The Hungarian Charity Service of The Order of Malta and SPAR Hungary’s cooperation delivers aid to thousands of people in need. The retail chain supports the prominently public benefit organisation with regular aid each month throughout the year, as well as The Joy to Give! charity campaigns.

“As an important actor in the commercial sector, supporting social causes is a vital part of corporate culture for SPAR Hungary.  The Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta has been our strategic partner in this for almost 30 years, with whom we can now help not only during the holidays, but in every month of the year through our own donations and with the help of our customers. In addition to this, we try to help in unexpected situations, such as this year’s floods, where we supported those involved in flood control with food donations, including the Hungarian Maltese Charity Service,” explained said Márk Maczelka, head of communications at SPAR Hungary.

“The cooperation between SPAR Hungary and the Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta brings predictability and security to our charitable activities, and our decade-long cooperation provides a stable background for our projects helping people in need. The relationship is multifaceted and much more complex than simply support, as SPAR has been an active participant in our programs from the very beginning to create opportunities for less fortunate people, while also providing valuable and continuous help for the daily work of Maltese Charity Service,” said Tamás Romhányi, head of communication of the Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta.

As part of the strategic partnership, direct daily donations from more than 50 SPAR stores reach the organisation in the form of fruit and vegetables, bakery products, and non-perishable food donations. Last year, SPAR donated over almost half a million kilograms of food withdrawn from sale but still fit for consumption to the Charity Service, which then distributed them to those in need.

The Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta and SPAR Hungary have been organising the Joy to Give! (Adni Öröm!) Christmas fundraiser campaign for 28 years. Volunteers in selected SPAR stores receive non-perishable food and sweets for children bought by customers on site. In recent years, the campaign collected an average of nearly 200 tonnes of food annually, which made it possible to distribute Christmas gifts to tens of thousands of families. For example, donation cards purchased in the SPAR online shop or in stores raised 6.3 million forints last year, while the adomanyozz.hu website received a further 5 million forints in donations, which was also used to purchase more boxes of food to distribute. The Joy to Give! school supply donation campaign which has taken place before the previous four new school years, made it possible for customers to help families in need to start school through a total donation of nearly 250,000 school supplies. In recent years, donors have also purchased donation cards worth nearly 8 million forints, an amount that was used by the NGO to distribute stationery, exercise books, and other school supplies to those in need. SPAR also supported the initiative donating an additional 4 million forints.

The 200- and 500-forint donation cards of the Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta are available in SPAR and INTERSPAR stores and the SPAR online shop throughout the year. The total value of cards purchased since the launch of the initiative has exceeded 70 million forints, which also went to the Charity Service’s programs that create opportunities. In addition, in each SPAR and INTERSPAR store, the company donates 1 forint from the price of every degradable carry bag to the Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta. As a result, the company supported the work of the organization with a further 9.3 million forints in 2023.

The Presence (Jelenlét) programme of the charity organisation is based on permanent and intensive social work in urban slums and impoverished small towns and villages. “Give a man a fish, and he will be hungry again tomorrow; teach him to catch a fish, and he will be richer all his life,” and in this spirit, the Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta launched its social enterprise called Máltai Manufaktúra, which was able to launch and enter the market with the support of SPAR Hungary. Today, these facilities not only provide customers with high-quality products, but also provide a secure livelihood for many disadvantaged families.

In Tiszabura, one of the poorest corners of the country, the Charity Service helps locals in all areas of life: it operates a school, kindergarten, social office and has started a job-creating enterprise, among others. Since 2019, they have been producing their own products, such as canvas shopping bags for SPAR’s nationwide network. In the past five years, the organisation has produced more than 362,000 bags in the Máltai Manufaktúra sewing shop, involving people in difficulty, for whom the program provides training and jobs.

As part of the cooperation, products of the Máltai Manufaktúra such as jams, syrups and pickles were available in SPAR Hungary’s stores. These products not only delivered high-quality artisanal food to customers, but also supported the employment of disadvantaged people in the workshops of the Máltai Manufaktúra in Páty and Gyulaj. The first sales started in December 2019 and the products were available in 20 stores. The sales figures of recent years reflect the success of the program;  more than 30,000 products were purchased between 2019 and 2024. SPAR Hungary aims to further strengthen this type of cooperation with the Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Malta in the future. They plan to expand the range to help these social enterprises become sustainable in the long term.

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SPAR Hungary spent a total of 736 million forints on the modernisation of three stores, one in Miskolc, one in Sopron, and another in Tatabánya. As a result of the company’s self-funded developments, the interior of the supermarkets has been modernised and their operations became more energy efficient.

“SPAR Hungary uses significant financial resources to renovate existing stores each year. I am happy to announce that our customers can now visit three renovated SPAR supermarkets in Miskolc, Sopron, and Tatabánya because of a 736 million HUF self-funded investment project. As part of our modernisation programme, it is not only our store interiors that are renewed but in line with our strategic ambitions, we also focused on environmentally-friendly and energy saving aspects during the implementation. Our customers will be greeted with a fresh and broad range and ongoing discounts in the modernised supermarkets,” shared Márk Maczelka, head of communications at SPAR.

The SPAR supermarket under 18 Kodály square in Sopron was renovated using investment of 286 million forints. As part of the improvement the layout of the shop floor has changed, the fruit and vegetable section has become more focused, and the check-out areas were updated in line with SPAR’s latest interior design concept. In the store that reopens on the 28 November, customers will find the newly added grilled food chafers with fresh meals.  The shop floor received new refrigerators and the old freezers have been replaced by upright freezer units. The lighting of the store is powered by energy efficient LED lights and a new, environmentally friendly, CO2-based heating system has been installed. The supermarkets also received new refrigeration cabinets with doors as another energy efficient solution.

SPAR Hungary carried out a 283 million HUF investment at a busy supermarket in Tatabánya. The store at “Gál István lakótelep” will welcome back customers after reopening on the 28th of November with a reverse layout. The entrance was moved to the previous check-out area followed by the fruit and vegetable section, the bakery products, deli area, dairy section and finally the freezers. The deli section now has grilled food chafers to welcome customers with fresh meals. The shop floor received new freezers and the check-out zone has been refurbished as well. The store has also been equipped with energy saving LED lighting and the heating of the building is provided by a new, environmentally friendly, CO2-based system.  The new fridges equipped with doors act as further means of energy efficiency.

Under 9-11 Klapka György street in Miskolc the SPAR store was renovated from a budget of 167 million forints. The design of the shop floor follows SPAR’s minimalistic concept and was also equipped with new service counter fridges. The store also updated its check-out area and installed new drinks fridges. As a result of the investment the store has become more transparent and provides a convenient shopping experience. The shop floor of Miskolc store, which reopened on the 31st of October, is lit by energy efficient LED lights which will help cost reduction.

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Continuing our commitment to innovation, we are excited to announce two new developments designed to foster employee engagement and support sustainability initiatives:

• The CompoBot’s new display is even more engaging: New features allow for the display of custom names and logos on the home screen, as well as real-time information.
• App quiz feature: The latest version of our mobile app includes a quiz feature that allows users to playfully expand their knowledge of composting and sustainability through themed daily and weekly question sets.

📈 Growing Our Sustainable Reach:
As part of our mission to expand the corporate sustainability transition, we are delighted to announce that our services will launch in Bucharest and Vienna in 2025. While developing our service locations, we will incorporate additional strategic cities, with future pilot projects planned for London and Warsaw in the second phase. We aim to involve as many businesses as possible in the sustainability movement, positively impacting communities and ecosystems in key urban areas. Together, we can continue the transformative, mindset-shifting, and tangible value-creating work of ESG compliance.

Here’s to Many More Achievements Together!
We look forward to what we’ll accomplish together in the coming years as we expand and deepen our shared commitment to ESG principles. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or ideas; we’re always here to help!

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Warm regards,
The Compocity Team
Compocity Website

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.”