Forest Protection
The ALDI SOUTH Group is committed to eliminating deforestation and conversion of natural ecosystems across our high-priority supply chains by the end of 2025. Certification, transparency, and collaboration are key elements when it comes to implementing sustainable requirements into our supply chains.
Why forests are essential for people and climate
Forests are diverse and complex ecosystems that provide a habitat for plants, animals, and people. They are a source of livelihood for local communities, providing important resources, food, and ingredients for medicine and containing significant amounts of the planet’s freshwater. Deforestation continues at alarming rates and is endangering rainforests worldwide. About 17% of the Amazon has already been destroyed. The main drivers of deforestation is agricultural expansion, ranching, illegal logging, mining, and fires. Protecting our forests is essential to help stabilise the local and global climate: Trees absorb and store a large amount of CO2, which is released into the air by cutting them down.
As a global retailer, it is one of our key responsibilities to ensure that our products do not contribute to the destruction of forests. Therefore, the ALDI SOUTH Group has set specific goals for high-priorities commodities.
ALDI's commitment to deforestation free supply chains
To eliminate deforestation and land conversion from our supply chains, we are focusing on increasing sustainable standards and certification, transparency, and collaborating with stakeholders. Independent third-party certification schemes mean our suppliers must comply with standards that protect forests and natural ecosystems from conversion, especially in high-risk countries.
Some commodities with the highest impact on deforestation - such as palm oil and soy - have particularly complex supply chains. By increasing transparency, we can verify if our requirements are met and identify potential risks. Therefore, we are mapping the supply chain of raw materials and plan regular assessments, performed individually or collectively with our partners.
Soy
The amount of soy in our supply chains with a low risk of deforestation (certified or from low-risk origin) is to be steadily increased.
Palm (Kernel) Oil
All palm (kernel) oil and palm (kernel) oil-based derivatives and fractions used in our own-brand products are certified.
Timber
All relevant wood-based products as well as all wood-based packaging of our own-brand core range products are certified or recycled.
Coffee
The percentage of sustainable coffee products is to be steadily increased.
Cocoa
All cocoa used in relevant own-brand products is from certified sources.
Banana
All fresh bananas sold in Europe and the US are certified.
Partnerships and alliances help us to fight deforestation and implement sustainable standards across our supply chain. The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certification ensures that palm oil is produced in an environmentally friendly and socially responsible way.
To ensure that the palm oil used for our products matches our requirements, we work with the RSPO Chain of Custody Standards. Each part of our supply chain needs to be certified. Certified volumes get audited by an independent third party. As an RSPO member, we are actively driving improvements of the standard and its processes. Currently, we use 99% RSPO-certified palm oil in all our own-label food and non-food ALDI products.
Partnerships and alliances help us to fight deforestation and implement sustainable standards across our supply chain. The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certification ensures that palm oil is produced in an environmentally friendly and socially responsible way.
To ensure that the palm oil used for our products matches our requirements, we work with the RSPO Chain of Custody Standards. Each part of our supply chain needs to be certified. Certified volumes get audited by an independent third party. As an RSPO member, we are actively driving improvements of the standard and its processes. Currently, we use 99% RSPO-certified palm oil in all our own-label food and non-food ALDI products.
Collaboration is a powerful tool to drive change
In order to stop deforestation and protect the world’s forests, we need to create maximum leverage in a timely manner. The ALDI SOUTH Group participates in key multi-stakeholder and sector initiatives in sourcing countries. By working with partners on the ground and engaging at the origin of raw materials, we create direct impact, promote sustainable production, and support local farmers.
In complex supply chains, it is crucial that the different parties involved are aligned. This way we can address systematic challenges and develop sector-wide solutions for responsible markets and agricultural production systems. ALDI supports the introduction of a robust legislative framework in sourcing countries. We believe that legislative action against deforestation can contribute significantly to the prevention of deforestation, mitigate climate change, and protect the planet’s biodiversity.
We collaborate with:
- Standard bodies to strengthen certification criteria and processes.
- Our direct suppliers and commodity traders to ensure the implementation of our requirements in our own supply chains.
- Industry groups across the sector including the Palm Oil Transparency Coalition (POTC), the Consumer Goods Forum (CGF), and the Retail Soy Group (RSG).
Find out more about our deforestation policies, initiatives, and projects. The Forest Protection Factsheet provides information about the ALDI South Group for benchmarking inquiries.
Source: *WWF, **EPA Global Greenhouse Gas Overview, ***WorldRainforests
