Annual Report 2025

Materials used and resource outflows

The way we manage the materials we use – from Private Brand and service packaging to single‑use items – is part of our ongoing effort with our value chain to ensure that their development is designed for reuse or recycling.

Close-up of a Biedronka employee scanning a glass container at check-out (photo)

We promote ecodesign, focusing on eliminating problematic components and prioritising packaging made from a single material that is compatible with existing sorting infrastructures, thus keeping resources in productive cycles. We also incorporate recycled materials, helping reduce the use of virgin resources and fostering circularity across our value chain. In addition, we also adopt reusable solutions, both in transport packaging and logistics operations and in the formats we offer to consumers, avoiding disposable alternatives.

Main materials used

In this report, the tables in this chapter now include the consumption of single‑use plastics and single‑use paper. Previously, single‑use plastic (SUP) consumption was presented in a standalone table – which has now been removed – and single‑use paper consumption is now disclosed in greater detail. Due to this new reporting approach, the 2024 figures were recalculated to ensure an accurate analysis of consumption trends.

Total consumption main materials (tonnes/million euros in sales)

Total consumption (tonnes/million euros in sales)

 

2025

 

2024

 

Δ 2025/2024

All materials

 

15.58

 

16.07

 

-3.0%

Single-Use Plastics1

 

5.26

 

5.61

 

-6.2%

1

Includes Private Brand packaging, service packaging and other single‑use plastics.
Total consumption main materials (tonnes)

Total material consumption (tonnes)

 

2025

 

2024

 

Δ 2025/2024

Consumption by business unit

 

560,709

 

537,664

 

+4.3%

Biedronka (Poland)

 

431,002

 

403,552

 

+6.8%

Biedronka (Slovakia)

 

260

 

0

 

–

Hebe

 

1,255

 

1,465

 

-14.3%

Pingo Doce1

 

67,753

 

71,777

 

-5.6%

Recheio

 

16,214

 

15,149

 

+7.0%

Ara

 

44,225

 

45,721

 

-3.3%

Private Brand and service packaging (by type)

 

514,829

 

492,517

 

+4.5%

Paper and cardboard

 

210,673

 

204,348

 

+3.1%

Cardboard packaging for liquid products2

 

17,825

 

15,176

 

+17.5%

Plastic

 

160,370

 

158,994

 

+0.9%

Glass

 

96,833

 

86,740

 

+11.6%

Steel

 

23,039

 

20,349

 

+13.2%

Other materials3

 

6,089

 

6,910

 

-11.9%

Other Single Use Plastics (SUP)

 

29,004

 

28,823

 

+0.6%

Check-out bags

 

11,388

 

10,073

 

+13.1%

Wrapping film

 

3,374

 

3,328

 

+1.4%

Rubbish bags

 

14,028

 

15,331

 

-8.5%

Other SUP4

 

214

 

91

 

+135.2%

Other Single Use Paper

 

16,876

 

16,323

 

+3.4%

Check-out bags

 

1,520

 

1,439

 

+5.6%

Other disposable paper products5

 

1,252

 

1,218

 

+2.8%

Office paper

 

855

 

953

 

-10.3%

Promotional leaflets

 

12,264

 

11,464

 

+7.0%

Publications

 

985

 

1,249

 

-21.1%

1

Distribution centres, central buildings and trucks used for goods distribution in Portugal were accounted for under Pingo Doce.

2

Composite packaging used for liquid products.

3

Includes aluminium, wood and other materials.

4

Includes cutlery, drink stirrers, plates and bowls, cups, straws and cotton buds from Private Brand and for own use.

5

Includes paper plates and bowls, cups, cotton buds and straws from Private Brand and for own use.
Total recycled material incorporated (tonnes)

Total recycled material incorporated (tonnes)

 

2025

 

2024

 

Δ 2025/2024

Per business unit

 

241,802

 

239,667

 

+0.9%

Biedronka

 

196,778

 

190,776

 

+3.1%

Biedronka Slovakia

 

0

 

0

 

–

Hebe

 

316

 

224

 

+41.1%

Pingo Doce1

 

25,782

 

27,206

 

-5.2%

Recheio

 

7,029

 

6,633

 

+6.0%

Ara

 

11,897

 

14,828

 

-19.8%

Private Brand and service packaging (by type)

 

214,092

 

212,647

 

+0.7%

Paper and cardboard

 

169,816

 

168,741

 

+0.6%

Cardboard packaging for liquid products2

 

–

 

–

 

–

Plastic

 

16,570

 

12,142

 

+36.5%

Glass

 

27,706

 

31,764

 

-12.8%

Steel

 

–

 

–

 

–

Other materials3

 

–

 

–

 

–

Other Single Use Plastics (SUP)

 

18,709

 

16,999

 

+10.1%

Check-out bags

 

8,563

 

7,399

 

+15.7%

Wrapping film

 

112

 

113

 

-0.9%

Rubbish bags

 

10,034

 

9,487

 

+5.8%

Other SUP4

 

–

 

–

 

–

Other Single Use Paper

 

9,002

 

10,021

 

-10.2%

Check-out bags

 

1,066

 

1,028

 

+3.7%

Other disposable paper products5

 

–

 

–

 

–

Office paper

 

0

 

0

 

–

Promotional leaflets

 

7,849

 

8,987

 

-12.7%

Publications

 

87

 

6

 

+1,350.0%

1

Distribution centres, central buildings and trucks used for goods distribution in Portugal were accounted for under Pingo Doce.

2

Composite packaging used for liquid products.

3

Includes aluminium, wood and other materials.

4

Includes cutlery, drink stirrers, plates and bowls, cups, straws and cotton buds from Private Brand and for own use.

5

Includes paper plates and bowls, cups, cotton buds and straws from Private Brand and for own use.

Total material consumption increased by 4.3% in 2025, mainly due to the growth in service packaging and Private Brand packaging. In these packaging categories, the most frequently used materials were paper/cardboard, plastic, and glass. The specific value – materials consumed per million euros of sales – decreased by 3.0% during the year.

Service packaging, Private Brand product packaging, and other single‑use plastic and paper items incorporated 43.1% recycled materials (1.5 p.p. less than in 2024). The share of recycled material reached 64.5% in other single‑use plastics and 53.3% in other disposable paper products.

Group Commitments

We have made several commitments stemming from our adherence to the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment (an initiative of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and UNEP – the United Nations Environment Programme), as well as from our participation in the Portuguese Plastics Pact, the Polish Plastics Pact, the Colombian Plastics Pact, and the Plastic Waste Coalition of Action of The Consumer Goods Forum. Our objective is to reduce the inflow and outflow of resources used, promoting circularity and following the waste‑management hierarchy, incentivizing reduction, reuse and recycling.

Resource use and circular economy – Group Commitments

2025 Commitments

 

Status

Ensure that all Private Brand product plastic packaging is reusable or recyclable

 

56.7% of the plastic packaging of our Own Brand products is recyclable (0.4 p.p. less than in 2024)1. This percentage takes into account the different polymers and plastic packaging formats, as well as the existence and effectiveness of sorting and recycling systems in the countries where we operate. Although our Companies have continued to invest in packaging that complies with ecodesign principles, and despite the presence of recycling industries, sorting solutions are still lacking for certain streams (e.g., multilayer flexible polypropylene plastics and rigid polystyrene packaging). As such, some plastic packaging formats remain classified as “non‑recyclable” according to the methodology used, even when local systems exist for sorting and downcycling.
To increase the recyclability of the plastic packaging of our Own Brand products, we adopt design‑for‑recycling strategies, namely by eliminating problematic components such as PVC and EPS, which hinder recycling or reduce the quality and value of the recycled material. In 2025, and in line with the commitment established for 2030, 97.2% of our packaging complied with design‑for‑recycling principles.

Incorporate at least 25% recycled material into the plastic packaging of our Private Brand products.

 

In 2025 we incorporated 14.4% recycled polymers, an increase of 2.8 p.p. compared with 2024. In total, more than 25 thousand tonnes of recycled plastic were used, a value 28.4% higher than the previous year.

Reduce the specific consumption of plastic, measured in tonnes of plastic packaging per million euros of sales, by 10% compared with 2018.

 

We reduced the specific consumption of plastic, measured in tonnes of plastic packaging per million euros of sales, by 45% compared with 2018.

Reduce the amount of virgin plastic used in the packaging of Private Brand products by 15% compared with 2018.

 

We reduced the consumption of virgin plastic used in the packaging under our responsibility by 3.8% compared with 2018.

1

Value calculated using the Recyclability Assessment Tool methodology developed by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

Over the past few years, market conditions for the collection of packaging waste and the availability of recycled plastic to incorporate into new packaging (particularly food‑contact applications) have evolved very little in the countries where we operate. For these reasons, and as we have been anticipating, by the end of 2025 we were unable to meet two of our plastic‑related commitments:

  • ensuring that at least 25% recycled plastic is used in plastic packaging;

  • reducing virgin plastic use by 15% compared with 2018.

In 2025, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation launched the 2030 Global Commitment, and the commitments proposed by the Group for its Private Brand were accepted:

  • reduce virgin plastic in plastic packaging by 5% compared with 2018;

  • increase the incorporation of recycled plastic in packaging to 20%;

  • ensure that 100% of plastic packaging placed on the market is designed to be recyclable.

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