New Year

Last week a reception in the Hague of the MInistry of Development Cooperation. All the guys and girls from the development scene were there. Mr. Joris Voorhoeve, former Minister of Defense, was speeching before me about all the ins and outs of the development world. Can we create a avant-garde capable of actually hitting real development goals? He is a wise and friendly man. Then I could give my ideas about cooperation between the development sector and the private sector. My conclusion: together in the mud we will stand! Jack van Ham was there also, he is heading ICCO, with whom we have a fruitfull cooperation.
Who's next?

Obama!

Now, this was the day. We got up quite early to get to The Mall to see what was happening around the inauguration. And it was great! There booing, cheering, crying and all of that. Long lines for refreshments and an impressive amount of mobile toilets. And there was Barack Obama, impressive as ever. It was so cool to listen with I do not how many other people to those great words. Seeing all those persons that made US history. And for me wondering what all this will mean for our policies in Corporate Responsibility. For the better I am sure. I am wishing all Americans a good change

Ghana Investors Advisory Council

Some years ago I was working from Ghana. I was stationed there for a few years to develop sustainable trade between suppliers in Africa and our operating companies in Europe. And that worked. One of my duties was to represent Ahold in the Ghana Investors Advisory Council (GIAC). I loved those meetings. His Excellency the president of Ghana John Agyekum Kuofor was presiding over those meetings and still hear him asking: "Please gentlemen (because we were...), be brutally honest with me." He know how to learn. He listened, he observed. "Roland, you are so silent today, what is on your mind?" I miss those meetings. I miss Ghana. But I sure know that that country is one the most promising countries of the world!

Zim2

With all of the noise surrounding the election results in Zimbabwe, we at Ahold find ourselves being questioned about our continuous presence in the country. We want to stand firm and make the right choices.
Over all of the years that we have been sourcing products from Zimbabwe, we have built up many strong relationships. That’s not to be taken lightly. People have come to rely on us just as we have on them. We are working very closely with a number of suppliers there and with their employees. Any decision we make has to be taken with them in mind. We have to make a responsible decision.
We have talked about what is going on in Zimbabwe today with our suppliers, and also with ICCO and FairMatch Support, our partners in development in Africa. The conclusion was clear: We stand for Zimbabwe! By sourcing products from Zimbabwe we support thousands of families in a very effective and important way.
We are very aware of the situation in the country. We talk to our suppliers about their relationships with the government, veterans and with their own employees. We analyze, we summarize, and we do our best to make the right decisions.
Let's take a stand for the people from Zimbabwe. This beautiful country with its wonderful and friendly people deserves our ongoing support.

Going for Green

Yesterday we had some good news. Ahold USA came in second on the Greenpeace hit list for sustainable fishery. The team at Ahold USA has been working hard with the New England Aquarium to come to a more sustainable assortment. It is not perfect yet, but we are getting there. In Holland Albert Heijn is working with the World Wildlife Fund to do the same thing. And it works! It works for the fish and it works for us. And that is what we want to make Corporate Responsibility all about. To make it work: now and in the future. For profit, people and planet. Not easy, I know. Loads of questions, loads of remarks we get. But we are working on it and we will make it work for sure. I am now looking at this immense poster in our office representing the lady that was on our cover of the 2007 CR report, carrying all those delicious fruit salads we get from Ghana. So every time I look to the right I am reminded why we are doing this. For Amel Sabeh from Ghana, working at one of our suppliers. For creating those heavenly tasting salads for our customers. So, it is big time working on that. And with Greenpeace just around the corner here in A'dam and being able to see the Rainbow Warrior when it is in (which it is not now: http://www.123-cams.com/live-webcam.php?var=1560&site=http://www.greenpeace.org/international/photosvideos/rainbow-warrior-webcam), we have enough to think about and doing in the future!