Discount Retail Chain Lidl Netherlands (owned by the German Schwarz Gruppe) is developing a sustainability standard for biodiversity on all potatoes, vegetables and fruit at an international level. With this standard, Lidl wants to be able to offer sustainable fruit and vegetables all year round and contribute to a more level playing field for farmers and growers in Europe.
Lidl wants to get fruit and vegetables from Dutch soil as much as possible, because this is a guarantee for fresh, qualitative and more sustainable products. In the Netherlands, not all fruit and vegetables are grown all year round, which means that products have to be imported during certain periods in order to be able to offer them all year round. It is inevitable for the supermarket to certify it internationally in order to meet its own objective; having all fruit and vegetables meet its sustainability standards.
The certification is expected to be available to all farmers and fruit and vegetable growers by the end of 2021.