SPAR Hungary’s environmentally-conscious corporate event practice continued this year. The store chain has already had two carbon-conscious company gatherings in 2024. SPAR compensated for the carbon emission from the partner event for the Budapest Wine Festival and its annual press conference which presents business results, by planting 418 indigenous fruit trees.

“Sustainability is a strategic issue for SPAR Hungary. Our company has paid special attention so that renovated or newly opened stores and the continuously developing plants are equipped with energy saving lighting, heating and cooling systems, selective waste collection and recycling facilities, and to reduce paper and plastic waste to minimise their greenhouse gas emission. In addition, we now try to organise our own events to be carbon-conscious. This year we compensated for the carbon dioxide emission of two of our events;  the partner event of the Budapest Wine Festival and our annual press conference where we present our business results, by planting indigenous fruit trees,” explained Márk Maczelka, head of communications at SPAR Hungary.

When arranging their own events, SPAR prefers short supply chains and sources most of the ingredients of the food they serve from local producers. Meals were prepared on the premises and multi-purpose utensil sets made it possible to prevent waste accumulation. Waste was collected selectively, and food waste was processed by Biofilter. At the Budapest Wine Festival partners’ event, the food that didn’t get touched was distributed to people in need by the Hungarian Food Bank Association.

SPAR’s partner, the GreenDependent Institute calculated the carbon footprint of the events based on the number of attendees, duration, travel included, meals and beverages, service and energy and paper used. As a result, the total carbon footprint of the two events came to 10.83 tonnes of carbon dioxide – most of which was made up of catering and travel. To increase the carbon awareness of the event, SPAR compensated for the emission calculated by planting 418 indigenous fruit trees.

Trees that are indigenous to Hungary are sourced from a nursery called Tündérkert in Pórszombat to ensure gene conservation. Saplings are distributed to schools and not for profit gardens. Planting them has further sustainability-driven advantages; they provide school pupils with educational and community gardening opportunities, as well as contributing to biodiversity and the preservation of landraces.

A total of 150 tonnes of plastic waste annually, retrieved from its own retail chain is used to make recyclable shopping bags for SPAR Hungary. The company has taken a major step towards the sensible recycling of the waste plastic film generated and significantly reduces the amount of waste transported to landfills, thereby reducing carbon-dioxide emissions and contributing to a smaller ecological footprint.

“Through our sustainability initiatives, SPAR is working to reduce the volume of waste film generated in its network every year. In addition to this, last year we took a significant step towards recycling some of the generated plastic waste through an innovative circular waste management initiative. This new programme has our partner using plastic waste from the company to make shopping bags that can also be recycled. These products are now available in our stores,” explained Márk Maczelka, head of communications at SPAR Hungary.

Márk Maczelka noted: the plastic film waste is collected by SPAR from all its sites and transported to its two logistics centres for baling. Since last year, the owner of the generated waste is MOHU Zrt., but SPAR Hungary has obtained special authorisation from the waste management company to transfer as much plastic film waste to its expert partner as is used to make recycled shopping bags.

Papier-Mettler manufactures two types of products – a ribbon-handle bag and, from 2025, a giant bag – from SPAR’s plastic waste. According to the plans, SPAR will supply the partner in Germany with a total of 150 tonnes of used film per year for raw material. Through this cooperation, SPAR will achieve reasonable recycling of the waste plastic film, thereby reducing carbon-dioxide emissions and contributing to a smaller ecological footprint. The process will transform single-use packaging (stretch film, shrink film) into a reusable, recyclable product. Uniquely in Europe, the Papier-Mettler plant in Germany is able to turn waste plastic film into a granulate which can then be reused to make shopping bags for SPAR.

The first test delivery was shipped in autumn 2023, and after positive feedback, SPAR has decided to extend this solution to all its stores from September 2024. The recycled bags will have the same lifecycle, durability and stability as the previous bags. In addition to this, the plastic bags made from waste can also be recycled: they can also be reused when put into the sorted plastic recycling bins.

The proportion of recycled materials used in the manufacturing of SPAR plastic bags reaches or exceeds 85 percent, with the remainder coming from other materials used in the production process, such as various stabilisers and colours.

In line with tradition, at its International Green Finance Conference, MNB (Hungarian National Bank) presented the Green Finance Awards to financial institutions leading the way on sustainability issues. At the sixth edition of the event, Allianz Hungária Zrt. won the Green Insurance and Pension Fund Award. When judging the Award, the MNB primarily took into account the level of assets under management in ESG related  funds available, where Allianz Hungária’s performance is outstanding.

Allianz Hungária places great emphasis on taking sustainability into account not only in its own operations, but also in its insurance and investment portfolio, whether it is product development (e.g. insuring electric vehicles), solutions to support green transition (e.g. insuring solar and wind farms) or even green investment funds.  A few weeks ago, the insurer launched two dark green asset funds, which are backed by sustainable investments in companies that pursue environmental or social goals, thereby actively promoting sustainability objectives through their portfolios. The light green funds also promote environmental or social aspects, but do not necessarily have sustainability as their sole objective; rather, they encourage responsible behaviour by the issuing companies. Allianz Hungária currently manages approximately HUF 29 billion in the latter category of asset funds, which represents 12.5 percent of the net asset value of all funds of the insurer.

“Allianz was founded 134 years ago with a mission to help make the future of its customers, employees and society as a whole more predictable and secure by managing risks properly, and has been committed to sustainability from the very beginning,” said Gergely Bacsó, CEO of Allianz Hungária, at the award ceremony. In recent times, more and more people have experienced first-hand the significant impact climate change has on both individuals and businesses: it threatens people’s health, homes and incomes, while for companies it poses a serious risk to physical assets and business continuity. In Hungary, for example, in the short term, with insurers’ storm-related claims settlements exceeding HUF 10 billion in both the 2023 and 2024 summer storm seasons, nearly as much was spent on storm damage payments in the last two years as in the five-year period 2016-2020 combined, and more than HUF 40 billion was paid to farmers for drought damage in 2022.

“All these events pose significant challenges for insurers: we need to take proactive steps to manage risks effectively and pay increased attention to risk mitigation and prevention”, said Gergely Bacsó. He added: – “We need solutions that integrate the broad spectrum and aspects of sustainability in order to protect the values and future of our customers and our communities.”

It is no coincidence that one of the cornerstones of the Allianz Group’s climate change strategy is to consciously prepare for the risks associated with climate change. In addition, the Group is actively supporting its customers in reducing the damage and risks of climate change and is taking targeted action to create a low-carbon economy. Last September, the Group published its highly ambitious transition plan, which sets out the intermediate targets it aims to achieve by 2030 in order to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions in its investment portfolio and in its property and liability insurance businesses by 2050.

Creating confidence for tomorrow

Although much of the public tends to identify sustainability as environmental protection, it is a much more complex, multi-faceted area that insurers need to integrate into their decision-making mechanisms, product development processes and overall organisational operations. At the award ceremony, Gergely Bacsó also said that at Allianz Hungária, almost one in ten employees is actively involved in sustainability and green finance, whether they work in finance, legal, risk management and underwriting, product development, claims, operations support, marketing or HR. The CEO also spoke about the sustainability-related programmes and initiatives that are emphasised in the company’s workplace culture and that they are looking to open up to customers in the future.

Allianz pays particular attention to social aspects, actively engaging with its employees, customers, business partners, NGOs and policy makers. This includes education to promote prevention awareness – which can help improve risk management for customers at an individual level – and to emphasise the importance of financial education and self-care.

Gergely Bacsó called the award inspiring, which strengthens the Allianz Hungária team in its efforts to do more and better for the future of all of us. He said:

„At Allianz, we believe that the power of partnerships can multiply our sustainability impact, and we hope to find more and more partners and supporters along the way.”

K&H launches Fit for Life program to help young people in child protection care 

There are currently 23,000 children in child protection care in Hungary, and 3-4,000 children enter the system every year. They are emotionally, financially or academically unprepared to start independent life on the threshold of adulthood, due to a lack of attachment and secure background. And yet, many of them are talented, and with the right training and courses, they could put their talents to good use, finding a job where they can fulfil their potential in what they are really good at, proving that those having started out from the bottom of society can also get to the top.

The new K&H Fit for Life program, which offers a range of training – language courses, driving licence, photography courses, or any long-desired training – will help these young people, giving them the chance to learn things they are really interested in and find a job that gives them pleasure as well as money. The aim of the initiative is to provide support for people on the verge of adulthood, making it easier for them to start their independent lives and integrate into society. The young people applying for the program can choose one training course costing up to HUF 1 million. The initiative was launched 8th November, when K&H Group CEO Guy Libot signed a cooperation agreement with the program’s professional partner, the Hungarian Association of the International Federation of Educative Communities (FICE).

“Our sustainability efforts are not only about our commitment to the environment, whether it is about green financial products, social responsibility programs, or raising awareness among our clients and partners, but also about contributing to a society where everyone has the chance to show their potential and become not only useful but also happy and content members of the community,” said Guy Libot, CEO of K&H Group. “With our new K&H Fit for Life program, we help young people who are embarking on a challenging path to independent living. With the right coaching and training, they have the chance to achieve their dreams. Our current and future clients can also contribute to the program: K&H will set aside HUF 2,000 from its own income for each new account opened, and our existing clients can double that support by activating the K&H cashback function.”

The K&H Fit for Life funding scheme is open to young people aged 16-24 who are currently in child protection or aftercare, or have left it in the last 10 months. The applicants must have been in education for the last 3 years and have a minimum grade of 3.5 at the end of the last academic year. They must indicate the details of the training they wish to undertake and enclose a motivation letter explaining how the course will contribute to their goals and vision. The call for applications and the application form are available at https://www.kh.hu/eletrevalok.