Sustainability Report 2023

Organisation profile

We are the largest retail chain and the largest Polish employer, present in the market for almost 30 years now. Our offer includes high-quality products at affordable prices, which are chosen by over five million customers every day. In addition to more than 3,500 stores, our company has 17 distribution centers and a soup factory. 2023 saw an 22, 3% increase in sales, whereas our sales revenue amounted to PLN 93,320 milion. For many years, we have also been one of the largest CIT taxpayers among retail chains. In 2023, we supported the Polish economy with the amount of PLN 1,057,526,998.

In Poland, our grid is divided into three macroregions – Eastern, Western and Southern– supervised by Operations Directors. There are 17 distribution centres operating in the macroregions, responsible for organising and executing deliveries to all our stores. We also own “Z Naszej Kuchni” soup factory, which operates in Brwinów near Warsaw.

Governance

In 2023, the Board of Directors of Jerónimo Martins Polska S.A. was composed by the following members:

• Pedro Soares dos Santos – CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors,
• Luis Araujo – Chief Executive Officer,
• Manuela Barros – Chief Financial Officer,
• Marcin Ładak – Chief Legal Officer,
• Maciej Łukowski – CEO of Jeronimo Martins Slovensko, s. r. o.,
• Jarosław Sobczyk – Chief People Officer,
• Paweł Stolecki – Chief Operations Officer.

Composition of the Jerónimo Martins Polska S.A. Supervisory Board as of 31 December 2023:

• António Pereira – Director of Jerónimo Martins Group’s controlling department and Head of Finance Transformation,
• Sławomir Łuczak – Partner, legal counsel at SK&S Law Firm,
• Madalena Mena – Finance Operations Director.

One of the important elements of the management structure is the Managing Committee, which implements strategic plans developed by the Board of Directors and makes operational decisions on an ongoing basis. It is composed of directors of the company’s key departments, which enables effective implementation of the strategy at all levels of the organization.

Supervision of the internal and risk management control systems is exercised by the Internal Audit Department, which reports directly to the Jerónimo Martins Group’s Audit Committee.

Biedronka also has a Sustainability Committee, which oversees the implementation of the chain's sustainable development strategy, and an Environmental Protection Committee, responsible for supervising environmental activities.

Risk management

The risk management system adopted at Biedronka is based on a continuous risk assessment process, which is an integral part of the decision-making and management procedure. This process is in line with the ISO 31000 international standard’s recommendations.

We prepare an overall risk profile that includes all relevant operational and strategic risks, with mitigation and control mechanisms implemented accordingly. This list is regularly updated with information from ongoing risk assessment processes. Our approach and process is described in detail in the Group’s Risk Management Policy.

Last year, we also revised the list of risks to include sustainability and ESG elements in more detail. We are also separately conducting an analysis of major climate risks and opportunities related to the origin of raw materials and exposure to physical climate risks, as well as the transition to a low-carbon economy, as recommended by the TCFD.

We write more about climate risks and our approach to managing them in the “Respecting the environment” section.

Ethics and compliance

We take care to ensure the respect for human rights, as contemplated in international documents such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Fundamental Conventions of the International Labour Organization, or the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and European regulatory mechanisms such as the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

Approach to sustainable development

The sustainability strategy is at the core of our everyday business. In order to best identify the impact that Biedronka has on the environment, society and the economy (positive or negative) and to prepare for the requirements of the EU Sustainability Reporting Directive in line with the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) in 2023, we conducted for the first time a comprehensive double materiality analysis for the entire Biedronka value chain.

At the Jerónimo Martins Group and Biedronka level, our Sustainability Strategy is established on a triennial cycle.

In 2019, Biedronka developed its Sustainability Committee, similarly to all other Jerónimo Martins’ business units, with the objective of implementing the company’s sustainability strategic plans. The committee, coordinates internal exchange of information, serves as a source of inspiration and monitors the implementation of the strategy.

Membership of organisations and associations

We exchange experiences and information concerning best practices with members of associations to which we belong. Among others, we are members of the following organizations and initiatives:

Responsible business model

Inputs

Outputs