The SPAR Talent Expand It! succession programme has successfully concluded and continues to thrive: its third edition has given new momentum to future leaders and key experts.

SPAR Hungary has successfully completed the second cycle and launched the third edition of its Talent Expand It! succession development programme, one of the company’s most comprehensive talent management initiatives. Launched in 2021, this 15-month development journey offers participants intensive professional and personal growth through training sessions, coaching, mentoring, and an international benchmarking trip. They also take an active role in strategic projects. The programme’s goal remains the same: to prepare future leaders and outstanding experts to tackle SPAR’s organisational challenges.

“Identifying, developing, and retaining talented and conscientious employees is one of the greatest challenges in today’s business world. In a rapidly changing market environment where knowledge is one of the most important competitive advantages, our key objective is to offer our colleagues a clear development path and real career prospects. The Talent Expand It! programme not only prepares the leaders of tomorrow but also reinforces the principle that investing in internal talent development is the best long-term strategy,” emphasised Ildikó Szijjné Kállai, head of HR at SPAR Hungary.

Regarding entry into SPAR’s internal programme, a renewed, multi-stage selection process was launched last autumn. Interested candidates could initially apply through an open call — not only via leadership nomination but also independently. Those who met the professional expectations (higher education qualification, language skills, and length of service at SPAR) progressed to the next stage, where they could demonstrate their suitability through an online Development Centre process. The selection decisions were made jointly by SPAR leaders and external HR partners, based solely on the candidates’ performance on the day.

The programme participants were divided into two groups: the High Performer (HIPE) group, which included young specialists who demonstrated outstanding results in a short period, and the High Potential (HIPO) group, comprising colleagues with several years of experience who show leadership potential and are ready to take on leadership roles within the next 1 to 3 years. During the programme, members of both groups acquire competencies that ensure their long-term professional and leadership development.

The experiences of previous years have confirmed the significance of the programme: 91% of the participants have been retained within the company, and the promotion rate has reached 75%. Although the programme does not automatically guarantee a career leap, many alumni already hold responsible leadership positions. Following the completion of the latest edition, the Talent Alumni community was also established, which continues to serve as a platform for knowledge sharing and networking. In addition to talent development, SPAR operates a comprehensive internal training system. The SPAR Online Academy offers more than 150 e-learning courses available to all employees of the company. In 2024, our colleagues completed over 65,000 digital learning modules, dedicating a total of more than 34,000 training hours to online learning. The courses include professional training, onboarding, IT security, and soft skills topics. The content follows a modern, storytelling-based educational methodology and is accessible nationwide, including via mobile devices.

SPAR’s goal is not only to create opportunities for development but to actively support it — from joining the company to becoming a key expert or leader. The Talent Expand It! programme has proven that there is a path to future career goals; it simply requires giving talented individuals the chance to prove themselves.

Jász-Plasztik Ltd. has been committed to high-quality plastic processing for 35 years. In addition to our wide range of technologies, we place great emphasis on reducing waste and thus on the topic of proper recycling. Recent years have highlighted that consciously designed product manufacturing can be a good foundation for a sustainable future.
It is important to mention that our company has been involved in the recycling of pre-sorted waste collected from the public for more than 10 years, namely PET bottles, PE bags, and lead-acid batteries. All of these recycled materials are integrated into the products manufactured by our company, thereby contributing to reinforcing the circular economy model.
It is well-known that plastics can be recycled very effectively when treated properly, and thus protecting our environment and promoting greater consumer awareness. Our commitment is clearly demonstrated by the fact that we support high-quality recycling with mechanical and material testing in our own R&D laboratory, and we even provide education for the next generation through university cooperations.
One of the activities of Jász-Plasztik Ltd. is producing packaging materials that are in line with the latest trends, with a strong focus on food packaging. For about 10 years, we’ve been operating our own PET bottle recycling line, where we use the washed PET granulate to make crystal-clear PET foils through extrusion, which is the material of our 100% RPET vacuum-formed trays and egg trays. In addition, we also have decontamination-granulation technology that produces high-purity plastic PET regranulate. This RPET granulate is a raw material that is 100% usable and food-contactable according to a certificate issued by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). This means that it can even facilitate the integration of PET beverage bottles into a circular economy model.

Our technological process was registered by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in 2018 under the number EFSA-Q-2018-00529. The new Regulation 2022/1616 made it necessary to re-certify our existing process. As a result of the certification audit, our recycling technology received positive reviews from both EFSA and the Hungarian National Food Chain Safety Office (Nébih). Our company has thus received the identifiers RIN:HU3-2O1-0I6, RON:HU3-5FN-0O6 and RFN:HU3-7G6-0FT required for distribution within the European Union, which enables us to supply regranulates (that also serve as raw materials for beverage bottles) with a quality certificate in compliance with EFSA regulations. Our food industry partners are very satisfied with using our recycled raw materials for the production of their preforms and/or bottles. Of course, we also use it for all of Jász-Plasztik Ltd.’s consumer-available own-brand products, such as windscreen washers and ion-exchanged waters.

Lastly, in July 2025, the European Commission accepted our recycling process and officially acknowledged our performance. We’re proud that Jász-Plasztik Ltd. is proving that environmentally conscious plastic processing is possible. Furthermore, it is our personal mission to encourage our partners and consumer communities alike to build a shared, conscious, liveable future.

E.ON experts provided hands-on support during this year’s stork ringing and assisted experts from the National Park Directorates and the Hungarian Ornithological and Nature Conservation Society (MME). In the counties of Northern and Southern Transdanubia, as well as in the vicinity of Budapest, the ringing involved placing bands on a total of 915 stork chicks in 297 nests in 199 settlements. The company spends hundreds of millions of forints annually on bird conservation measures.  

Most of the bands were placed on chicks’ legs. The total number in Veszprém County was 253, followed by 157 in Győr-Moson-Sopron, 144 in Tolna, and 114 in Fejér County.  Chics received a distinct ornithological mark that can be read from a distance. The metal bands help identify migrating storks, both in Hungary and distant destinations, that take flight in August. They provide information about their migration, mate selection, and return home next year.

There were significant age differences among this year’s baby storks, with several late hatchlings. During the ringing operations in June, experts found not only 7-week-old chicks, but also tiny, 1-week-old chicks that were not yet ready to be collared whose legs were banded at a later date. Some chicks which had fallen out of their nests in the spring and raised in an aviary, were released back into the wild among their peers of similar age during the collaring process.

50 settlements saw a higher than average number of nests with four chicks, and seven settlements saw nests with five chicks.

Bird tagging operations also provide experts with information about chicks’ health and are an opportunity to remove any rubbish or hazardous materials from nests. Baling twine, which can cause chicks serious injury, was cleared from numerous nests.

E.ON cooperates with national parks throughout the year to protect storks and other birds, and provides support for nest building and repair, nest cleaning and chick rescue.