Our goals
Our progress in 2022
In 2021, we revised our approach to social engagement, defining areas that are important for society and emphasising those activities that contribute to real and positive change.
Our Social Engagement Strategy consists of three pillars and supports five UN Sustainable Development Goals: Good health and well-being; Sustainable cities and communities; Quality education; Decent work and economic growth; and Reduced inequalities. Under our Well-being pillar, we are encouraging our employees to undertake physical activity. During the year, 35 employees supported the Healthy Movement Foundation’s Run into the Future programme by running in the 1MILA event in Warsaw and Poznań. Around 70 employees in 14 teams also participated in the Poland Business Run. Under the Neighbourhood pillar we made it formally possible for every employee to spend eight hours each month on volunteering activities within working hours. We not only give our employees various volunteering opportunities, we also encourage them to find their own local activities to support. This approach contributed to over 660 hours of volunteering activities, mainly consisting of help for Ukrainian refugees. Just 12 hours after the war broke out, we sent our first humanitarian aid for people fleeing conflict. In total, we donated over 525 tonnes of food products across 87 transports. We were working with partners to send four trains of humanitarian aid, as well as financial and material support for the Polish Red Cross and Polish Centre for International Aid. We donated food and hygiene products with partners including Podkarpacki Voivodship Office, Polish- Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce, the United Nations Global Compact, Caritas, Grupa Centrum, In_Spire Foundation and Polish Humanitarian Action. Together with our franchisees we directly supported nearly 350 Ukrainian citizens. Our customers have helped too, donating Żapps points worth more than PLN 1 million to support refugees from Ukraine. Moreover, as a symbol of solidarity with Ukraine, we have suspended orders for products from the Russian Federation and Belarus. For the 23rd year we have supported WOŚP. Thanks to the commitment of our franchisees and the generosity of our customers, we donated PLN 2,000,000 to the 31st WOŚP Finale. Under the Equal Opportunities pillar we supported 62 internships totalling 8,888 hours through our Safe Internship with Żabka programme, in partnership with Fundacja Samodzielni Robinsonowie. We are grateful to 35 franchisees who acted as mentors, sharing their experience and helping our trainees build entrepreneurial skills. We and our partners participated in more than 73,326 interactions for sustainable growth, nearly double the year before.
Selected activities
2.3 Communities activation
Helping people settle in Żabka and in Poland
It is important to Żabka that the business presents a friendly face to everybody in the workplace. The Group has therefore created the role of ‘Cultural Assistant’, especially to help colleagues for whom Poland is a new country. The key aim is to prove that diversity – of nationality as well as of age and gender – can help the business be more successful and profitable. To this end, the Cultural Assistants have been recruited to help find a common language between recent arrivals and native Poles, helping them settle in and properly feel part of the organisation. There are many areas in which the Cultural Assistants are able to provide support, from helping with documentation to explaining cultural and linguistic differences. Offering guidance on settling into life in Poland can be very valuable too, from dealing with public organisations to getting the right work-life balance. They can also help our recruitment professionals by preparing written information in various languages for recent joiners, as well as helping with workshops, webinars and materials on equality, diversity and cultural inclusivity.
2.3 Communities activation
Żabka helps
The Żabka Group is in full solidarity with the Ukrainian community. Many Ukrainian citizens are our employees, franchisees, or their associates and we have immediately declared our readiness to provide them with the necessary assistance. We are taking steps to provide support to those personally affected by the war in Ukraine.
Responsibility Report 2023
Żabka Group ranked #2 in Top 100
Global Most Loved Workplaces ranking.