Good practice WAWEL. HEART ON THE SLEEVE

By acting in a socially and efficiently involved way and combining tradition with modernity, we set our own path that we consistently follow – such is the corporate mission implemented by the representatives of Wawel SA, one of the oldest factories producing sweets in Poland. And these are not empty words, as the company with admirable dedication carries out social campaigns and promotes pro-environmental ideas as part of corporate social responsibility and its current strategy expressed in the slogan “you feel good, you do good”.

Wawel focuses primarily on a good and tasty product. In order to achieve it, it has initiated the “Good Ingredients” (“Dobre składniki”) project, which aims at proving that sweets can be products with a friendly and simple composition, even if they are produced on a large scale. This comes down to not only activities to improve the quality of sweets by using natural flavours and plant concentrates instead of dyes or lecithins from certified non-GMO soybeans, but also an information campaign with experts in the field of nutrition and product quality. And so, Wawel’s offer includes, among others, chocolate without palm oil, unnecessary aromas and artificial emulsifier E476 (polyglycerol polyricinoleate), today often found in other products of this type, as well as jelly coloured with plant extracts. In order to legitimize the “Good Ingredients” project, Wawel set up the Council of Experts – an independent body that brings together scientists representing renowned Polish universities. The group members support Wawel’s every day work on continuous development of recipes, as well as spread reliable and trustworthy knowledge on the used resources. The so-called product label is more and more important for today’s consumer.

The idea of charitableness constitutes an integral part of Wawel corporate social responsibility. – We believe that everyone is good on the inside and only waits to show it – say members of the “Wawel z Rodziną” Foundation operating since 2008, which carries out charity activities on behalf of the company. – The heart of the charitable practices of Wawel is the social-loyalty programme called “The Growing Heart” (“Serce Rośnie”) (the first edition was run under the name “For love of joy” (“Z miłości do radości”), where Wawel teaches Poles sensitivity towards the environment and proves that it is possible to help wisely every day. As part of the programme, consumers, through an especially dedicated website sercerosnie.com.pl, registered codes from packages with a heart logo, received nice prizes, and most importantly, could support one of five charity organizations that took part in the programme. As part of the two editions of the program and thanks to the involvement of consumers, Wawel donated PLN 2,600,000 to charity. However, this is not the end of the brand’s charitable practices. The “Wawel z Rodziną” Foundation has been supporting children’s homes across Poland for 11 years. As part of the campaign “Sweet Children’s Day” (“Słodki Dzień Dziecka”) and “Become an assistant of Santa Claus” (“Zostań pomocnikiem św. Mikołaja”), the Foundation has already donated over 128 tons of sweets. In 2018, the “Good from Childhood” (“Dobro od dziecka”) programme addressed to community centres was launched. Its aim is to teach children what good is, and motivate them to do good deeds in their local communities.

Wawel production plant is located in Dobczyce, over 30 kilometres from Kraków. For most employees, this means daily commuting. Many use a special bus line organized by the employer, while some commute by passenger cars. In order to meet the ecological trends, the company initiated a carpooling programme, i.e. the possibility of travelling together to and from the workplace. Employees report their routes as drivers or register seats as passengers. Thanks to this, employees can organize shared commuting, thus reducing transport costs and air pollution. For the most active participants of the programme, Wawel provides monthly prizes. From the beginning of the project, employees have organized almost 16,000 trips and travelled over 500,000 km in total!