Delhaize Group press release - Delhaize Group releases 2015 annual and sustainability reports

BRUSSELS, Belgium, April 18, 2016 -- Delhaize Group announces the publication of its 2015 Annual Report and its 2015 Sustainability Progress Report. The reports are available online at https://annualreport.delhaizegroup.com/ and at https://sustainabilityreport.delhaizegroup.com/.

The Delhaize Group 2015 Annual Report highlights the Group's accomplishments over the last year, with a focus on customer centricity. The report includes the following sections:

• key financial figures and an interview with Mats Jansson, Chairman of the Board of Directors, and Frans Muller, President and Chief Executive Officer;
• an overview of the Group's Strategic Framework;
• a performance section that includes Delhaize Group's global operations, as well as details on each operating company;
• corporate governance, including remuneration;
• financial statements and notes.

"Our Annual Report highlights our solid 2015 performance and underscores our continuous commitment to customers, ensuring that they remain at the center of everything we do," said Frans Muller, President and Chief Executive Officer of Delhaize Group.

The 2015 Sustainability Progress Report shows progress toward "Supergood," the Group's ambition to be a sustainability leader in all its local markets by 2020. The report features program highlights and progress against targets for each of the Group's operating companies towards our 10-year Supergood goal. Six case studies illustrate specific projects and accomplishments in all seven countries of operation.

"Our financial performance goes hand-in-hand with our sustainability targets," Muller said. "Those efforts contribute directly to a more efficient company."

The Group's work around sustainable seafood is one of the various points of pride. "As of the end of 2015, 87 percent of our private brand seafood sales - fresh, frozen and canned - are coming from sustainable sources," Muller said.

Among the sustainability achievements in 2015 across the organization were:

Independent recognition
· Inclusion in the Dow Jones Sustainability World and Europe Indices

Responsible products
· 87 percent of private brand seafood sales come from sustainable sources
· 40 percent increase in sales from organic products since 2014
· 100 percent palm oil used in private brand products is covered by an RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil) certification system

Waste reduction
· 60 percent of total waste recycled (diverted from landfills or incinerators)

Climate action
· 13 percent decrease in CO₂ emissions per sales area since 2008
· 74 stores with low carbon refrigeration systems

Hunger relief
· 51 percent of stores and warehouses regularly donating unsold food to local charities

Health and wellbeing
· 37 percent of private brand products sold at Delhaize America earn at least one Guiding Star
· 141 wellbeing events for associates held across the Group

Diversity and inclusion
· 100 percent score earned by Delhaize America on the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index for fifth straight year

Marc Croonen, Delhaize Group's Chief Human Resources Officer and EVP of Sustainability, says the 2015 report details significant progress. "We're proud of what we have accomplished over the past five years on our journey to Supergood," Croonen said. "Associates across the company, along with community partners on three continents, are collaborating to make our business more sustainable every step of the way."

Read the full 2015 annual and sustainability reports online here:

https://annualreport.delhaizegroup.com/  
https://sustainabilityreport.delhaizegroup.com/

Questions regarding the Group's sustainability can be sent to [email protected].

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Investor Relations: + 32 2 412 2151                              
Media Relations: + 32 2 412 8669

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