Albert Heijn Nederland is now a B Corp certified company. What a journey and what a great acknowledgement of their positive impact! We are proud to have supported Albert Heijn on this journey.
In 2022, our joint B Corp journey started. At that time, Albert Heijn already expressed its ambition for B Corp certification to B Lab. After the first screening of B Lab, we formed a project team and start working on the B Impact Assessment (BIA).
Quite a task: answering over 350 questions. And almost every question has multiple answer options. So, what impact does Albert Heijn make on its stakeholders? Can we substantiate and prove that impact?
Insights in the impact for its stakeholders
Together with many colleagues of Albert Heijn, we answered the BIA questions. We were positively surprised! Especially the operational impact, concerning the daily operations of Albert Heijn, proved to be signification. Good employment practices, a large amount of environmental data available, collaboration to improve its supply chain, and of course, good care of its customers.
We then explored the various potential Impact Business Models. In the Environmental area, Albert Heijn works on land & wildlife conservation and toxin reduction. In the Social area, Albert Heijn provides jobs and guidance for people with distance to the labor market. Albert Heijn also takes action to reduce poverty among employees in its supply chain, among others through its Fairtrade products and the open chain collaboration with Tony Chocolonely. In the area of Governance, Albert Heijn made the legal amendment to commit to positive impact for all its stakeholders, people and planet.
Besides, there are many initiatives like the collaboration with WWF-NL, the chain approach with the Better for Nature & Farmer programs, and the Climate hub, through which Albert Heijn changes the market and contributes to the B Corp movement.
“Been has been an excellent partner in this journey and guided us well through the process. With their knowledge, structure and critical questions, we were able to accelerate our work. It was a real pleasant and effective collaboration.”
Laura Jungmann, Director of Sustainability
From action to evidence
An important step for B Corp certification is substantiating for the positive impact. This means gathering evidence. We collected policy documents, presentations, analyses, reports, stories and other evidence to demonstrate that Albert Heijn indeed makes a positive impact.
Employees of Albert Heijn’s headquarters, its stores, and distribution centers all helped in gathering this evidence to support the answers in the B Impact Assessment.
The moment of the truth
The final step of the B Corp certification journey, is the Verification Process. During this step we worked closely in the triangle: Albert Heijn, Been and B Lab. We shared the evidence, answered the questions of the B Lab ‘Verification Analyst’. At ‘audit- days’ B Lab saw and heard the impact in practice. At the same time, the committee for ‘large enterprises’ reviewed the ‘baseline requirements’ and the aspirational goals set by Albert Heijn. An exciting moment, after the journey of several years – with the desired outcome!
B Corp – (B’tje) closer to its mission!
Albert Heijn Nederland is now B Corp certificed! Certification however, is not the end goal. That’s the mission of Albert Heijn: making better food accessible. For everyone. The B Corp certification confirms that Albert Heijn is on the right track to realize this.
Large organizations are assessed by B Lab against a broader scope and even higher standards. We need large organizations and leaders like Albert Heijn to transform the industry. Together we go further!
"For me, this is creating impact! Very proud to have guided Albert Heijn from beginning to certification."
