Our activity is closely linked to biodiversity and ecosystem services. Our expertise in fresh food, that is, selling meat, fish, fruit and vegetables, among other perishable products, has a direct impact on ecological systems, on which they also depend.
The operational strategies and policies we follow with various stakeholders reflect our continuous effort to map and mitigate these impacts.
With consumers and the general public, and in partnership with research centres and/or non-governmental organisations, we implement awareness campaigns and projects for the conservation of the ecosystems, habitats and species on which our activities depend and/or that are impacted by them.
In our operations, we contribute to the protection of wild fish, introduce products with a better environmental and social profile, and implement sustainable practices in the production of beef, milk and aquaculture.
We promote awareness and monitoring initiatives in partnership with suppliers. Some examples are the good agricultural practices among our fruit and vegetable suppliers that we have been promoting in Portugal since 2013 and the creation of the Sustainable Agriculture Handbook to help farmers calculate the sustainability index of their farms.
Find out more about some of the initiatives we take part in.
In 2023, we invested more than 610 thousand euros in projects focused on restoring natural habitats, protecting biodiversity and raising environmental awareness in Portugal, Poland and Colombia.
Pingo Doce is the official sponsor of the Lisbon Oceanarium, supporting and contributing to the activities carried out by the Oceanarium since 2003.
Associação Natureza Portugal (ANP – Portuguese Nature Association) in association with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
Jerónimo Martins has supported this project since 2013, helping to get certification (FSC®) for 30,000 hectares of cork wood forest, including a High Conservation Value Area of 803 hectares.
Quercus
Jerónimo Martins has supported this initiative since 2014, which carries out awareness campaigns on the conservation of pollinators and biodiversity at schools. The SOS pollinators website was also launched. The project also distributes the Family Beekeeping Manual to local entities, farmers, beekeepers and technicians.
Liga para a Proteção da Natureza (LPN – Portuguese League for Nature Protection) – Portugal
Supported since 2011 by Pingo Doce, the ECOs-Locais project encourages active citizenship in the protection of the environment. In 2023, the initiatives focused on forest, soil and biodiversity related themes Pingo Doce has also endorsed the cleaning of beaches and surrounding areas since 2018.
European Blue Flag Association (ABAE) – Portugal
Pingo Doce has supported ABAE since 2021 under the “Amar o Mar” programme. In 2023, 108 beach cleaning actions were carried out, with the participation of around 65,000 students.
Liga Meo Surf – Portugal
As part of the ‘Amar o Mar’ programme, actions were carried out at three rounds of the Portuguese surf league. More than 300 children took part and around 25kg of marine waste was collected.
Czysta Polska (Clean Poland) Association – Poland
Biedronka supports this association in two strands: the clean-up of the Tatra Mountains (ongoing since 2019), which saw over 330 kg of waste collected in 2023, and whose environmental education activities involved 2,200 volunteers; and the clean-up of beaches on the Baltic Sea, which has been supported since 2021 and in 2023 involved the collection of 610 kg of waste and 800 volunteers.
Salamander – Polish Society for Nature Conservation
This project started in 2021, supported by Biedronka, and was implemented in cooperation with environmental organisations specialised in the protection of six endangered species: wolf, lynx, European bison, dolphin, Eurasian pygmy owl, and European hedgehog. Two initiatives stood out in 2023: the purchase of equipment to save hedgehogs in coalition rehabilitation centres, and support for the development of the Polish Red List website.
Lisbon Zoo
Since 2022 that Pingo Doce has been the sponsor of Pingo, one of the Cape Penguins at the Lisbon Zoo, covering all its expenses. Between 2015 and 2022, the same support was provided to the ring-tailed lemur.
Protecting Macaws (ProAves) and Bees (Fundabejaz)
Supported by Ara since 2019, the ProAves project protects five macaw species in the Tití Cabeciblanco nature reserve and holds awareness campaigns in Antioquia. Since 2021, Ara also supports Fundabejaz, which aims to protect and save bees and raise awareness of their importance in ecosystems. Sugar is also donated as a food source for rescued swarms.
Reforestation of the Açor mountain range
In 2020, together with the Arganil City Council, the Coimbra School of Agriculture and the associations of common landowners, we launched this initiative aiming at preserving and enhancing the landscape devastated by forest fires. The project has already ensured the planting of 697,000 trees in the Açor mountain range protected landscape area.