Direct support for surrounding communities

The first and most significant way in which we provide support for surrounding communities is through monetary and food donations. In 2024, we provided over 81 million euros in direct support to more than 2,100 organisations. The reduction of around 7% is mainly due to the increase in the number of heavily discounted end-of-life sales programmes and the greater efficiency of our business in managing food shortages. This figure does not include the 40 million euro attributed to the Jerónimo Martins Foundation. Jerónimo Martins’ statutes foresee that future allocations will stem from the application of its results, to be approved at the Annual General Meeting. The activities and financial reporting of the Jerónimo Martins Foundation are independent of Jerónimo Martins SGPS, S.A. and the Companies that make up the Jerónimo Martins Group.

The surplus food that can no longer be sold, but which meets food safety standards, are donated to social welfare institutions, who guarantee that it reaches people in situations of social and economic vulnerability. This practice, which is material in our entire value chain, enables products to fulfil their primary mission: to feed people.

In 2024 we donated around 18,600 tonnes of food, 3.4% less than in 2023. This decrease is explained by the growth of the sales programme offering significant discounts on end-of-life products at Biedronka and by changes made to the procedures for managing food loss, particularly at Ara.

Corporate areas

The Group’s Holding Company provided support to over 70 organisations, totalling around 3.4 million euros, to which it should be summed the monetary attribution to the Jerónimo Martins Foundation, of 40 million euros. Most of these organisations (60%) focus on social work. We continue to provide regular support to 20 of these institutions, most of which we have supported for more than a decade.

The following support provided is worthy of note:

• We are one of the main sponsors of the construction of the Clínica do Gil (Gil Clinic), the Gil Foundation’s latest project, to give children and young people from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds access to healthcare and specialised support from therapists who specialise in school and social integration. We are committed to continuing to support this initiative in the coming years by awarding scholarships.
• As part of its exercise of citizenship and within the framework of the support granted for the conservation of the cultural heritage of the countries in which we operate, we contributed towards the construction of the future Museum of Independence, by the Historical Society of the Independence of Portugal, and to the installation of a statue of Marie Skłodowska-Curie in Portugal to commemorate the 90^th anniversary of her death.

Biedronka

Biedronka channelled 55.6 million euros to support social campaigns and social projects¹, 13% less compared to 2023. More than 650 institutions received in-kind donations and monetary support.

Over 10,700 tonnes of surplus food was donated, 17% less than in 2023, due to the success of the programme to encourage consumers to buy end-of-life products and collaboration with the Too Good To Go platform.

There were 2,345 stores (more than 63% of total stores) contributing to these donations. Among the 152 organisations that benefited from donations of surplus food, the Federation of Polish Food Banks was the most significant.

In September 2024, the Company immediately mobilised its efforts to provide water, food and other essential goods to displaced people and other victims of the floods that affected Central and Eastern Europe.

The stores held fundraising campaigns to support the Polish Red Cross and the Wiosna Association, two institutions with which Biedronka regularly contributes and which were on the front line supporting the victims. More than 585,000 euros were raised from customers, which was used to buy household appliances, building materials, dehumidifiers and heaters, and to organise the work of the volunteers who provided support to the affected families, including hot meals.

Over two weekends in September, some stores collected basic goods to help people in the areas affected by the floods. On the weekend of 20 and 21 September, in collaboration with the Polish Red Cross, more than 70 pallets of essential goods were collected by 737 Biedronka stores located on the regions most affected by the floods. The following weekend, 27 and 28 September and in collaboration with Caritas, 85 tonnes of non-perishable food and household cleaning products were collected from 477 stores.

The Company also gave the more than 500 employees affected by the floods an additional payment of 350 euros to help them.

Hebe

Hebe’s responsibility strategy is essentially based on supporting young women by promoting women’s entrepreneurship and supporting those living in orphanages as they transition to a more independent life.

The Company provided direct support to nine organisations in 2024, corresponding to over 78,000 euros, more than double that in 2023. This increased support asserts Hebe as a partner of institutions that promote the integration of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds into society and the labour market.

Pingo Doce

In 2024, the Company responded to the request of around 1,350 social charities² operating in the surrounding areas of its stores. Food donations and monetary support (which includes fixed support, gift cards and the sponsorship of environmental conservation projects) exceeded 19.3 million euros³, 6.6% more than in 2023.

A total of 7,162 tonnes of surplus food from stores were donated, 35% more than in 2023, due to the implementation of the “Alimenta o Bairro” (Feeding the Neighbourhood) project.

Bairro Feliz (Happy Neighbourhood) is a programme that provides financial support to the causes proposed by the entities and residents of the neighbourhoods where Pingo Doce stores are located, donating up to one thousand euros to implement the ideas most voted for by customers.

In the 2024 edition, the fourth nationwide and marking the fifth year of the project, a total of 2,700 proposals were received from social organisations (9% proposed by neighbourhood groups). After the public vote, Pingo Doce awarded more than 429,000 euros to the 459 projects selected by customers, 31% of which were destined to schools and education projects. It is estimated that more than 11,000 seniors and 19,000 children have been impacted by the winning 2024 Happy Neighbourhood projects. Since 2019, the programme has supported around 1,950 causes with 1.86 million euros, having received 11,000 entries and 92.5 million votes.

In force since December 2022, Pingo Doce has a cooperation agreement with the National Republican Guard (GNR) aimed at carrying out joint outreach and support actions and initiatives for the elderly, children and young people in need. Under this partnership, in 2024 more than 9,000 baskets containing food, hygiene products and blankets were delivered to 1,800 elderly people. In addition, five Christmas lunches were organised in the five districts most affected by loneliness among the elderly, with the participation of more than 500 elderly people and the involvement of the GNR’s local territorial commands and Pingo Doce’s operational teams.

Recheio

The Company donated over one million euros⁴ in in-kind and monetary support, around 7% less than in 2023. Recheio provided support to 212 organisations, 31 more than in the previous year, as a result of an increased focus on aligning donations with the Company’s priorities.

Surplus food donations increased nearly 6% to 351 tonnes, due to an increase in the number of products that can be donated and in communication with the organisations that collect the food from stores. These efforts will be developed and improved in 2025, including the incorporation of Pingo Doce’s principles and lessons learnt from the “Alimenta o Bairro” project.

Jerónimo Martins Agro-Alimentar

The various JMA companies allocated over 20,800 euros in support to ten social charities located in the areas surrounding their production units, particularly in the region of Portalegre (Alto Alentejo, close to the Spanish border), where the Terra Alegre dairy factory is located.

Ara

Our Companies in Colombia provided support in the amount of around 1.6 million euros to 23 organisations for social support projects, 87% more than in 2023. This increase, which is part of the Company’s 2024-2026 objectives, reflects Ara’s commitment to being the main ally of the communities surrounding its stores, as one in every three people in Colombia live in poverty (17 million people have a monthly income of less than 100 euros).

This support is provided primarily through the “1 Millón de Razones” (One Million Reasons) project, a unique social investment in the country aimed at supporting more than 60,000 people in 90 municipalities with one million euros, especially children, young people and mothers.

The volume of food donations decreased to 317 tonnes due to changes in the control of ready-to-donate products and a decline in the number of organizations that usually pick up food from stores. These are aspects that the company is reviewing in an effort to improve. Institutions such as Caritas Colombia and Fundación Alimentar Colombia (Feed Colombia Foundation), working to eradicate child malnutrition in the country, received most of the surplus food donated by 273 stores (19% of the total).

¹ Biedronka’s annual responsibility reports are available at csr.biedronka.pl/.

² Pingo Doce’s Responsibility Policy is available at www.pingodoce.pt/responsabilidade.

³ Includes Lidosol.

⁴ Includes Recheio Masterchef and João Gomes Camacho.