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Posted: August 7, 2025
Albert Heijn has become the first major supermarket in the world to disclose methane emissions, revealing they make up 14% of its greenhouse gas footprint. The move is hailed as a milestone for retail transparency, with environmental groups urging other supermarkets to follow suit in tackling methane’s climate impact.
Dutch supermarket giant Albert Heijn has made history by becoming the first major global retailer to disclose its methane emissions, a bold step hailed as a world first in supermarket transparency. The company’s latest sustainability report revealed that methane accounted for 14% of its greenhouse gas footprint in 2024, marking a milestone moment in methane emissions reporting. Environmental organization Mighty Earth praised the disclosure, stressing that it provides a more complete picture of environmental impact.
The decision comes after mounting pressure on retailers to improve transparency around methane, a greenhouse gas considered far more potent than carbon dioxide. Research from Mighty Earth suggested that Ahold Delhaize, Albert Heijn’s parent company, has a methane footprint on par with entire countries like Sweden or Denmark. With U.S. subsidiaries responsible for nearly half of the group’s methane emissions and Dutch operations contributing about a quarter, campaigners are now calling on other supermarkets including Tesco, Carrefour, and Lidl to follow Albert Heijn’s lead.
Albert Heijn has committed to tackling methane as part of its wider Scope 3 climate strategy, setting reduction targets of 45% by 2030 compared to 2018 levels and reaching net-zero by 2050. Efforts include working with suppliers on sustainable farming practices, feed efficiency, and manure management. The company emphasized that cutting methane emissions is one of the fastest and most effective ways to fight global warming, and that transparency through methane emissions reporting is the first step toward lasting change.
