Own workforce
The Group is committed to ensuring high standards of integrity, ethics, and respect for all those who work with us. We respect human rights, the legislation of the countries where we operate, and the main international standards and guidelines, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the ILO Conventions and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.
To ensure consistent behaviour across all our structures, we have policies that serve as ethical and deontological references throughout our employees professional journey with us and that guide their conduct regardless of the role, hierarchy or country:
Code of Conduct
Anti-Corruption Policy
To apply our principles of integrity and respect into practice, we have global and local policies that guide our human resources management processes:
Labour Fundamentals Guidelines
Guidelines for Preventing and Fighting Harassment and Discrimination
Recruitment and Selection Policy
Global Training Policy
Performance Management Policy
Health and Safety in the Workplace Policy
Engagement Policy
The actions taken on material impacts, approaches to managing material risks and pursuing material opportunities and the effectiveness of these actions, related to our employees, are described throughout the subsections of the section “Managing social topics”, including the resources allocated to the management of material topics.
A description of our social-related policies can be found in “Our policies”. This information is also available on our corporate website.
Affected communities
We recognise that our business sustainability in the long term is an inseparable component of the extended responsibility with which it is conducted, particularly our active contribution to the well-being of the surrounding communities in the areas where we operate. Within the scope of the double materiality assessment, the concept of affected communities includes the populations living in the vicinity of our stores, distribution centres and other business units. For this reason, we work to identify their most urgent needs, based on the local socio-economic reality and prioritising the groups we consider most vulnerable – namely children, older people and persons with disabilities – always in alignment with respect for human rights.
The guidelines that shape our approach – particularly regarding the direct and indirect impacts of our operations – are reflected in the following policies and codes:
Policy of Support for Surrounding Communities
Code of Conduct
Sustainable Sourcing Policy
Code of Conduct for Suppliers
Whistleblowing Policy
In addition to what is outlined in the Policy of Support for Surrounding Communities, the Companies define priority actions according to the specificities of their business, the countries where they operate and the communities located near their operations:
Biedronka and Pingo Doce focus on supporting social emergencies, food insecurity, and the isolation and loneliness of older people, as well as promoting children’s literature.
Ara has identified the fight against food insecurity – particularly among children – as an absolute priority, working with a range of institutions to prevent malnutrition, promote healthy lifestyles and support childcare, mothers and families.
Hebe directs its initiatives towards specific vulnerable groups, such as women, institutionalised young people and persons with disabilities.
The Code of Conduct establishes support for surrounding communities as one of the pillars of our Companies’ actions, ensuring that this commitment follows recognised good governance guidelines, such as quality, transparency and ethical conduct.
The Sustainable Sourcing Policy highlights the importance of stimulating the socio-economic development of the regions where we operate and contribution positively to the sustainability of ecosystems and local populations. It also sets out several principles to identify, assess, manage or remedy the impacts on affected communities – particularly in relation to the environment and human rights.
The Code of Conduct for Suppliers defines the ethical values and behaviours that our suppliers are expected to share with us – including the respect and protection of human rights – and which may have an impact on the communities surrounding their area of operation, with the aim of contributing to the socio‑economic prosperity of the regions where they work1.
In line with the provisions set out in these last two documents – and aligned with the due diligence process defined by the United Nations Guiding Principles (UNGPs) and the OECD Guidelines –, we incorporate community‑impact criteria into the social audits carried out on our Private Brand and perishable suppliers2 operating in the primary sector. The objective is to identify, assess, manage or remedy our indirect impacts on the environment and on the human rights of surrounding communities. These criteria assess, among other aspects:
guarantees of land and water use rights and any associated conflicts;
the existence and implementation of FPIC (Free, Prior and Informed Consent) processes for local and Indigenous communities;
the impacts of productive activities on protected areas and areas of high conservation value.
A description of our social-related policies can be found in “Our policies”. These are also available on our corporate website.
Consumers and end-users
Investing in the responsible growth of our businesses means placing consumers at the very core of everything we do, while strengthening the relationships we establish with local suppliers and producers. That is why our main Group policies – updated whenever necessary – incorporate consumer concerns, needs and expectations, which are in line with our goal of making high-quality, safe, innovative and affordable products accessible. We also recognise our role in encouraging behaviours that contribute positively to society, especially in a context of evolving consumer trends, intense competition in the retail sector, and the socio‑economic challenges faced by families.
Respecting consumer rights – as well as the human rights that concern them – is not only a legal requirement, but also a condition for ensuring the proper alignment and effectiveness of our strategy and for the sustainability of our operations. Our approach to consumer’s rights takes into account: due diligence throughout the entire product life cycle (development, sourcing, in‑store sales or through digital channels, use and disposal), including safety controls, labelling and nutritional profiles; engagement– through accessible information on products and communication channels – Customer Support Service and the Customer Ombudsman’s Office; and, remediation through product recalls and withdrawals and corrections, process enhancement, and independent reporting channels managed by the Ethics Committee, ensuring confidentiality and non‑retaliation.
Several policies underpin this approach, with the following being particularly relevant for our consumers:
Code of Conduct
Code of Conduct for Suppliers
Product Quality and Safety Policy
Nutritional Policy
Sustainable Sourcing Policy
Personal Data Protection Policy
Whistleblowing Policy
These policies apply to all consumers and end-users. Specific measures are nevertheless in place for consumer groups with greater exposure risks (e.g., children, older people and individuals with allergies or intolerances, or consumers who rely on accessible information), as described in “Consumers and end-users”. The policies also seek to put into practice the principles set out in internationally recognised instruments relevant to consumers, namely the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and the International Labour Organization (ILO) Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (particularly applicable to the supply chain).
In addition to our policies, internal guidelines ensure that application of standards are applied (and their continuously adapted to advances in knowledge) by both our teams and our business partners. The Guidelines for the Development of Private Brand and Perishable Products, for example, specify quality and food safety requirements for stores and distribution centres, set restrictions on the use of food colourings, preservatives and other artificial additives, define recommended quantities of ingredients such as salt, sugar and fats, and include other principles for nutritional labelling.
A description of our social-related policies can be found in “Our policies”. These are also available on our corporate website.
Workers in the value chain
We promote the respect and protection of human and labour rights throughout the value chain and, together with our suppliers, we work to mitigate potential risks and encourage the sharing of good social practices.
For workers in the value chain, we are guided by a set of policies and requirements that frame the management om material risks and impacts related to people’s well-being, namely:
Sustainable Sourcing Policy
Code of Conduct for Suppliers
A description of our social-related policies can be found in “Our policies”. These are also available on our corporate website.
1 More information in “Biodiversity and ecosystems”, in “Consumers and end-users” and “Workers in the value chain”, and “Governance information”.
2 To learn more about social audits and the due diligence process, please refer to “Workers in the value chain”, and “Governance information”.