Abstract

Ahold, a major retailer in the US and Europe, considered sustainability as an effective way to not only meet its corporate social responsibility obligations but also to improve its efficiency and profitability. The case essentially deals with Ahold’s sustainability approach and its various initiatives. It also throws light on the business sense in pursuing sustainability as a strategy. The case talks in detail about Ahold’s strategy of using sustainability as an instrument to improve its productivity, profitability, and its image in the eyes of the customers it served. Last, it makes a brief mention about the comments made by analysts vis-à-vis Ahold’s sustainability initiatives.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• The concept and importance of sustainability and sustainable development.: How a company uses sustainability to achieve competitive advantage.: How a retail giant uses sustainability to win customers.: The importance of corporate social respon-sibility in

Keywords

Ahold NV (Ahold), Eco-Sound project, Albert Heijn, Sustainable Company, Ahold Food Safety Advisory Committee, EUREPGAP, Organic Products, AC Nielsen, Stop & Shop, Giant-Landover, Animal Welfare Third-Party Auditing, Low Energy Super Store, Supply Chain, Marine Conservation, Waste Reduction, Sustainability