From its establishment, the store chain is actively dedicated to environmental protection. Thanks to its sustainability strategy, plastic waste resulting from the operation of the company is decreasing which is further reduced with leaving the caps of certain own brand milks, the covers of sour cream and the polystyrene and plastic packaging of certain fruits and vegetables and changing the bottle of the own brand SPAR cooking oil. By the measure, more than 25 tonnes of less plastic waste is generated. The active environmentally conscious approach is also reflected in the paper usage of SPAR.

“In the interest of the sustainability of our environment worth living, besides material, technologies and workflows applied during its operation, SPAR encourages its customers to a more environmentally conscious behaviour. Our plastic-reduction strategy contributed with several steps over the years to that significantly less disposable plastic waste is produced. Eco-friendly packaging is becoming more important at all of the product types, this is what is happening now in case of certain own brand milk products and cooking oil and several fruits and vegetables. We pay similarly great attention to that we use recycled paper to our advertising flyers” – said Márk Maczelka, Head of Communication at SPAR.

A new important measure of the sustainability strategy of SPAR is leaving the plastic caps from the packaging of the own brand 1 litre S-Budget 1,5% and 2,8% UHT milks. The company reduces by this environmentally friendly measure the used plastic volume with more than 6.7 tonnes in terms of annual turnover. The environmental burdens can be alleviated with the very significant reduction, while the products continue to guarantee the usual quality, durability and taste.

From 1st March 2020, the company switched to not only in case of milk products, but also in case of the distribution without plastic cover of the 450-gram SPAR (12%) and S-Budget (20%) sour cream products. With this measure, the plastic volume is decreased further with almost 8 tonnes annually. The consumers can preserve the quality of the unfolded dairy products with the reusable silicone closing covers that can be purchased in the stores.

The store chain applies economical, alternative solutions not only in case of plastics, but also in case of the use of paper in its operation and in terms of information material and product packaging. It is rare in the domestic retail practice today that a business group produces its informative advertising leaflets mainly from recycled paper. SPAR can be considered to be a pioneer in this respect: 75% of its weekly flyers is made of recycled paper. The store chain prints its flyers onto eco-friendly paper. The used paper products have the Ecolabel certificate of the European Union (EU). The label is awarded on the basis of strict rules and criteria defined by product groups. According to the relevant regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council made on 25th November 2009, exclusively those products deserve the Ecolabel certificate which products concerning their entire life cycle burden only minimally the environment.

SPAR has already earlier reduced the quantity of plastic waste with the use of paper egg trays. The company prefers paper over plastic in connection with packaging for a long time. One of the alternative, eco-friendly packaging solutions is the application of recyclable pulp materials, for example in case of chicken egg trays, which materials are reusable, carbon-neutral and completely biodegradable. Based on sales data, SPAR calculates with significant amount of plastic load reduction by the use of recycled paper.

SPAR changes the previous plastic foam tray of the 4-piece tomato to paper boat tray. The store chain replaces even 235 kilograms of polystyrene in one year with this, and it offers already in the season of 2020 this product with the paper tray. The company also changes the packaging of the 3-piece sweet pepper and hot pepper. Knowing the last year’s numbers, the switch to the 100% degradable packaging means for the former product 660, while for the latter product 1015 kilograms of plastic saving.

The company reduces more and more the used plastic in case of other vegetables. The half a kilogram bio lemon is taken onto the shelves in environmentally friendly net packaging made of thread instead of net packaging made of plastic because of which almost 686 kilograms of less plastic is generated this year according to the plans.

Plastic material is also removed from the packaging of the 1-kilogram bio orange, thanks to which more than 152 kilograms of plastic saving develops in one year.

The company will save further significant amount that is 7.2 tonnes of plastic annually with that the 1-litre own brand SPAR cooking oil is filled into weight-reduced bottle that ensures the usual holding. The supplier reduced with this development together the size and weight of caps as well by using even less plastic during production that results based on the annual demand another significant plastic-saving.

During its activities, SPAR applies more environmentally conscious solutions and promotes them among its customers. The company offers reusable storage bags for fruits and vegetables in the stores from last year, and it contributes with further important steps to the reduction of the environmental burden such as replacing the plastic freezer bags to paper insulation bags or reducing the weight of PET bottles of certain own brand mineral waters.

There is more time for family meals during the coronavirus pandemic – reveals the findings of a representative survey by Nestlé Hungária, examining the eating habits of Hungarian families during in quarantine. Also, Hungarian children participate in preparing food in 5 out of 10 households, pancake is the favourite when it comes to cooking together, families use the internet in most cases when searching for recipes, and the personal preference of family members is the top priority for setting the menu.

Many families had more time for eating together during lockdown and home school than before – found the representative survey made by Nestlé Hungária among Hungarian families in the scope of the Nestlé for Healthier Kids programme . The survey aimed to explore how eating habits change during the pandemic. One third of respondents regularly had lunch with their families during lockdown, what became the main meal of the day. 40% of respondents reported no change compared to times before the pandemic. These respondents are mostly men and almost two thirds of them live in the countryside.

In five families out of ten, children participated in cooking several times a week, although they helped less on a daily basis. Children decide on the menu in many households, so, albeit indirectly, but they also contribute to shaping the nutrition habits of the family. Pancakes are clearly No. 1 in Hungary when it comes to cooking together: almost half of the parents involve children in the process both in Budapest and in the countryside. Various sweets and pastries are also very popular, and children are ready to lend a hand in the preparations. Adults generally engage children in preparing dishes in various phases from choosing the recipe through breaking the eggs to preparing the ingredients. Only 23% of respondents said that children do not help at all in the kitchen.

“Children who help in food preparation at home eat more vegetables and fruit. They are more open to adopt healthier eating habits, have a more balanced diet. As a leading food company, we pursue to educate parents and children using all potential platforms, and also give them guidance on making healthier choices to prepare when they cook together. Supporting children in developing appropriate eating habits is key. That is why we launched our Nestlé for Healthier Kids programme in 2018” said Gábor Tompa, Head of Corporate Communication.

Parents use whatever help they can for choosing recipes, but almost 80% of respondents said that their children’s wishes are the key decision factors. The survey also showed that while most dishes for lunch are made according to the family recipe, in general people use the internet in the first place to find recipes. It is the family’s taste what matters most when selecting the daily menu: 72% of respondents cook meals everybody likes and making a healthy and nutritious choice comes only second. Somewhat more than half of the respondents said it was important for them to prepare lunch from ingredients available at home. All in all, parents rather cook than order meals: only 7% voted for ordering.

In recent months Shell was offering free coffee to front-line heroes fighting coronavirus – doctors, nurses, paramedics, firefighters, military, police officers, truck drivers visiting its filling stations.

More than 15,000 Shell filling stations in 30 countries joined the initiative globally. In Hungary, Shell thanked the work of the not-everyday heroes, who do their job tirelessly every day – with a total of 38,965 coffees. The cappuccino or espresso as a gift was just a small thing during these extraordinary days, but for those who travelled, worked even more because of the situation, it meant caring thoughtfulness.

Shell filling stations will continue to welcome customers well prepared for the epidemiological situation. The surfaces continue to be disinfected several times a day, a plexiglass is placed at the cashier desk, and staff of the filling station welcomes customers in mask and rubber gloves.

As you know, our country has done a fantastic job of responding to the initial needs related to fighting the coronavirus. We’ve been supporting Budapest Bike Maffia, that is raising the flag for one of the most vulnerable part of the society, the homeless people and to the Szt. Miklós Orphanage in Budapest, thanks to the Netherlands-Hungarian Chamber of Commerce. ING Amsterdam accepted our request to support BBM, therefore a EUR 6,000 donation has been approved already.

But the coronavirus is spreading around the world. The intense pressure we’ve seen in countries with well-developed healthcare systems shows the catastrophic impact the virus could have in countries with weak health and sanitation resources. The global community needs our support to reach the most vulnerable people, wherever they are, to halt the spread of the virus and help those affected by it.

Children and their families living in poverty are among the most vulnerable, as they’re less likely to have access to critical medical and sanitation services. Most countries have closed schools, which means that 1.5 billion students are housebound and missing out on the support services schools offer, like lunches. Even when schools reopen, there are 900 million children worldwide who can’t wash their hands with soap at their school, increasing their risk of exposure to diseases like the coronavirus.

ING wants to help. Given our 15-year partnership with UNICEF, we’ve joined together again now to raise funds for their efforts to help children and vulnerable groups across 136 countries affected by the coronavirus. This includes promoting handwashing, hygiene and social distancing to slow the virus’s transmission; providing critical medical and hygiene supplies; and ensuring continuity of health, education and social services for children and their caregivers. ING will match the funds raised up to €1 million.

What does this mean for you? That you can help if you want to. If you haven’t donated anything yet, consider donating now. If you’ve already donated, consider donating again to UNICEF to help support the world’s most vulnerable groups. You can also become an ambassador for this campaign and rally your professional and personal contacts to donate as well. ING will match each donation.

The donation page is available here.

Together we can make a difference and help some of the world’s most vulnerable groups in the fight against the coronavirus. We have forwarded this letter to our staff, clients and to our vendors also.

Kind regards,

Tibor Bodor

Country Manager, CEO

Everyone is facing a serious challenge in the economic recovery from the health crisis.
We need a more simple, more transparent, and faster and, above all, more cost-effective value flow
in order to increase our competitiveness. The performance of our value-creating processes must be
strengthened by optimizing our resources, and our non-value-producing processes must be reduced
to the essential level.

ENGIE Magyarország Kft. – The expert in energy processes

Energy appears as a cost in a significant part of your value-creating processes. Nowadays, it is very
important that we use energy responsibly, increasing energy efficiency and reducing our costs, which
almost without exception results in a significant increase in competitive advantage for our customers.
We would like to offer you our authentic, helpful expertise with our

“Energy saving cost reduction, competitiveness” program.
The age of responsible energy management has come!

 Review your existing electricity and gas contracts. Do they contain minimum quantities to be
taken over that you cannot use due to the Covid-19 situation, but still have to be paid. Inform
your energy traders in time to sell the excess energy.
 Review how you can reduce your reserved capacities and thus your fixed monthly costs.
 Optimize your power supply systems, supplying only the areas they use.
 Explore the losses of your energy systems.
 Reduce the energy consumption of your power generation and consumption equipment through
professional, scheduled maintenance, repair and renewal.
 Change your operation habits to reduce your energy consumption.
 Implement the necessary exchanges and investments that can significantly increase your energy
efficiency while taking further steps to protect our environment.
 Use alternative energy-based solutions instead of fossil ones.
How can we help you with this job?
 By energy consultancy, reviewing your energy supply contracts and exploring the possibilities of
optimizing the reserved capacities
 By redesigning your energy systems, working out an optimization and loss analysis proposal
 By proper maintenance of your systems, and performing necessary repairs
 By operation applying our optimization proposal
 By carrying out the necessary building engineering alterations, in which case we can even take the
burden of financing the investment off your shoulders, with one of the following options:

•  You can produce ELECTRICITY IN A GREENER, CHEAPER WAY, WITHOUT OWN
  FUNDS WITH our small solar power plant program.
•  You can produce THERMAL ENERGY IN A MORE MODERN, CHEAPER WAY,
  WITHOUT OWN FUNDS with our heating modernization program.
• You can produce COOLING ENERGY MORE EFFICIENTLY, COMBINED WITH
  RENEWABLE ENERGY, IN A CHEAPER WAY, WITHOUT OWN FUNDS with our
  cooling modernization program.
• Sweep up WASTE HEAT to achieve CO2 NEUTRALITY. Under the right conditions,
  you can produce RENEWABLE ENERGY -BASED ELECTRICITY or HEATINGCOOLING
  ENERGY WITHOUT OWN FUNDS with our renewable energy-based
  programs.

Our expertise can truly be part of the economic recovery, due to the following
reasons:

 immediately results in cost reductions,
 you may receive a non-refundable TAO subsidy,
 you can reallocate your available funds or possibly preferential loans to the so-called
“Core” activities,
 the investment does not tie up unnecessary human resources at your company.

We offer co-operation, collaboration, knowledge share in a sincere,
creditable way. You can count on us!
If you are also committed to responsible energy management in the process of economic recovery, we
suggest you contact us because:
ENGIE Magyarország Kft. is an expert, investor, operator and service provider of
comprehensive maintenance and repair processes with more than 30 years of
experience in energy production and complex energy modernizations.

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