1.8.6
Community investment review

Community strategy

  • As one of Russia’s leading food retailers, X5 recognises that its activities have a social impact, and the Company is proud to make a meaningful contribution to society. We believe that genuine engagement with local communities in the areas where we operate, as well as effective dialogue with public authorities of all levels and other stakeholders, represents the best way to maintain our social licence to operate on a sustainable basis.
Success

Policy highlights

  • X5 complies with relevant local and national regulations, frameworks, guidelines, globally applicable standards and best practices at all times.
  • The Company’s senior management team and Board of Directors monitor and regularly review X5’s community investment activity and its performance against set targets.
  • X5 implements its community investment activities in such a way as to facilitate the implementation of national development programmes, contribute to raising living standards and to provide support to vulnerable groups in society.
  • X5’s community investment activities are designed to be focussed and targeted in three key areas: food aid, support for children’s causes and helping those with disabilities.
  • We do not provide financial or other forms of support to non-charitable organisations or activities, nor do we provide financial assistance on an individual basis.
  • X5 does not seek commercial or other benefits from its community investment activities, nor does it undertake such activities as a way of exerting influence over public authorities, political figures, or private companies.

System highlights

  • Oversight of X5’s community investment activities lies with the Company’s Corporate Communications Department.
  • Responsibility for day-to-day implementation of our community investment activities lies with different business units of X5, depending on the specific tasks and responsibilities required.
  • The community investment activities of X5’s individual retail formats are determined jointly between the formats themselves and the Corporate Centre, which provides support and advice on best practices and ensures that all activities are coordinated to create value for all stakeholders.
  • KPIs are determined during the year in conjunction with experienced external consultants as part of the development of the Company’s overall sustainable development programme.
  • We regularly monitor our community relationships and conduct periodic audits and assessments to ensure that our aims are being achieved while meeting the needs of local communities.
  • X5 is committed to regular dialogue with local communities and other stakeholders in our regions of presence, as well as with authorities at all levels to ensure our community investment activities dovetail with local, regional and national priorities.
Success

Activity highlights

Food aid

X5 runs a number of programmes to provide food aid to those in need.

Since 2015, the Company has worked alongside the Rus Food foundation to promote the Basket of Kindness initiative, which encourages customers to buy food to be donated to those in need. In 2017, this initiative was rolled out across more than 800 stores and collected more than 77 tonnes of produce that was provided to more than 6,000 families in need.

In November 2017, the Company launched the Basket of Kindness website, корзинадоброты.рф, to allow customers to donate online and to get more people involved in volunteering activities, as well as providing news about food-banking. In the site’s first two months, more than 30,000 users bought and donated produce online worth a total value of more than RUB 300,000.

In December 2017, X5 took part in a “food marathon” organised in conjunction with the Rus Food Foundation, the Billa and Dixy chains and supported by the Moscow city government. Some 194 Perekrestok stores took part, and the marathon collected more than 30 tonnes of food, which was distributed to over 20,000 elderly people across Russia for New Year’s Eve.

Success

Support for children's causes

X5 works closely with the Life Line Foundation on a number of initiatives to provide support for children in need across Russia. These initiatives include:

  • In-store donation boxes to collect funds to help children with severe health issues. In 2017, more than RUB 14 million was donated through these boxes.
  • Customers of Perekrestok, Pyaterochka and Karusel can buy a “Kindness Candy” at the checkout to donate RUB 5 to Life Line. This initiative collected RUB 7.8 million for children with severe health issues in 2017.
  • Members of the Perekrestok Club loyalty programme can help seriously ill children by donating accumulated bonus points to charitable causes. In 2017, RUB 1.1 million was transferred to the Life Line Foundation in this way, helping to pay for operations for five children.
  • Since 2016, Perekrestok supermarkets have donated RUB 1 from every sale of Bonte-brand wafer biscuits to the Life Line Foundation. In 2017, this raised more than RUB 800,000.
  • Company employees regularly take part in charity fairs that X5 runs with its partners. In 2017, these fairs raised around RUB 300,000 for the Life Line Foundation.

X5 also works with the Connection foundation, which supports people with hearing and visual impairments. In April 2017, the Company launched a new initiative called “Buy a bag, help a child”, which donates a portion of all sales of plastic bags sold at Pyaterochka, Perekrestok and Karusel towards medical treatment and support for children with hearing and visual impairments. In 2017, the initiative raised more than RUB 28 million.

Since January 2017, X5 has been supplying food products for the “Quiet House”, Russia’s first sheltered accommodation for people with hearing and visual impairments, from a Pyaterochka in the town of Troitsk.

Success

Support for vulnerable social groups

X5 supports vulnerable social groups by offering basic food products at affordable prices. For a number of years, we have been offering discounts for elderly customers, and we plan to continue this practice in the future. Pensioners get a 10% discount at Pyaterochka stores on Mondays, and 5% on all other days – the scheme was extended to weekends in 2017. Perekrestok supermarkets offer a 10% discount from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on weekdays, while Karusel hypermarkets offer a 5% discount from opening until 1 p.m.

In 2017, more than 208,000 people made use of the electronic social cards programme launched by the Moscow city government to make purchases at Pyaterochka, Perekrestok and Karusel stores, up from 130,000 in 2016.

Volunteering

X5 encourages its employees to get involved in its community-focussed initiatives.

In 2017, almost 250 of the Company’s employees took part in the Run for Life charity marathon organised by the Life Line Foundation, raising RUB 2.5 million for charitable causes. Last year also saw X5 employees participate in a new Life Line Foundation initiative, a charitable Nordic walk. Almost 100 employees took part, raising more than RUB 600,000.

In November 2017, the Company launched an online platform to encourage volunteering. The platform allows employees to share ideas and their experiences of volunteering, find out about their colleagues’ voluntary activities, organise volunteering activities and provide updates on social hot topics. Almost a thousand unique users have used the platform since it launched.