Mercadona, a physical supermarket and online sales company, is participating in the Great Food Collection 2022, organized by the Spanish Federation of Food Banks (FESBAL) from 25 November to 6 December. The company opens its sales points to fundraising campaigns in order to ensure the participation of its customers in this great solidarity event organized every year in favor of Food Banks.
A total of 1,623 Mercadona stores from all over Spain participate, 97 of which are from Alicante. Also, as is customary, cooperation in the Great Collection is done through monetary donations in multiples of €1 that customers can make at check-out at the time of purchase. Donated amounts will be converted into food for delivery to each of the participating Food Banks, who will decide exactly what type of food they need, as well as the amount and time of delivery. Boxed donation allows donations to be tailored to the actual needs of each food bank’s final beneficiaries and is much more efficient.
Mercadona donations in 2022 So far this year, the company has donated 18,800 tons of food and essentials to soup kitchens, food banks and other social organizations in Spain and Portugal. This donation from the entire chain at the end of October is equivalent to 313,300 shopping carts. Mercadona collaborates with more than 400 soup kitchens, more than 60 food banks and other organizations that receive daily donations to support people in distress. A sustainable social action policy integrated into Mercadona’s CSR strategy.
One of the commitments Mercadona maintains with the community is to share some of what it receives from the community. For this purpose, a Social Responsibility Plan has been developed that addresses the social and ethical component through different sustainable lines of action that strengthen the company’s commitment to shared growth.
In addition to food donations, Mercadona collaborates with 32 foundations and vocational centers to decorate its stores with trencadis murals created by more than 1,000 mentally handicapped people.
Another strategic line of the Social Responsibility Plan is sustainability. To this end, it has its own Environmental Management System, based on circular economy principles and focusing on logistics optimization, energy efficiency, waste management, sustainable production and plastic reduction.
In this sense, Mercadona, together with its suppliers Totaler, is working on Strategy 6.25 to achieve a triple goal by 2025: to reduce plastic by 25%, to make all packaging made from this material recyclable and to recycle all plastic waste. He is also working on improving the air quality in our cities through the Sustainable Urban Distribution Project and trucks and vans powered by cleaner and more efficient technologies.
Since 2011, it has been a member of the United Nations Global Compact for the defense of core values in the fields of human rights, labor standards, environment and anti-corruption.