8.) Ahold
This subsidiary of the Dutch Royal Ahold grabbed a Greenpeace ranking of 6.35 for 2015, because while the seventh largest U.S. retailer made improvements this year, they were small ones according to Greenpeace’s standards.
“Ahold made small improvements this year, though could move closer toward the top five retailers by strengthening its wild, farmed, and shelf-stable policies, increasing information on product labels, and discontinuing top-tier Red List species like Chilean sea bass,” wrote Greenpeace.
The non-profit was impressed with Ahold USA’s decision to source a large percentage of private label slapjack and albacore from suppliers that implement “more responsible catch methods.” And while Ahold seeks out certification measures continuously from sources like BAP and MSC, “Greenpeace encourages the retailer to look beyond certifications as an accurate measure of sustainability, given that no single certification scheme is complete and each one has unresolved problems.”
Headquarters: Carlisle, Penn. and Quincy, Mass
Store Count: 766 stores bearing the Stop & Shop, Giant Foods, Martin’s and Peapod names.
FY 2014 sales: USD 29.5 billion
