listen

“To know your customer, walk in their shoes”. We try never to forget this approach, and we are always keen to hear what our customers – and indeed all our stakeholders – think we should be doing to better meet their needs, aspirations, and expectations.

In 2023, we once again undertook an extensive consultation to understand what our stakeholders expect from us. This time, and in anticipation of the new Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), we carried out an exercise to extract both the financial and material significance of all the topics that could have an impact, considering the likelihood and magnitude along our value chain. This was the first time we analysed the financial dimension of all the evaluated issues.

Double-materiality matrix

These are the 10 most material topics for our stakeholders.

Note: Material topics resulting from the application of the cut-off threshold.

Product affordability, product safety and quality standards, sustainable and responsible criteria in the supply chain – these are the three main topics identified as critical after analysing the more than 16,000 answers we received from our stakeholders. We intend to repeat this assessment every three years to keep track of the opinion and the impact of our stakeholders’ views.

Listen to our employees

The balance between personal, family, and professional dimensions is a crucial factor for individuals when choosing their workplace. We strive to attract the best talent by offering benefits that our employees value, making us a benchmark in the industry.

In Poland, the Biedronka Health Academy offers health and safety training provided by professional physiotherapists. The training teaches employees how to prevent musculoskeletal problems, which is a growing concern in the field of occupational health.

In Portugal, our facilities provide office and distribution centre employees with access to a range of health and wellbeing services. Our clinic provides appointments for general medicine, sleep, smart ageing, psychology, and nutrition. Additionally, we have a wellbeing centre that includes a gym. Two distribution centres also offer prevention and physical rehabilitation services to help prevent and treat physical illnesses and musculoskeletal injuries.

Listen to our consumers

The innovation that Biek has brought to the Polish market is a good example of how we respond to customers’ needs and expectations. Biek is a partnership between Biedronka and Glovo that allows a client to receive its order approximately 15 minutes after placing it in the Glovo app. Biek has more than 1,500 products of Biedronka private brands and leading industry brands available, including a selection of packed vegetables, fruit, meat, fish or ice cream.

Also in Poland, Hebe has developed an omnichannel operation, combining the online store with traditional physical stores that help in the processing of orders and deliveries and returns. Deliveries can be made within two hours, either via the Hebe Express service or instore pickup.

Listen to our communities

Through our network of more than 5,700 proximity stores, in 2023 we were able to support over 2,100 entities with in-kind and cash donations and reach the most vulnerable groups in society: the elderly, children and young people in need.

Pingo Doce was the official food partner of the World Youth Day

Held in Lisbon in August 2023, this international celebration embodies many of the values that are intrinsic to the Group, due to the energy it generates and the mobilisation for sharing and inclusion. Pingo Doce set up tents in four strategic locations in Lisbon, distributing around 190,000 pilgrim kits and selling over 22,000 meals. During the Vigil, which was attended by Pope Francis and marked the end of the WYD, a massive logistical operation was launched, involving 89 galleys to distribute 400,000 meal kits. Pingo Doce’s involvement in this special week included 329 volunteers from the head offices in Portugal.

Biedronka and the great orchestra of christmas charity

Since late 2022, Biedronka has been the main sponsor of the WOŚP final (Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity), which is the largest charity event in Poland. Held in January 2023, the stores sold official merchandise and donations from customers were collected across the country. The more than 1.6 million euros raised were used to purchase and donate equipment to paediatric hospitals for the diagnosis of sepsis, an infectious disease.