Campaigners have welcomed a breakthrough for climate transparency after Albert Heijn became the first global food retailer to publicly disclose its methane emissions.

In a recent update to its sustainability report, reported by the environmental NGO Mighty Earth, the Netherlands’ largest grocery chain revealed its methane emissions account for approximately 14% of its total greenhouse gas footprint.

Mighty Earth has been putting pressure on large retailers to publish the contribution of methane, a short-lived but potent greenhouse gas, to their total emissions footprint. Food-related methane is primarily released by enteric fermentation, a digestive process in ruminant animals such as cows and sheep, as well as by manure management and the decomposition of food waste in landfill sites.

Although scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions are widely reported by retailers and other large food businesses, a report published earlier this year by Mighty Earth found that none of the world’s top 20 largest food retailers publish a breakdown of their methane emissions specifically or have a reduction target.

Mighty Earth is now calling on other major supermarkets — such as Tesco, Carrefour, and Lidl as well as other brands owned by Albert Heijn’s parent company Ahold Delhaize – to follow the retailer’s lead.

“For too long, retailers have been telling us that it’s too difficult to disclose methane emissions and yet this move by Albert Heijn shows that it’s clearly not that hard and it can be done,” said Jurjen de Waal, Netherlands director at Mighty Earth.

“Cutting methane emissions is one of the fastest and most cost-effective ways of curbing global heating, and transparent methane reporting is the first step towards tackling the issue head-on.”