SPAR is expected to save 3 tonnes of paper by only providing digital delivery notes to online store purchases. Another novelty: the paper packaging used for previous deliveries can be returned to the deliverymen for recycling by the company.

The SPAR online retail channel receives hundreds of orders on average each day, and so far the company used printed delivery notes. This accounts to more than 3 tonnes of paper every year, typically put out to waste bins or sorted waste boxes. The Hungarian retail chain has introduced numerous environmentally-conscious measures throughout the last years. These now include the new initiative of only providing digital delivery notes to orders, which will be available in the “My Orders” (Rendeléseim) menu of the online shop, and also provided to customers as attachment to the confirmation e-mail.

In order to further cut paper waste, SPAR introduces another measure: shoppers can now return online shop paper bags from previous online orders to the deliverymen. The return of used paper bags ensures that the waste is forwarded to sorted waste treatment facilities.

Customers can now order from the SPAR Online shop knowing that they will not receive unnecessary paper documents and that they can return the paper packaging materials used at the next delivery.

In 2022, the Hungaricool product competition will launch for the fourth time, with K&H joining the originator SPAR and taking an even more active role this year: providing tailored financial advice and financing to help the winners to level up. The programme will thus offer a unique business opportunity to winners who will then also be supported by the organisers with expert advice and training.

SPAR Hungary is committed to supporting Hungarian farmers, family enterprises, domestic agriculture and processing industry – promoting Hungarian producers, products and innovations is a cornerstone of its business philosophy. They are supported by the Hungaricool product competition, which started in 2019, for exciting high-quality products made in Hungary, which are newly developed or, if they already exist, are not yet widely available in retail chains. Quality is an important aspect, but other features of the product samples such as novelty, uniqueness, healthiness are also evaluated, as well as the marketability of the competing product, which will later be offered on the shelves and in the webshop of the Hungarian store chain, after contracting the winners.

“The goal of the Hungaricool product competition is to identify and support Hungarian small producers, to offer cooperation opportunities to family companies and entrepreneurs that meet the conditions and apply in the areas defined in the call with unique and exciting products that respond to market demand. The winners of the competition aiming to find and support the creative resources of the domestic economy, can offer their original flavour combinations, imaginative food or exciting non-food products in INTERSPAR stores and the SPAR Online shop. Following the past three Hungaricool rounds so far, 26 winning suppliers are present on the shelves of our retail chain with a total of more than a hundred products. In the framework of the programme, as business mentors we also provide a wide range of marketing support to the winners through the SPAR Supplier Academy,” explained Gabriella Heiszler, CEO and chair of SPAR Hungary.

In the fourth, 2022/23 season of Hungaricool, K&H supports the competitors as financial advisor, also levelling up the entire programme.  The financial institution will provide tailored financial advice and financing to the winners, to make sure they will be able to meet the obligations undertaken to SPAR.

“As a leading financial institution, we believe that we must strive not only to meet the needs of our more than 100 000 entrepreneur customers with innovative products and services, but also to encourage the launch of as many healthy and viable new businesses as possible, giving faith and confidence to entrepreneurs who are just starting out. We have helped entrepreneurs grow over the past decades with a range of programmes and we continue to support them now with financial planning advice and real financial backing. We are confident that we can help the SME sector, which is the backbone of the Hungarian economy, to develop and grow by encouraging innovative and sustainable ideas and investments,” emphasised Zoltán Rammacher, head of SME marketing and sales support at K&H.

The product competition is open to entries in food and non-food categories. For the former, it is important to note that only pre-packaged products can be submitted. Entries are invited in the categories of milk, dairy products, frozen food, fat and oil, processed or dried vegetables/fruit, confectionery, cereals, meat, bakery and egg products, salts, spices, soups, sauces, gravies, salads, sandwich spreads, organic (bio) products, speciality foods, baby and convenience foods, food additives, beverages and pet food. In the three previous competitions, around 500 entrants presented their products, with most of them entering drinks, coffees, jams and health food items. So far, experience has shown that an increasing number health-conscious, “free from” products are appearing in the entries, while at the same time many people are also entering with traditional foods.

As part of the programme, the SPAR Supplier Academy provides winners with ongoing mentoring in quality management, marketing and logistics processes to help them through challenges. With the support of K&H, winners will also learn the foundations of financial and cash-flow planning. The primary objective of the SPAR Supplier Academy is to provide Hungarian small businesses with the brand-building knowledge that will stimulate further product development and benefit them in other areas of life.

Further information and applications: https://hungaricool.hu/

In the countries of the SPAR Austria group (Hungary, Northern Italy, Slovenia, Croatia), significant achievements have been made under the auspices of the Group’s environmental sustainability strategy: over the last one years greenhouse gas emissions have been decreased by a quarter, considering the aggregate data of the member countries. One of the Group’s key ambitions is to achieve high standards of customer service through sustainable, environmentally-friendly and energy-efficient operations.

The SPAR Austria Group Sustainability Report for the last year has been issued and it shows that the Group has made great strides in cutting emissions of pollutants, in recycling and saving energy in a number of areas, largely thanks to the modernisation of the stores. On average, the new stores use 17% less energy than the units last renovated 10-15 years ago. In terms of greenhouse gas emissions, the food retail division has reduced its over all emissions by 25.8% on year-on-year basis. The main reason for this is the switch of purchased electricity in Hungary and Slovenia to greener sources of electricity or nuclear power and the resulting lower carbon dioxide emissions. Since 2015 the SPAR Austria group has reduced greenhouse gas emissions across its operations, including all its subsidiaries, by 45.5 percent in relation to the raising sales area.

Seventy percent recycling rate

“One of the cornerstones of the business philosophy of the company group, including SPAR Hungary, is to operate in an environmentally-conscious manner. We highlight minimising negative environmental impacts, including focusing on the promotion of environmental awareness and the widespread use of the relevant processes. The separation of marketable secondary raw materials – paper and plastic – generated in stores is also a priority: over the past 30 years we have achieved a fundamental change in this area, as the initial recycling rate of 46 percent has now increased to more than 70 percent,” explained Márk Maczelka, head of communications of SPAR Magyarország Kft.

The company’s energy consumption comes mainly from the use of electricity. As a result of the modernisation of the lighting and cooling/heating systems, it was possible to reduce the consumption of electricity compared to the base year of 2010. SPAR’s primary sources of emissions are electricity related to its operating sites, natural gas and district heating for heating, and fuel use related to its own fleet of vehicles.

From smart solutions to Green Retailer of the Year acclaim

SPAR Hungary is modernising its stores to integrate energy-saving equipment, and the latest cooling equipment and refrigerated counters are being installed in the renovated stores. In larger stores, integrated refrigeration systems are installed, allowing heat from refrigeration units and coolers to be used for heating the building. In smaller stores, cooling engineering systems of a similar principle will be used to manage technological cooling and the comfort heating/cooling system, optimising energy use. Energy-efficiency measures also focus on the modernisation of lighting technology: fluorescent lamps are replaced by energy-efficient LED lamps which use significantly less energy than conventional light bulbs.

In 2020, SPAR as a retail chain was awarded the Green Retailer of the Year acclaim for its environmentally-conscious corporate governance and the sustainability measures it has implemented.

Background

The SPAR Austria group has been publishing sustainability reports on the Group’s sustainability efforts and measures since 2013, with regard to products, employees, the environment and society. Since 2016, this report not only includes the activities of the food retail business in Austria, but also data from SPAR Hungary, among others.

The SPAR Austria group has continued to work consistently on its sustainability strategy in 2021. A sustainable of offerings has been in focus, to ensure that as many of the products offered are sourced from the region as possible, that food products comply with recognised nutritional recommendations and that the negative impact of production and processing on the environment is reduced. In the spheres of energy and technology, work is continuously ongoing to modernise stores, using the latest lighting, heating and cooling technology.

SPAR Austria constantly monitors the impact and success of these climate protection measures, has increased existing climate protection targets and extended them to all countries of the corporate group. This will ensure that the company’s climate protection strategy is in line with the Paris Climate Change Conference targets.

Customers raised more than 58,000 pieces of school equipment items and bought close to 2 million forints worth of donation cards to support the second annual joint school supply collection campaign between The Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta and SPAR Hungary organised for the second time in 2022. The store chain donated a further one million forints on top of the amount raised.

The “Joy to Give!” school supply collection campaign enabled shoppers to support underprivileged students at the beginning of the school year with donations in Hungarian INTERSPAR hypermarkets. Shoppers could buy donation cards between 20 July and 4 September 2022, and they could buy school supplies such as exercise books, stationary, pencil cases, school bags, PE bags, and other useful supplies instore and hand them over to the volunteers. Monetary donations are exchanged for more school supplies by the charity service, and they will be delivered with the rest of the donations at the beginning of September to the disadvantaged families.

“This year, the Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta again supports the families of 1,500 children with new school supplies, PE accessories, and school bags full of necessary supplies with the help of the customers of the store chain. The heavy costs that come with the beginning of the school year are a burden for a lot of Hungarian families. These donations help those in the most disadvantaged situations and prevent their children from having to start school missing essential or even all their school supplies. We thank our customers who purchased notebooks, stationary items, pencil cases, or other supplies at the end of August in INTERSPAR stores to support the donation campaign, as well as those who bought our donation cards to do their bit to support our campaign. With the help of SPAR Hungary, 300 school supply bags, each worth 10,000 forints, were added to the donations collected during the campaign,” said Tamás Romhányi, head of communications of the Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta.

“We owe our customers a big thank you, who after last year’s successful school supply collection campaign supported the initiative again this year and were glad to help the families in need. As a result, the customers of INTERSPAR and the SPAR online shop, who purchased the donation cards contributed more than 1.9 million forints during the campaign. They also bought 58,267 school supply items in the hypermarkets between 24-27 August 2022, which they then handed over to the volunteers of the Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta. Our company donated a further one million forints to top this up as part of our social responsibility agenda. Having witnessed the success of the school supply collection campaigns over the previous two years, we are determined to continue the ‘Joy to Give!’ initiative in this aspect as well,” added Márk Maczelka, head of communications at SPAR Hungary.

The Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta has been the strategic partner of the store chain for 25 years.  As a result of this donation campaign, the organisation collected more than 32,000 notebooks, 18,000 stationary items, 479 pencil cases, 75 school bags and a further 6,000 other creative tools to be delivered to families in need. They also prepare 300 school supply packages, each worth 10,000 forints, from the money they raised with the donation cards. These will help the kids of the families who are on the radar of the charity service to have all school supplies they need to start the new school year.

Images attached to the press release are available in SPAR Médiatár, at the address http://mediatar.spar.hu/. The interface also enables downloading additional public images from SPAR. When using the images, please credit the photos to “spar.hu”.