Belgium's biggest supermarkets are still missing opportunities to reduce their climate impact, particularly through the products they promote to customers, a new study released on Tuesday found.
The Superlist Environment Belgium 2026 report examined the environmental policies of the country's five largest supermarkets - Lidl, Colruyt, Delhaize, Carrefour and Aldi - finding that supermarkets still promoting meat and dairy products not taking in consideration their climate impact.
For every promotion of a plant-based product, the study found, supermarkets offer nine promotions for meat or dairy products. Plant-based options also remain limited among prepared meals, as just 6% of ready-made meals sold in supermarkets contain no animal-based ingredients.
Belgian NGO Rikolto, which campaigns for more sustainable food systems, said reducing the consumption of animal products and eating more plant-based food is an important step towards limiting global warming.
"Animal products are responsible for half of greenhouse gas emissions within our food system," the NGO said in a press release on Tuesday.
Rikolto argued that supermarkets can have a major influence on what people eat through the products they stock, promote and discount. "They can offer the best choices to their customers while encouraging farmers to adopt more sustainable practices," they said.
The report nevertheless found some improvements since the previous Superlist Environment Belgium study in 2022. Lidl, for example, has sought to encourage customers to choose plant-based meals by offering them at the same price as their animal-based equivalents. Stores in Belgium are also increasingly introducing hybrid products combining animal and plant-based ingredients.
However, despite these changes, the report concluded that Belgium's largest supermarkets could do more to encourage consumers to choose food with a lower environmental impact.
