Community spirit

Approximately 120 SPAR Gran Canaria employees and their families enjoyed a day in nature with workshops for kids, including building bird feeders and musical butterfly activities. The eco-friendly day concluded with a countryside picnic and a guided tour of Finca de Osorio.

Since 2007, SPAR Gran Canaria has partnered with the Foresta Foundation, actively contributing to environmental initiatives. Over 17 years, collaborative efforts resulted in successful reforestations in various locations on the island. Locations include Morro Santiago, Tenteniguada, Finca de Osorio, Valleseco, Los Llanos de la Pez, Finca Las Tabaibas, Artenara, and San Juan De Dios. The commitment continues to create a better living environment for the future, emphasising the retail company’s respect for the land.

SPAR Gran Canaria has an extensive responsible retailing programme. Initiatives include supporting local growers, reducing its environmental footprint through generation power through photovoltaic panels and more.

Source: SPAR Gran Canaria

Read more about SPAR Spain

About SPAR Spain

SPAR Spain was founded in 1959 when a group of wholesalers who wished to join an international organisation came together. As a result, the brand became the first voluntary trading chain to be established in Spain, having been granted a license by SPAR International. Together, 13 regional SPAR wholesalers actively continue the expansion of the brand across the country.

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The improvements are visible across 8 renovated stores and 3 newly open stores on the island.

The 8 renovated stores received enhanced central refrigeration systems, optimising energy consumption. Additionally, the stores switched to electronic shelf edge labels, reducing paper usage, as well as installing vertical refrigeration cabinets and energy-saving LED lights. In total, SPAR Gran Canaria invested over €1 million to these sustainable solutions.

This commitment from SPAR Gran Canaria extended to the 3 new supermarkets which opened their doors during 2023. SPAR Bahía Feliz, SPAR Taliarte and SPAR Puerto Azul all opened with these new climate-friendly features, with an investment of more than €710,000.

In total, SPAR invested €1.79 million to promote energy efficiency and contribute to reducing the carbon footprint of these 11 stores.

Sustainability across the business

SPAR Gran Canaria’s commitment to energy optimisation expands beyond the stores. The retail organisation expanded one of the solar generation plants last year, resulting in a 25% increase in energy from the solar plants. This year, SPAR Gran Canaria will look to increase the amount of renewable energy created by installing a canopy with photovoltaic panels at the entrance to the logistics centre in El Goro. This will provide energy as well as an area of shade for vehicles.

Source: SPAR Gran Canaria

Read more about SPAR Spain.

About SPAR Spain

SPAR Spain was founded in 1959 when a group of wholesalers who wished to join an international organisation came together. As a result, the brand became the first voluntary trading chain to be established in Spain, having been granted a license by SPAR International. Together, 13 regional SPAR wholesalers actively continue the expansion of the brand across the country.

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Growth of sustainable initiatives

SPAR Zimbabwe has been growing the scale of their community clean-ups since 2018. SPAR works closely with local companies to provide volunteers with water and cleaning bags. The two-hour timeslot for the clean-up aligns with nearby schools’ schedule. This allows pupils to also help out which raises their awareness of sustainability issues. The retailer hopes that more companies will support this annual programme into the future.

Environmental champion

SPAR Zimbabwe was recently awarded Environmental Champion of the year Award from ESG Network Zimbabwe, recognising the efforts of SPAR in the area of sustainability. The Environmental Management Agency (EMA), which nominated SPAR for the award, highlighted efforts of SPAR to minimise the use of plastic in packaging, as well as the long-lasting commitment to the clean-up initiative. Steady Kangata, EMA Director, described SPAR as “versatile in adjusting to the changing environmental and societal needs and expectations, providing manpower and material resources necessary to meet expected demands.”

Other initiatives

Clean-ups are not the only way in which SPAR Zimbabwe supports the environment.  SPAR Zimbabwe’s responsible retailing strategy also includes social topics as a core focus including child rights and health issues.

Source: SPAR Zimbabwe.

Read more about SPAR Zimbabwe.

About SPAR Zimbabwe

In 1967, Zimbabwe joined the SPAR network after a licence was granted to a local organisation by SPAR International. In 2015, an independent retailer took over the licence for the SPAR Brand in the market. SPAR Zimbabwe remains actively involved in the local community, helping to make a difference. 

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The name of initiative, when translated from Italian, is “DESPAR widespread forest”. The campaign is part of the International “One Tree Planted” project. This project unites SPAR partners to plant trees and create greener spaces, with DESPAR Italy giving the initiative a boost.

DESPAR Italia are collaborating with the PlanBee crowdfunding platform for the implementation of the initiative nationwide. Local organisations and non-profit associations, which specialise in environmental regeneration interventions, are supporting the initiative. Through the initiative, DESPAR Italia reaffirms the brand’s commitment as a socially responsible company by planting 1,404 trees which matches the number of stores across seven different locations in Italy.

Combining environmental and social benefits

The General Manager of DESPAR Italy Filippo Fabbri believes that “Bosco Diffuso Despar” initiative will unite different regions in Italy, confirming DESPAR’s bond with the territories where the brand operates. The first trees were planted in Bologna on November 6th, a few kilometres from the DESPAR Italia headquarters. A few provinces have now proudly planted the first trees, with the initiative expected to roll out fully by the end of the year.

Source: DESPAR Italia.

Read more news about SPAR Italy.

About SPAR Italy

SPAR Italy, known locally as DESPAR Italia, was first granted the SPAR Brand’s license in 1959. The first store opened in 1960. With it, SPAR became the first partnership of retailers and wholesalers to operate in the country. In addition, SPAR Italy licenses regional partners, all of whom work together to grow the brand across the country.

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Strengthening the species

SPAR Austria became involved in the collaborative programme after university research showed a halving of biodiversity in the Weinviertel region.

High-quality, local, seed mixtures include the garden marigold, the cornflower, and around 40 other native plants. The seeds support the creation of an improved habitat for bees and other creatures and species common to the region.

“Participating farmers recognise that biodiversity can be the key to long-term yield security and their motivation is strong. The project not only protects flora and fauna – and this also includes the soil – but also promises good and stable harvests for decades to come,” says SPAR Austria board member Mag. Markus Kaser about the cooperation.

Importance of biodiversity

SPAR Austria has shown commitment to preserving diversity in nature over many years. In 2021, it created a Bee Council to protect bees and support bee populations in the country. SPAR Austria developed a ‘Let’s preserve diversity together initiative’ and annual Diversity Awards. These invite prospective Austrian high school graduates to submit their pre-scientific work on the topics of biodiversity and species conservation. The work is to then be assessed by an expert panel.

SPAR International has six key areas of its Responsible Retailing strategy that it works with SPAR country organisations to achieve. While its commitments and initiatives are adopted across the world, they are always tailored to community-specific needs, focusing on health, sourcing, community, environment, supply chain, and people.

Source: SPAR Austria

Read more about SPAR Austria

About SPAR Austria

The origins of SPAR in Austria date back to 1954, but the current SPAR AG was created in 1970 when the original founding families joined other regional wholesalers to form SPAR Austria AG – a 100% privately owned Austrian company. With licences granted by SPAR International, ASPIAG (Austria SPAR International AG) has developed the brand in Slovenia, Hungary, Croatia, and Northern Italy.

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Carbon-conscious

During the event’s preparation, SPAR Hungary made visitors aware of how they could be carbon-conscious. Examples communicated including portion control to reduce food waste, using public transport to the festival, or by sharing cars. The company sought to reduce environmental impact by sourcing ingredients for the food served at the festival from local producers and beverages from domestic partners. This initiative thereby supports shorter supply chains. With dishes prepared onsite, it eliminated the need to transport and package food separately. Reusable cutlery and glasses also avoided additional waste. Untouched food was distributed to those in need with the help of the Hungarian Food Bank Association, with the remaining waste processed by Biofilter.

Native fruit trees planted

SPAR Hungary offset the CO₂ emissions through the planting of native fruit trees. According to the experts’ calculations, this requires 392 tree seedlings over five years. The Institute distributed the seedlings to the gardens of educational and welfare institutions in cooperation with the retail organisation. By offsetting the carbon footprint of the event, and planting indigenous trees from the “Fairy Garden” (Tündérkert) orchard in Pórszombat, a gene conservation site in the Zala County, SPAR Hungary has contributed to the conservation of biodiversity and local varieties.

SPAR Hungary has an extensive set of initiatives to reduce environmental impact. You can read more on their dedicated subsite here.

Source: SPAR Hungary

Read more about SPAR Hungary

About SPAR Hungary

The first SPAR Supermarket opened in Hungary in 1992, following the acquisition by ASPIAG (Austria SPAR International AG) of a majority stake in General Kereskedelmi Rt. SPAR Hungary is one of the country’s largest employers, with a network of company-owned and independently run stores operating nationwide.

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Currently, four SPAR Supermarkets in Hungary are equipped with photovoltaic systems, together generating 230-240 MWh of electricity yearly. Installed panels cover 12-13% of total electricity consumption in each store.

The installation of photovoltaic systems is just a part of SPAR Hungary energy-conscious efforts. To reduce the purchase of natural gas, attention is now on energy-efficiency in stores. Energy saving refrigeration systems and door-mounted coolers help to minimise energy loss. Installation of heat-pump systems ensures efficient heating and cooling systems while waste heat is utilised, creating a circular system instore.

SPAR Slovenia

Last year, SPAR Slovenia built the first photovoltaic plant on the roof of the distribution centre in Ljubljana. The plant covers around 16% of their electricity needs. This year, panels will be installed on the roofs of three SPAR store buildings, having an expected capacity of 8-20% of electricity needs for each store. This will diversify each store’s energy profile with green energy while helping to avoid a total of 183 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually.

Efficient use of renewable energy is a key goal in SPAR Slovenia’s sustainability vision. By years end, the company intends to build 15 additional photovoltaic plants on the roofs of other store buildings.

Responsible retailing

Further acceleration of energy efficiency systems instore through investment in renewable energy solutions reduces environmental impact, meets the sustainability goals of both organisations, as well as saves energy costs while driving energy independence.

Sources: SPAR Hungary, SPAR Slovenia

Read more about SPAR’s responsible retailing strategy.

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In Austria, SPAR uses multiple solutions to tackle food waste. From food donations and regional social organisations, to using artificial intelligence (AI) to obtain more accurate product demand predictions. Newly implemented IT tools analyse the data on sale volumes, weather conditions, and other factors to estimate optimal quantities of product orders in each store, with an expected 90% of accuracy in predictions. The system is being trialed for fruit and vegetable ordering in SPAR Austria stores before expanding to other food groups. SPAR donate unsold surplus food through strong partnerships with local donation platforms. In 2022, these donation platforms received about 7,000 tonnes of food.

SPAR Denmark

In Denmark, SPAR uses innovative IT solutions to minimise food waste in stores through partnering with Whywaste. The suite of digital tools helps track expiration dates, implement smart product discounting, and automatically inform consumers about great deals. SPAR donates surplus stocks to local organisations. Following positive results of trials in two stores, Whywaste tools are being implemented in all SPAR stores across Denmark. Retailers highlight that this successful partnership resulted in labour cost reduction, markdown revenue increase, and most importantly, a 30% reduction of food waste in stores.

SPAR Hungary

Reducing food waste is a key pillar of SPAR Hungary’s sustainability programme. One of the big initiatives to tackle food waste comes through the nationwide of the Munch app. This digital solution offers cheaper, faster and more convenient access to food products before they go to waste. Users reserve the selected package, pay online, and collect instore within a set time slot. Packages include food ranging from fruit and vegetables, to meat and dairy. All packages are nearing the end of its shelf-life, and are sold for a third of the original price.

SPAR UK

In the UK, SPAR is committed to promoting sustainability across its business operations. SPAR UK implemented initiatives designed to make an impact in key areas such as food waste reduction and plastic reduction. All SPAR stores manage stock with a view to reducing waste. Additionally, SPAR retailers in the UK work with business partners Too Good To Go and Gander which make the collection of price-reduced groceries nearing the end of their shelf life easy.

SPAR UK is also a member of The WRAP UK Plastics Pact, a collaborative initiative launched in 2018 that brings together businesses from across the entire plastics value chain, including the convenience sector, with UK governments and NGOs to tackle the scourge of plastic waste. It aims to create a circular economy for plastics, capturing their value by keeping them in the economy and out of the natural environment.

SPAR International

Recognising that food waste reduction fits with the environmental and social values of the SPAR brand, SPAR International targets to halve food waste in our own operations by 2030. To achieve this goal, SPAR is strengthening partnerships to minimise food waste along the various steps of retail operations. By partnering with digital solution providers such as Relex, WhyWaste and Gander, a higher operational efficiency can be achieved. This leads to lower levels of food waste due to better stock management.

For the surplus product instore, end-of-life solutions are available through partnerships with apps such as Too Good to Go. The collaboration with such platforms resulted in substantial reduction of food waste, with 4,636,237 meals along with 11,590,593 kg CO2e saved through our partnership with social impact company Too Good to Go across 2,500 SPAR stores in 14 European countries.

Sources: SPAR Austria, SPAR Denmark, SPAR Hungary, SPAR UK, and SPAR International

Read more about food waste and other environmental impact measures taken within SPAR.

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For the first time, the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs, and Equal Opportunities presented SPAR Slovenia with the “Disability Friendly Company” award. This special recognition for SPAR Slovenia highlights the company’s good practices in providing employment opportunities for people with disabilities. SPAR Slovenia is one of the largest employers nationwide with over 5,100 employees. More than 5% of those employees are people with disabilities.

Upon receiving the award, Branka Jovanović from the HR team at SPAR Slovenia said that “with the right support, all employees can have equal opportunities, ensuring everyone contributes to the success of the company”. SPAR Slovenia constantly invests in better working conditions, new skill training for employees, and advocates for an inclusive, stable, and safe place to work for all.

Lake cleaning initiative

SPAR supported the traditional September cleanup of Lake Soboška following the busy summer season. Divers of PD Murska Sobota were joined by children from three local primary schools for the cleanup campaign. In total, they removed about 150 kilogrammes of waste from the lake and its surroundings. As part of the cleaning campaign, the divers prepared an educational quiz for the participating school children. This covered ecological, geographical, and historical characteristics of Lake Soboška, as well as the basics of safe diving.

This is the seventh year that SPAR Slovenia collaborated with the Slovenian Diving Association as part of the “Together for a better tomorrow” initiative. The collaboration aims to raise environmental awareness among consumers and encourage eco-friendly behaviour.

Source: SPAR Slovenia.

Read more about SPAR Slovenia.

About SPAR Slovenia

SPAR Slovenia, operated by ASPIAG (Austria SPAR International AG), was granted a license by SPAR International to operate under the brand in 1991. ASPIAG is a subsidiary of SPAR Austria AG. SPAR has become a key employer in the country, both through its corporate businesses as well as through licenses being granted to independent retailers to expand the brand further.

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SPAR Austria uses multiple solutions to tackle food waste. From food donations and regional social organisations, to using artificial intelligence (AI) to obtain more accurate product demand predictions. Newly implemented IT tools analyse the data on sale volumes, weather conditions, and other factors to estimate optimal quantities of product orders in each store with an expected 90% of accuracy in predictions. The system is being trialed for fruit and vegetable ordering in SPAR Austria stores before expanding to other food groups. SPAR donate unsold surplus food through strong partnerships with local donation platforms. In 2022, these donation platforms received about 7,000 tonnes of food.

SPAR Denmark

SPAR Denmark is also exploring innovative IT solutions to minimize food waste in stores through partnering with Whywaste. The suite of digital tools helps track expiration dates, implement smart product discounting, and automatically inform consumers about great deals. SPAR donates surplus stocks to local organisations. Following positive results of trials in two stores, Whywaste tools are being implemented in all SPAR stores across Denmark. Retailers highlight that this successful partnership resulted in labour cost reduction, markdown revenue increase, and most importantly, a 30% reduction of food waste in stores.

SPAR International

Recognising that food waste reduction fits with the environmental and social values of the SPAR brand, SPAR International targets to halve food waste in our own operations by 2030. To achieve this goal, SPAR is strengthening partnerships to minimise food waste along the various steps of retail operations. By partnering with digital solution providers such as Whywaste and Gander, a higher operational efficiency can be achieved. This leads to lower levels of food waste due to better stock management. For the surplus product instore, end-of-life solutions are available through partnerships with apps such as Too Good to Go. The collaboration with such platforms resulted in substantial reduction of food waste, with 4,636,237 meals along with 11,590,593 kg CO2e saved through our partnership with social impact company Too Good to Go across 2,500 SPAR stores in 14 European countries.

Adopting different approaches and tools, SPAR continues to minimise food waste instore and raise customer awareness,extending the impact into households.

#FoodWasteEU, #FLWDay

Source: SPAR Austria, SPAR Denmark 

Read more about SPAR’s responsible retailing strategy.

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