Almarai realize the important role we can play in creating a positive impact on society by supporting local communities. We have deeply-established and long-running community programs, which we run directly as well as in collaboration with local organizations through education, training and development, investments, charitable donations, sponsorships, and many more. Every year we support over 300 organizations that focus on helping those in need through health, sport, education, sponsorships or other initiatives, and this forms a key pillar of our Doing better every day strategy.
Community investment forms a key part of our Caring For People pillar in our overall sustainability strategy. As such we have developed a strategic community investment framework to ensure there is strategic governance for how Almarai manages its community investments and partnerships. The framework provides a clear guide for our areas of focus: training and development, health, sport, and donations and sponsorships. The framework provides more context and demonstrates how Almarai lives up to its community investment commitments. As part of this work, we conducted an initial analysis of our community investment activities to better understand their impact potential and to structure an approach for assessment. We intend to build off this work to support our ability to measure the outcomes of our initiatives in the coming years.
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We prioritize projects, organizations, events and campaigns that align with our pillars.
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| What we do and how we support |
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We invest in our communities by dedicating resources and working in collaboration with partners across our pillars. Training and DevelopmentWe support projects, organizations and events that develop skills, promote education, reward educational excellence, and empower young people. Our flagship initiatives:
HealthWe support projects, organizations and campaigns that promote healthy eating and lifestyle choices and raise awareness on health issues. Our initiatives include:
SportsWe support projects, organizations and events that promote sports. Our flagship initiatives:
Donation and SponsorshipWe support projects, organizations, events and campaigns dedicated to creating a lasting impact in our communities through both financial and non-financial support. Our flagship initiatives:
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Almarai provides a wide variety of donations throughout the year as part of its social responsibility and its desire to continue its constant support. In 2021 Almarai launched its Charity Support Program within its citizenship initiatives that aim to contribute food to the beneficiary families in need. This initiative comes in partnership with hundreds of charities in various regions of the Kingdom. The program donated around 400,000 free products to the beneficiary societies in 2021, which reach more than 300 institutions annually in various regions in the Kingdom. Many of these charities have been supported by Almarai for many years given our focus on long term sustainable partnerships and often run-in conjunction with a wider awareness event, national platform or supportive network.
Almarai believes we have an active role to play in enhancing the natural environment for the protection of biodiversity and the wellbeing of communities and it is expected that we direct part of our community investments to promote the enhancement of the environmental protection practices, and its effectiveness. In 2021, Almarai provided a donation of 8 million Saudi Riyals to support the national afforestation campaign launched this year by the National Center for Vegetation Cover Development of the Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture. The campaign aims to plant 10 million trees to empower The Kingdom’s vision 2030 by preserving the environment and natural resources. The donation by Almarai had a particular focus on species that are vulnerable or with a high threat of extinction. As a part of the community investment initiatives, Almarai has supported the National Center for Wildlife Development with 3.4 million Saudi riyals in a 10-year partnership to promote and protect the environment and push for better environmental practices to preserve natural habitats and enhance biodiversity.
In 2021, we were proud to support a new program by participating in the voluntary afforestation initiative in King Salman Wilderness Park. The initiative was launched by the Royal Commission of Riyadh City as part of Green Riyadh program. The participation comes in coincidence with the celebration of the Kingdom’s 91st National Day and focuses on protecting and enhancing the local environment.
The donations reflect Almarai’s beliefs in the need to develop natural vegetation cover, reduce the effects of desertification, restore biodiversity in natural environments, and rehabilitate degraded vegetation sites, in addition to promoting positive behaviors to preserve the home environment, protect the ground, and improve quality of life.
The following are the highlights from our 2021 efforts:
Almarai supports the education sector. Almarai has long supported education initiatives including the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation which commenced in 2011. This project supports robust technical and vocational educational training (TVET) programs, such as the Dairy and Food Polytechnic (DFP) to develop the skills of young Saudi Nationals, particularly in the dairy and food Industry. As one of the major industries in Saudi Arabia, the project takes high school graduates and provides training to meet business demand for technically qualified people with dairy and food industry specific skills.
Almarai is also keen to empower the next generation of females through educational opportunities. In 2021, we sponsored the summer camp held by Prince Nora Bint Abdulrahman University, which provides various skill programs for female students to invest their abilities in creating projects to improve health.
The pandemic has affected many of our typical educational activities which include tours of our manufacturing facilities for the public, schools, and families. Typically, we offer free tours to guests who are interested in learning more about our production and manufacturing processes. Tours of our facilities offer an important opportunity to show case our facilities and engage directly with our consumers.
Despite the temporary suspension of these services, we have sought to respond to other educational challenges including supporting the Learn From Your Home initiative which supports students from low-income families. In 2021, Almarai donated 100,000 SAR to buy 500 tablets to benefit students in Al-Kharj, to ensure they can continue learning remotely. In addition, as part of our wider donations program, we supported many educational facilities with donations of products to provide relief.
Almarai realize the important role we can play in supporting health initiatives to ensure people lead longer, healthier lives. We continued to support various health programs including vaccinations for our staff and communities, events and awareness campaigns in 2021. Some of our notable highlights include supporting:
Almarai recognizes the important role that sports play in promoting wellbeing, inclusion, and positive impacts on human health. In 2021, Almarai sponsored multiple sporting activities including:
As a socially responsible business, we support several awards in partnership with other organizations to reward achievement in society. These include:
41.6million SAR spent on CSR projects
Over 300 organizations supported through donations and sponsorships.
Around 400,000 products donated throughout the year.
Sponsored vaccination clinics and awareness campaigns.
| Goal/Target | Progress |
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| Donate 2.5 million healthy servings by 2025 |  |
| Educate 250,000 people through our site visit program by 2025 |  |
| Improve the employability of at least 1,400 young people through the Dairy and Food Polytechnic (DFP) program by 2025 |  |
