35 million lei: Lidl Romania’s investment in the development of local communities, from March 1, 2021 – February 28, 2022

Under the umbrella of For a better future, in the financial year 2021 (March 1, 2021 – February 28, 2022), Lidl Romania has invested over 35 million lei for the sustainable development of Romanian society.

The retailer supports strategic programs in four areas of social responsibility: education, environmental protection, emergency services and strategic programs for community development – aligned with the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. The company has supported more than 90 NGOs with programs that address acute needs identified in local communities, from increasing the quality of education in disadvantaged backgrounds and improving teachers at the national level, to education for environmental protection and combating plastic pollution. of nature. Lidl Romania also continued its long-term commitments in the financial year 2021, by supporting civil society partners and jointly developed programs, which aim to contribute to solving or improving some neuralgic points identified in society, closely related to the four strategic directions of social responsibility of the company: education, environmental protection, emergency services and strategic programs for community development. In the financial year 2021, the company invested over 35 million lei and supported over 90 NGOs that through their activities and programs have an impact at the national level.

“For a better future is the motto and vision that guides us in our strategy of social responsibility, and the fact that another year has passed in which we see how together with our partners in civil society we have taken some important steps in achieving good which we want for future generations confirms to us that our deeds have had the positive impact we have set ourselves. We want responsibility to become a way of thinking and acting for each of us, because there are still many challenges to be solved in our society, but we know that we have with us people who continue to believe in the power of concrete facts. for which we thank them “, said Cristina Hanganu, Director of Communication and CSR Lidl Romania.

Environmental protection – over 13.6 million lei in order to combat and prevent plastic pollution and reduce food waste In order to support the fight against and prevention of plastic pollution, Lidl Romania has invested over 11.7 million lei in programs developed together with the civil society, an amount that materialized in 2021 in:

• The ASAP (Army of Careful Selection of Plastic) program, for the separate collection of recyclable waste, was implemented in 15 county seat municipalities in the country and in 4 sectors in Bucharest (sectors 1, 2, 3 and 6). Nearly 550,000 students benefit from the selective collection system from nearly 1,000 enrolled schools nationwide. The project is in a permanent expansion and aims to reach all county residences in the next school year;

• Over 44 tons of waste were collected from the waters of the Danube and its tributaries, with the help of 3,400 volunteers, and another 16 tons of waste were collected through 4 floating barriers installed on the rivers Cerna, Jiu, Olt and Buzau , contributing to the fight against plastic pollution, since the beginning of the Clean Water program in 2019. At the same time, under the Clean Water grant, Lidl Romania has funded another 15 initiatives of some NGOs, in order to start local programs to combat and plastic pollution prevention.

• Through the activities of the Zero Plastic Patrol, coordinated by the WWF (World Wildlife Fund), the volunteers managed to cover over 1500 kilometers in the Danube Delta and collect over a ton of plastic. At the same time, the Patrol managed to increase the level of information and education of the communities and tourists regarding the ecological danger of the plastic.

In order to reduce food waste, in the financial year 2021, Lidl Romania contributed over 1.8 million lei, supporting both financially and through product donations the development of the national network of Food Banks. Currently, there are Food Banks in Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Roman, Brașov, Oradea, Timișoara, Constanța, Craiova and Galați. Education – Lidl Romania supported 6 strategic partners with over 10 million lei

• Along with the Step by Step Center, the promotion of the concept of early education and the benefits it brings in the development of children, and therefore of society, was continued. Thus, over 2,350 teachers participated in training courses in the methodology of the educational alternative Step by Step and over 1,500 professionals participated in training courses and exchanges of good practices conducted online to increase skills;

• In the strategic partnership with Teach for Romania, the retailer supported the organization for the opening of its first regional office in the country, based in Iasi, which serves the area of ​​Moldova, one of the most disadvantaged regions in Romania, from the perspective of access to quality education for many children. The objectives of Teach for Romania aim at recruiting a larger number of teachers at the local level, who will be trained and supported by the members of the regional office team, in order to be able to teach in vulnerable communities in the area of ​​Moldova;

• In addition to the annual support of the Bread and Tomorrow program, the retailer donated to World Vision Romania, with the help of its customers, the amount of 820,000 lei, for the extension and digitization of the program. It was nominated in 2021 by the National Authority for the Rights of the Child and Adoption, as an example of good practice at the national level, for the proposed model of intervention on providing socio-educational services to vulnerable children in rural areas;

• 712 school principals from all over the country benefited from the training program organized by the Association of Values ​​in Education, for the positions of principals of kindergartens, schools and high schools. 700 business specialists worked with the team of the Academy of Leadership and School Management to support school principals in this endeavor;

• At the same time, together with the Leaders Foundation, the retailer encouraged over 1,000 high school students to discover their vocation, to explore career opportunities, but also to get involved in community activities.

Lidl Romania supported with over 2.7 million lei the development of the emergency services infrastructure, for the acquisition of:

• 6 urban intervention motorcycles, equipped with all the medical devices necessary for the extremely fast provision of first aid, which serve the counties of Mureș, Sibiu and Oradea;

• An ambulance specially designed for pediatric use, for the “Grigore Alexandrescu” Emergency Clinical Hospital for Children, following the call for solidarity launched by Save the Children Romania;

• A multifunctional release from the SMURD Bucharest helicopter;

• The set of tents within the Advanced Medical Station equipped with the Vehicle for Intervention in Collective Accidents and Disasters belonging to ISU Iași; In addition, in the financial year 2021, Lidl Romania continued to support the Ready Bucharest program, which funded four information and education projects on seismic risk and earthquake preparedness for residents of Bucharest and Ilfov, first aid and / or training courses for earthquake in kindergartens, schools, high schools, colleges and increasing the capacity for post-earthquake intervention. Since the launch of the program, 3,000 people have taken first aid courses, 13,000 students and teachers have been trained in earthquake preparedness, 17 search and rescue dogs have been certified for debris rescue operations and 200,000 people have been exposed to the message about seismic risk.

Community development through financial support of over 8.5 million lei And in 2021, Lidl continued to support the Fund for a Better Future in Communities program, which provides non-reimbursable micro-grants for community environmental and education initiatives.

The second edition of the program addressed the initiatives from 5 cities: Bacău, Baia Mare, Constanța, Ploiești, Timișoara.

In total, 35 projects in the fields of education and environmental protection were chosen to meet the concrete needs of the communities. Among them are some projects implemented for the first time or which surprised by attractiveness and interest the communities they addressed: the first animated play played and staged by teenagers with scenography from recyclable materials in Bacău, the first project of 3-point composting in Baia Mare and the first “citizens science” project with observation points on the Bega canal in Timișoara.

Lidl Romania continued its strategic partnership with the Embassy of Sustainability and, in 2021, for the first time in Romania, the Sustainability Day was celebrated, on October 27, when it is celebrated globally. On this occasion, the precept study was launched, “How do Romanians imagine that it looks like a sustainable future?”, Which is a starting point for sustainability initiatives and programs that can be developed to meet the Sustainable Development Goals assumed by the United Nations United through the 2030 Agenda. Lidl also supported for the third year the Code for Romania mission to digitize the Romanian society, within a strategic partnership. Within the Civic Labs program, 5 research reports were published and over 50 solutions were developed in the five areas of interest: efficient health services, access to education services, waste management, inclusion for LGBTQ + people, functional town halls.

Out of a desire to be closer to the communities in which it operates and to meet their needs, in 2021, Lidl began to support the projects of the Goodbye Association. With the support of the retailer and the other two strategic partners, 12 projects were implemented nationwide in 21 counties, benefiting 15,000 people in cases related to education, health, social inclusion, poverty alleviation and environmental protection.