How would you summarize Profi Romania's ESG strategy? What are the goals set for this year?
Given the wide national distribution of our network, Profi is in the best position to understand the people's needs at both national and local levels, so over the past 10 years, we have primarily been supporting communities around our stores. Last year we took support to the next level by defining seven pillars of action upon which to base the management of our contributions: health, education, environment, sports, culture, social and innovation. We are most active in this respect and currently, we are refining our strategy in a way to meet all the ESG aspects.
What electricity consumption did Profi record in Romania in 2022? What percentage was from renewable energy sources? How do you plan to increase this percentage?
Profi's total consumption amounted to some 300K MWh in 2022. The network embarked upon a program to use renewable energy by installing solar panels in a number of stores and warehouses but as a direct source of electricity so provided the amount is not material at this point. After the initial stage, the program is to be upscaled. Plans for the future include contracting with green energy providers and installing a growing number of own solar panels.
What is Profi's strategy for recycling and recovering waste?
Recovery and capitalization of waste stand out as a priority in Profi's strategy for environmental protection. Profi is continuously improving its processes through analysis and monitoring. Company newsletters inform employees about the value of their resources. An action plan with clear actions to be conducted by different departments has been developed and is being implemented. Waste has been identified and departments have been instructed about how to deal with the waste they produce. Damaged food packages containing products still good for consumption are donated to animal shelters; relevant companies are contracted to take the paper and cardboard packaging and deliver it to recycling companies that turn it into new packaging and so on. And these are just two examples out of a long series of such actions.
What amount of food waste did the company report last year? What measures do you plan to take to reduce this amount in the future?
Last year Profi reported 6.512 tons of organic waste. Price cuts that accelerate the sale of such products, as well as donations of products with imminent best-before dates, stand high among the actions designed to reduce these amounts.
How much did Profi's investments in the community amount to since it started operating in Romania and what are the plans for 2023?
All in all, Profi invested more than RON 50 million (€10 million) in CSR actions and plans are in place for further investment now and in the years to come. Actions cover diverse areas ranging from donations of hundreds of IT labs for schools, to creating a support team of fans for the national handball team, chartering medical caravans to remote villages in the country, to encouraging traditional food producers to continue their long-standing traditions, and much more.
How many employees does the company have now? How do you encourage them to be involved in social projects?
Profi currently employs more than 28.000 people in its own and partner stores. The company's HR strategy is based on the “Be Kind” concept. In employee-oriented campaigns, we encourage kindness to colleagues, clients, and partners as well as the communities around us. We are conducting campaigns that involve employees in projects dedicated to people outside Profi; our employees contribute to providing books and other school supplies to people in lesser environments, collect toys for children in foster homes, donate blood and have been involved in a yard sale with products produced by themselves, and donated the resulting money to an NGO. They are also involved in social projects dedicated to the children of peers in precarious financial situations; just the same, for the second consecutive year Excellence Scholarships totalling RON 60,000 (€12,000) went to our employees' children who scored exceptional results in school and in extracurricular activities; for the fifth consecutive year we organized a „Be-Father-Christmas-for-one-day” campaign for the benefit of 400 children, they wrote Christmas letters as well as received presents from colleagues in the office departments. In the meantime, we have developed a recruiting and integration process adapted 100% to the community of Ukrainian refugees in Romania, with several hundred Ukrainians being hired for various positions within the company.
