The Żabka Group’s position on the follow-up to the Russian aggression in Ukraine

The Żabka Group’s position on the follow-up to the Russian aggression in Ukraine

We are fully in solidarity with the Ukrainian community. Many Ukrainian citizens are our employees, franchisees or their associates and we have immediately declared our readiness to provide the necessary assistance. We are taking action to provide support to those personally affected by these events.

We inform that we have taken, among others, the following steps:

Commitment to direct institutional support and actions taken with partners

• In total, we have donated nearly 525 tons of food and necessary hygiene products in cooperation with partners including: Podkarpackie Voivodeship Office, Lublin Voivodeship Office, Polish-Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce, Polish Red Cross. Our help has reached, among others, such places as: the crisis headquarters of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship Office in Korczowa, the border crossings of Hrebenne-Rawa Ruska, Dolhobyczów-Uhryniw, Zosin and Dorohusk, as well as the railway stations in Przemyśl and Warsaw. We have also sent assistance to the civilian population in Ukraine, which will be delivered to Lutsk, Kiev and Dnieper.
• We have earmarked funds to support the Polish Red Cross and the Polish Center for International Aid Foundation. In addition, from March 3 our customers have the opportunity to safely transfer donations through cashless payments when visiting the Żabka stores. You can indicate the amount you choose (the minimum amount is not specified) and you do not have to shop in the stores. The funds collected in this way will be transferred to the Polish Humanitarian Action and the Polish Red Cross.
• In line with the Żabka Group’s Responsibility Strategy and in response to numerous appeals from aid organizations, we have decided to launch an employee volunteering program related to Russian aggression in Ukraine. Under this scheme, every worker will be entitled to 8 hours a month for volunteering during working hours. Employees will be able, among others, to work for the foundations cooperating with us, as well as help in the support and coordination of the collection of gifts in the building of the Headquarters of our company.
• We have created the praca.zabka.pl platform, through which any Ukrainian citizen interested in finding a job will be able to fill in the application form or respond to the advertisement placed on the website. Call Center will handle the calls and conduct an in-depth interview and will offer candidates the best matching job offers. The platform will allow them to find a job in the following areas: Logistics Centers (mixer position, cleaning work, transport), Żabka stores (shop assistant, stocking shelves, cleaning work).
• Due to the current situation, economic instruments are becoming a key means for the international community to oppose Russian aggression against Ukraine. With this in mind, we have decided to suspend the procurement of products originating in the Russian Federation and Belarus. As a result, marketing communications related to these products will also be withdrawn.
• On March 13, a special cargo train with humanitarian aid for the civilian population was sent to Kyiv by Żabka Group and our investors – CVC Capital Partners and Partners Group. It contains 60 tons of long-shelf-life food, water, and essential hygiene products. The humanitarian train was organized in cooperation with the Warsaw City Council, which provided transport to Ukraine, and the owners of Żabka covered the costs of the transferred goods.
• Our franchisees from Przemyśl, Hrubieszów, Oleszyce, Ustrzyki Dolne, Tomaszów Lubelski give out warm drinks and snacks in their stores. In other cities, franchisees organize fundraisers and deliver goods in their own cars to the border.
• Within the Polish Trade and Distribution Organization, we have taken action to facilitate work permits for Ukrainian citizens and their residence in Poland.
• We have joined more than 250 organizations that have pledged their support under the ‘Tech To The Rescue’ initiative. The Żabka Future team, the business unit responsible for innovation and technology, expressed its readiness to provide pro-bono technological support to Ukrainian NGOs.
• As a signatory to the Charter of Diversity, we supported the position of the Responsible Business Forum on the war in Ukraine.
• We cooperate with the Poznań International Fair and Poznań University of Technology, where reception points have been organized, to which we supply food for Ukrainian citizens arriving there.
• Since March 9, users of our Żappka app had the opportunity to convert the loyalty points collected during purchases, so-called żapps, into charity bricks. The total amount of bricks donated by the customers will be credited to the accounts of organizations carrying out humanitarian operations related to the war in Ukraine. The action took place till March 22.
• As Żabka, we organized our first aid to Ukraine 12 hours after the outbreak of the war.

Actions towards employees of Żabka, employees of logistics centers and franchisees

• In agreement with the Polish Red Cross and the Polish Humanitarian Action, we decided to organize the collection of necessary articles, including dressings, hygienic articles, cosmetics, cleaning agents, blankets and sleeping bags. The collection takes place on the premises of our logistics centers from March 2 to the end of the week.
• We have decided to finance the rental of apartments for the families of our employees, co-workers and franchisees who bring families to Poland. We organize transport for families of workers from the border to places of stay in Poland. We will also subsidize the costs of renting apartments for refugees from Ukraine. So far we have arranged accommodation for almost 350 people.
• We have established consultancy points in the logistics centers, which serve the employees of Żabka, the employees of the mixing and transport companies and franchisees. The aim of the points is to provide information about the support offered by Żabka in the scope of, among others psychological and legal assistance, logistical and in-kind support in transporting people from the Polish-Ukrainian border, searching for and financing housing and obtaining information on the needs of people requiring support, both in terms of knowledge and specific material, legal or logistical assistance.
• As a result of the considerable interest in legal support, we have launched a special legal helpline. The hotline handles only issues related to the situation in Ukraine and is intended for employees, co-workers and franchisees as well as employees of the Żabka stores.
• At the same time, we provide psychological support to all franchisees and sellers in need. We have also been involved in the search for psychologists who could help families on the ground.
• We are constantly helping with the transportation of families of our employees, co-workers and franchisees from the border.
• We have provided our employees with an internal platform where all interested parties can submit their offers of assistance, donations or signal the need for support for a family from Ukraine. In the specially launched “HelpMY” application there is a list of all submitted applications and the possibility to add own offers or demands.