Our Purpose

At ALDI, our Purpose is to make a good life affordable. This means offering our customers great quality products at low prices, while  maximizing our positive impact on people and the planet. Together with our suppliers and partners, we are working to change how food is produced so we can all continue to enjoy the products we love today, and tomorrow.  

Making a good life affordable has been part of our DNA since the beginning. We were founded to meet a pressing societal need: making everyday essentials affordable, accessible, and reliable for customers and their families.

Today, food production is under strain. The climate crisis, accelerating nature loss, and widening social inequalities disrupt food production and threaten resource availability in supply chains, including our own. Change is needed and we have evolved our Purpose to be part of that change.  
  

We are using our reach and resources to help address significant urgent issues in the food system. We seek to help secure stable food production, strengthen the livelihoods of producers and workers, and ensure that our customers can continue to access affordable, healthier, and sustainable choices.

However, we  recognize that most significant sustainability challenges cannot be solved by any single company alone. In collaboration with our suppliers, partners, NGOs, governments, and our customers, we aim to contribute to positive social and environmental outcomes through targeted initiatives across selected supply chains. In doing so, we hope to ease the pressure on natural resources and support the transition to a more resilient food system. A resilient food system is one that can absorb disturbances, adapt to changing conditions, and includes continuing to provide sufficient, safe, and nutritious food for everyone.

“At ALDI, great quality and low prices are just the starting point – we use our business as a force to shape a more equitable, thriving and sustainable food system.”
- Thomas Udesen, Group Chief Commercial Officer, ALDI SÜD

Becoming a Force for Good

Why we need to act

Climate change is no longer a distant threat. It is strongly connected to the loss of natural habitats, and is already impacting the everyday products our customers rely on and the people who produce them. For ALDI, taking decisive action now is a business imperative as we aim to strengthen the future availability and affordability of great quality products.  

• Addressing climate change risks
  The climate crisis is already disrupting food production and supply chains, leading to increased costs and production-associated risks for farmers, suppliers, and retailers. At ALDI, key agricultural commodities, including cocoa, coffee, fruits and vegetables, are under growing pressure from rising temperatures and shifting weather patterns. This directly threatens the stability and reliability of our global supply chains.  
• Protecting natural resources and biodiversity
  Natural resources are vital for food security, and can directly affect the ability to supply high-quality, affordable products. Without fertile soil, clean water, and thriving ecosystems, agricultural productivity declines and supply chains become more volatile, impacting availability and costs of everyday items.  
• Securing supply chain stability and livelihoods
  Farmers and food producers often experience socio-economic challenges, such as poverty, poor working conditions, and health inequalities. These pressures not only significantly impact the wellbeing of the people who produce our food, they also weaken the resilience and stability of the global supply chains ALDI depends on.  
• Meeting customer expectations and demand
  Customers increasingly expect both the products they buy and the companies behind them to meet higher standards of transparency and sustainability. ALDI takes these evolving customer values seriously, and they guide our company.  
• Reducing costs through operational efficiency
  Reducing energy use in our stores, minimizing food waste and optimizing packaging can all lead to substantial cost savings and benefits for the environment. Standardizing, reusable packaging is one example: it reduces waste and the associated costs of managing it.