Nestlé Hungária is encouraging a shift to regenerative agricultural practices through a community programme it has initiated in the Western Transdanubian region. In addition to preserving the natural assets of the region, the initiative will also promote the long-term security of its suppliers and the region’s ecosystem services through the Bük animal feed factory, one of the largest employers in the geographical area. In Hungary, the programme is supported by the Ministry of Agriculture.

As the world’s largest food company, Nestlé has a responsibility to transform food production and supply chains to contribute to the renewal of the planet’s natural resources and to a more sustainable diet for consumers.

“This summer’s drought has clearly shown the challenges facing our suppliers and our entire supply chain. Food raw material producers face a huge challenge from both the effects of climate change, such as increasingly frequent and prolonged droughts; damage caused by inappropriate, intensive farming practices; and factors such as fertiliser shortages, or rising raw material prices,” said Anna Hőgyész, Nestle Hungary Sustainability leader.

This is why Nestlé Purina’s pet food business has taken the initiative to launch the Landscape Enterprise Networks (LENs) programme, which was set up in the UK by the consultancy 3Keel and is already operating successfully in the UK, for the first time in the region in Hungary.  The initiative could provide a solution to the challenges facing agriculture and food production and supply chains, particularly given that 60 per cent of the 140,000 tonnes of raw material supplied to the factory in Bük is sourced from Hungarian farmers.

The first phase of LENs Hungary, launched in 2022, is currently contributing more than €200,000 to the expansion of soil restoration land use practices in three different cereal farms on the area of 2000 hectares, and the implementation of nature-based solutions, improving the resilience of the affected areas and supply chains to Nestlé financing.

The initiative will be implemented in Hungary by the consultancy Preferred By Nature, with Syngenta helping to measure the results of the interventions and to prepare and validate the measurement methodology. The programme is also supported by the Ministry of Agriculture, as it focuses on issues of importance to domestic agriculture.

“Business solutions such as this support government efforts to increase the competitiveness of agriculture, while contributing to the response to the challenges of climate change, the creation of conditions for efficient food production and the sustainable use of finite natural resources,” said Dr. Anikó Juhász, Deputy State Secretary for Agriculture.

Nestlé will source a fifth of its key raw materials from areas cultivated using soil regeneration methods by 2025, and half five years later. Thanks to regenerative agriculture, the food industry’s production of raw materials can have less impact on the environment, while contributing to the regeneration of entire landscapes. The interventions increase soil water retention and carbon sequestration, biodiversity and water quality, while reducing soil erosion and carbon emissions from cultivation.

“ The interventions increase the soil’s ability to retain and seize water, biodiversity, improve water quality, but reduce soil erosion and carbon emissions from cultivation Within the framework of the LENs Hungary programme, we are also supporting the establishment of a network of farms to directly share experience and knowledge on soil regeneration agriculture,” said Bálint Lukács, LENs project manager for Preferred by Nature Hungary.

“A trading community built on business-based collaborations under the LENs programme will bring tangible benefits for businesses and income for farmers,” says Anna Hőgyész. And this is in the business interest of Nestlé, which recruits the majority of its grain suppliers in Hungary from the Western Transdanubian region and has a predominantly local supply chain through its pet food factory in Bük. But the initiative goes far beyond that: “Preserving natural assets is not only in the interest of the food and agriculture industry, as the functioning and value chain security of countless industries is linked to the functions provided by these assets,” says Anna Hőgyész.

More information on the independent, business-driven LENs initiative can be found here: https://landscapeenterprisenetworks.com/

Customers of the Hungarian store chain can help reduce food wastage: SPAR teamed up with the online platform Munch to reduce food waste and as a result of their partnership, customers will be able to buy quality products at a reduced price. The food saving service will be trialled from the 2nd of November in the 11th district of Budapest, as well as in Szeged and in Hódmezővásárhely.

Packaged and unpackaged breads, bakery products, savoury and sweet treats, vegetables, fruits, nuts, juices, dairy products, pastas, packaged salamis, cold cuts, fresh eggs and other, non-refrigarated products could end up in the SPAR Munch surprise bags at 33% percent of their original price. The store chain launched the trials of the service on the 2nd of November 2022 in the eleven shops of the 11th district of Budapest, nine stores in Szeged, and two in Hódmezővásárhely meaning that 20 SPAR supermarkets and two INTERSPAR hypermarkets will participate in the test run. They are planning on involving more stores following the trials.

Munch is a Hungarian startup which provides a platform for grocery store chains and restaurants to sell their daily leftover, good-quality products at a heavily discounted price. The aim is to reduce food waste and promote sustainable and responsible food retail, hospitality and consumption.

It is very simple to use: you just need to book the bag you picked via the freely available mobile app or through the website, pay for it online, and then collect it within the pick-up window in the designated store. There are four different types of bags you can save in SPAR’s stores. They mostly consist of bakery products, fruits and vegetables, and refrigerated products with up to a 66% discount. It means that shoppers can buy a bag worth of approximately 3,000 forints for a thousand forints and bag worth 1,500 forints for 500 forints.

“Everyone benefits from this service which makes it a real win-win project. We cut the food waste of the stores, customers get access to lots of products at 33% of the original price, and we significantly reduce our impact on the environment by not throwing away these food products.  Unfortunately, wasting food is a global phenomenon – one third of all of the food produced around the globe gets disposed or ends up as waste. This means that in Europe alone almost 90 million tonnes of food goes to waste each year. Starting now, SPAR’s customers can also start saving food in an efficient way with the help of Munch through which they can discover new products and become part of a concious-thinking and environmentally-protective community,” said Gabriella Heiszler, chair and managing director of SPAR Hungary.

“SPAR joining this community of food savers presents an easy and local solution and can provide a positive example for others to follow. In Hungary there are more than 600 independent and chain stores throughout Hungary who joined our food saving platform in more than 35 municipalities. SPAR’s involvement is proof that Munch, which is becoming more and more popular with young people, and even families and the elderly during the current economic difficulties, provides even the biggest food retailers with an easy and real solution to reduce their food waste. We are aware of a member who managed to save more than 500 units of food in one year and saved almost one million forints with the help of Munch,” emphasized Kirill Perepelica, co-funder and commercial director of Munch.

A special element of the Munch bags is the surprise which makes the orders even more exciting. Depending on what is waiting to be saved, on a given day a surprise will end up in the bag which means that customers might discover new SPAR products, new flavours, or special ingredients.

Munch is available through the following links:

Website: https://munch.hu/

Google Play:  https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.munch.munchapp

App Store: https://apps.apple.com/hu/app/munch-b-eat-food-waste/id1528038390

 

The SPAR-Munch trial has launched on 2 November 2022 in the following SPAR and INTERSPAR stores:

Budapest, District 11:

SPAR supermarket – 1112 Budapest, Péterhegyi lejtő 36.

SPAR supermarket – 1115 Budapest, Etele út 58-60.

SPAR supermarket – 1117 Budapest, Irinyi József utca 34.

SPAR supermarket – 1119 Budapest, Tétényi út 31.

SPAR szupermarket – 1112 Budapest XI., Balatoni út (lot nr. 000853/15) (Kérő u. 1.)

SPAR supermarket – 1114 Budapest XI., Bartók Béla út 51.

SPAR supermarket – 1117 Budapest, Dombóvári út 27.

SPAR supermarket – 1119 Budapest, Fehérvári út 45.

SPAR supermarket – 1119 Budapest, Hadak útja 1.

SPAR supermarket – 1118 Budapest, Rétköz utca 7.

INTERSPAR hypermarket – 1117 Budapest XI., Október 23-a utca 8-10.

 

Szeged:

SPAR supermarket – 6726 Szeged, Csanádi utca 7

SPAR supermarket – 6724 Szeged, Sárosi út 4.

SPAR supermarket – 6725 Szeged, Szentháromság utca 68.

SPAR supermarket – 6723 Szeged, Tápai utca 50.

SPAR supermarket – 6723 Szeged, Csillag tér 6.

SPAR supermarket – 6720 Szeged, Széchenyi tér 15.

SPAR supermarket – 6724 Szeged, Mars tér 1-3.

SPAR supermarket – 6723 Szeged, Szilléri sugárút 26-30.

SPAR supermarket – 6724 Szeged, Londoni körút 3.

 

Hódmezővásárhely:

SPAR supermarket – 6800 Hódmezővásárhely, Andrássy út 8.

INTERSPAR hypermarket – 6800 Hódmezővásárhely, Kaszap utca 20.

SPAR Hungary focuses on sustainability and environmental-friendliness when building their new stores and renewing existing ones. They reduced their greenhouse gas emissions by 49 percent in 2021 when compared with 2017.

“Our company puts a special focus on minimising the negative environmental impacts of our operations. One of the main pillars of this agenda is the promotion of environmental-friendliness and the wide use of technologies and procedures which are closely linked to one another. SPAR Hungary’s main source of energy comes from electricity supply. As a result of the renovations of our lighting and heating/cooling systems, we are constantly reducing our electricity consumption. Thanks to the store renovations and energy-saving measures put in place, the greenhouse gas emission across our network has decreased by 49 percent since 2017, and we also reduced the emissions that are directly linked to the electricity supply we purchase by four percent in the last decade. Our efforts haven’t gone unnoticed. The company received the ‘Green Retailer of the Year’ award in 2020 as an acknowledgement of our environmentally-conscious corporate governance and the measurements we put in place,” explained Márk Maczelka, head of communications at SPAR Hungary.

Higher energy demand, lower consumption

Some of the supermarkets have been equipped with new functions during the renovation that need a greater electricity supply. But, thanks to the new technologies implemented their electricity consumption doesn’t increase and, in some cases, it is actually reduced by 10-15 percent. The explanation behind this is the technological and energy-saving measures put in place.

During the renovation of a store, all the lights in the building are replaced with LED lighting. This is also done during any partial renovation which only extends to the electricity system of the building. After the stores close, all lights are switched off including the lighting of the shop floor and only the safety lighting is left on. During the late night and early morning hours the lighting of the parking lots and advertising boards in less busy locations are turned off as well.

 

Heat recovery from the cooling systems

In 2018 SPAR Hungary opted to switch to the use of the ‘transcritical’ CO2 cooling technology, which is more environmentally-friendly, efficient and economical to operate in the long term. The first transcritical CO2 cooling system debuted this year which is based on the ejector expansion technology. The store chain is hoping for a further ten percent reduction in the use of electricity by the cooling systems.

Heat recovery results in significant savings as well. The integrated transcritical CO2 cooling system uses the heat from standard and walk-in refrigerators to produce hot water and in some stores to heat the building as well. When it gets really cold, the system turns on the heat pump to heat up the building, and the same technology is applied for cooling it down in summer. Since it uses water for heating and cooling, there are several other ways to utilise it such as fan-coil heating and cooling, floor heating and cooling, the use of the air-handling unit to preheat or cool down the air and to generate running hot water as well.

With some stores the company uses a VRV (variable refrigerant volume) based cooling technology system which applies intelligence to operate the technology and comfort heating and cooling systems. Thanks to the integrated cooling technology system, as well as the improved feeling of comfort indoors, it also uses less energy. The VRV system uses the same waste heat, or if needed the heat pump for heating, but without the necessity to build a water circuit.

Thermal insulation and upgrades

The thermal insulation of the building and the fitting of new doors and windows is important as well. SPAR Hungary replaces outdated store portal fittings with new, good quality ones and if it is necessary, they install roof thermal insulation with waterproofing as well as the insulation of facade walls.

Solar panels and electric car charging stations

With every investment project, whether it is a new store or a renovation, the company examines the possibility of the use of solar panels by looking at the individual features of the location and the building to see if they could be used to supply that unit with electricity.

The company is constantly adding new electric car charging stations for the stores that have parking lots. So far, they have set up 168 spots all over the country. More information about SPAR’s electronic charging stations is available using the following link: https://www.sparafenntarthatojovoert.hu/e-autotolto

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.

The National Mobile Payment Plc. (NM Plc. or the Company) aims to offer its customers convenient and secure innovative payment solutions in many areas of everyday life, significantly reducing the environmental impact, cash and paper usage – whether it is parking, e-vignette or ticket purchase, taking full advantage of digital ecosystems or making optimal use of public transport.

The Company is a key player in the cash-saving digitalisation process in Hungary, and its role in the introduction and education of modern financial solutions is undeniable, as it provides services via a nationwide, interoperable payment platform. The Company is continuously exploring areas where there is potential for the introduction of cashless payment services that can serve the convenience and security of the population and all aspects (social, economic and environmental) of domestic sustainability.

It has made great strides and achieved great results, both in terms of the number of transactions processed and the exponential growth in the number of customers using the system, but this would not be enough without social awareness and responsibility. The Company has therefore compiled its Sustainability Report for 2021, which summarises its activities from an operational, rather than a financial, perspective, and provides a comprehensive picture of its operations and initiates a dialogue with a wide range of stakeholders.

It is also important that both public/user and professional dialogue are a high priority in the life of the Company, and it is important to provide up-to-date information, reporting and insight on a number of innovative issues: the recently established NM Innovation, as the NM Plc. Innovation Workshop, in line with the Hungarian digitalisation and innovation efforts, has launched its website and its professional, yet accessible blog, which is constantly updated and can be accessed via the following link:

https://www.nminnovacio.hu/