage of sales from 
healthier products

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Issuing Entity’s Responsibility 
Ahold Delhaize is responsible for providing accurate information and documentation relating to the details of 
the projects that have been funded, including description of projects, estimated and realized costs of projects, 
and project impact. 
Independence and Quality Control 
Sustainalytics, a leading provider of ESG and corporate governance research and ratings to investors, 
conducted the verification of Ahold Delhaize’s Sustainability Bond Use of Proceeds. The work undertaken as 
part of this engagement included collection of documentation from Ahold Delhaize employees and review of 
documentation to confirm the conformance with the Ahold Delhaize. 
Sustainalytics has relied on the information and the facts presented by Ahold Delhaize with respect to the 
Nominated Projects. Sustainalytics is not responsible nor shall it be held liable if any of the opinions, findings, 
or conclusions it has set forth herein are not correct due to incorrect or incomplete data provided by Ahold 
Delhaize. 
Sustainalytics made all efforts to ensure the highest quality and rigor during its assessment process and 
enlisted its Sustainability Bonds Review Committee to provide oversight over the assessment of the review. 
Conclusion 
Based on the limited assurance procedures conducted,3 nothing has come to Sustainalytics’ attention that 
causes us to believe that, in all material respects, the reviewed bond projects, funded through proceeds of 
Ahold Delhaize’s Sustainability Bond, are not in conformance with the Use of Proceeds and Reporting Criteria 
outlined in the Framework. Ahold Delhaize has disclosed to Sustainalytics that the proceeds of the 
sustainability bond were fully allocated as of the end of 2019. 
 
2 https://www.choicesprogramme.org/  
3 Sustainalytics’ limited assurance process includes reviewing the documentation relating to the details of the projects that have been funded, including 
description of projects, estimated and realized costs of projects, and project impact, which were provided by the Issuer. The Issuer is responsible for 
providing accurate information. Sustainalytics has not conducted on-site visits to projects. 
based on World Health Organization 
dietary guidelines2.  
• 
Investments in rating products 
against the Nutri-Score system, a 
European based rating system

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Detailed Findings 
Table 3: Detailed Findings 
Eligibility 
Criteria 
Procedure Performed 
Factual Findings 
Error or 
Exceptions 
Identified 
Use of 
Proceeds 
Criteria 
Verification of the projects funded by the 
sustainability bond in 2019 to determine if 
projects aligned with the Use of Proceeds 
Criteria outlined in the Ahold Delhaize and 
above in Table 1. 
All projects reviewed 
complied with the Use 
of Proceeds criteria. 
None 
Reporting 
Criteria 
Verification of the projects funded by the 
sustainability bond in 2019 to determine if 
impact of projects was reported in line with 
the KPIs outlined in the Ahold Delhaize and 
above in Table 1. For a list of KPIs reported 
please refer to Appendix 1. 
All projects reviewed 
reported on at least one 
KPI per Use of Proceeds 
criteria. 
None

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Appendices 
Appendix 1: Impact Reporting by Eligibility Criteria 
UoP Themes 
UoP Categories 
Environmental Impact Reported by Eligibility Criteria  
(For the year 2019) 
Procurement 
of Sustainably 
Produced 
Products 
Environmentally 
Sustainable Management 
of Living Natural 
Resources and Land Use 
• 
97% of own-brand products containing tea certified 
against an acceptable standard 
• 
96% of own-brand coffee products certified against an 
acceptable standard 
• 
84% of own-brand products containing cocoa certified 
against an acceptable standard 
• 
98% of own-brand seafood product sales certified 
against an acceptable standard, from sustainable 
sources assessed by a credible third party, or from 
credible FIPs / AIPs (Fishery and Aquaculture 
Improvement Projects) 
Climate 
Impact 
Renewable Energy 
• 
51 million kWh of total renewable electricity produced 
on site in 2019 
• 
32% change in CO2 equivalent emissions per m2 of 
sales area (from 2008 baseline) as result of utilization 
of renewable energy and implementation of energy 
efficiency measures 
• 
78% of refrigerants used in 2019 were ozone friendly 
refrigerants 
Energy Efficiency 
Green Buildings 
• 
Construction of a new warehouse for bol.com (Ahold 
Delhaize’s online retailer), which was rated as BREEAM 
Outstanding. 
Pollution Prevention and 
Control 
• 
77% of total food waste recycled 
• 
77% of waste recycled 
• 
9% reduction in food waste (measured in tonnes of 
food waste per sales t/€ million) and compared to a 
2016 baseline). 
Promoting 
Healthier 
Eating 
Access to Healthy Food 
• 
48% of healthy own-brand food sales as a proportion of 
total own-brand food sales 
• 
95% of own-brand products with front-of-pack 
nutritional labeling

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