Business Performance Review

Yep, what's in a dull word? Well, I can tell you, that dull wording is full of healthy, sustainability, energy and engagement. Full of emotion and passion. We are talking a major step in terms of our Corporate Responsibility policy. Every quarter we will report internally to the Supervisory Board, the Corporate Executive Board and the CEOs of our Operating Companies how we are doing in terms of our major themes: Healthy Living, Sustainable Trade, Climate Action and Community Engagement. Now we are talking. Numbers is what counts. We will get discussions about our assortment, our suppliers, our energy usage, our waste and our effort in the communities around our stores. What more do you want!

Transparant green?

Second, that is what we were evaluated in Greenpeace’s latest analysis of seafood sustainability policies at major supermarket chains. Second, that is the same as last time. Only last time we were surpassed by Wholefoods, now by Wegmans. Because is not totally clear how Greenpeace evaluates our efforts, it is rather difficult to find out what we would have to improve to come first. Transparency, that is what it is all about. Also from our side we have to communicate what we do, how we do it and with whom we dot it with respect to offering sustainable seafood in our stores. Apart from seafood we get loads of questionnaires about anything related to corporate responsibility and we always ask for transparency in their ranking efforts. We want to use the questionnaires as a sort of stakeholder input, but then it has to be clear what we are looking for.

So, let's go for clarity!

Food, food and food

Last week Wednesday at 2:00 PM I took my bike and together with Alex we went to the Food Bank in Amsterdam North. Some biking, some boating, some biking and then we arrived. After waiting for half an hour or so in what supposedly had been a small supermarket the truck with all kinds of food arrived. We started unpacking, categorizing and waiting for our customers. All those people with smaller or bigger families who have a difficult time feeding their families. Lots of fun, and really giving you the idea that this is something that helps in a direct way. I love it!

Do we follow the hamster or the panda?

Now for something completely new. Yesterday we had our Annual General Shareholders Meeting in Amsterdam. And we had a fantastic introduction to Corporate Responsibility through Friends of the Earth. They were hanging from the building, police was around, shareholders puzzled as to what those hamsters were actually talking about. It was soy my friend. And the Friends of the Earth totally disagrees with the World Wildlife Fund on this issue: how to promote sustainable produced soy. That is the question for today. Can the NGOs please agree on the direction they want to go, using the same kind of research data, coming out with a generally accepted opinion?

Now who do we follow my friends? Is it going to be the hamster or the panda?

Fun, funnier, funniest

Yesterday we had another brainstorm (or breinstorm in Dutch) with De Vrolijkheid, the Foundation to Promote Cheerfullness. We were trying and we were succesfull in establishing a program for a joint Vrolijkheid/Ahold day of fun and pleasure for some 100 kids from asylum centers. Always a pleasure to be at their offices, enought good calories to eat and our ever engaged Simone (our Community leader) baked a lovely and tasty cake. Joop, our supposedly strict Internal Audit chief, was also present and handed over enough money to give three asylum center kids some days of fun over the year. What a pleasure it is to give, to have fun and to work at what you think is of value!

Community Center open at Westfalia Tzaneen, Limpopo, South Africa

That is the Albert Heijn Foundation (http://www.ah.nl/albertheijn/article.jsp?trg=albertheijn/article.waarden.duurzaamheid.ahfoundation). Ge Happe, our European fruit and vegetables manager had the privilige to open up the community center at one of our suppliers, Westfalia. Westfalia produces mango's and avocado's. A very tangible result of the Foundation that invests in community projects in Africa. And Dorcas was also there, the Westfalia champion for community service. We go back a long time. I still miss them, after having spend so mucht time over at Tzaneen. "Are you doing the tour yourself Roland?"

The Foundation to Promote Cheerfulness

Yesterday I went to the opening ceremony of the Day of Fun of http://www.vrolijkheid.nl/. We are going to work with them and have fun! Go take a look at the small and brilliant exposition in the Public Library in Amsterdam if you are in town. The idea was to start off with 1000 and 1 encounters between refugee kids and guys and girls like me. I had the privilege to talk, joke and draw with Miski from Mogadishu. Just before she had been action as a stewardess in the opening play. Boy, could Miski laugh. I enjoyed every minute of it!