EDP joins forces with customers and employees to donate 3,000 Christmas hampers to families in need
For each hamper purchased by EDP Comercial customers or the Group's employees, the company will donate a second hamper. Customers will also be able to choose the charities that will benefit from energy improvement works.
EDP Comercial is challenging customers to join forces with the company and give families in need a happier, fuller Christmas. Through Planeta Zero, which has been rolled out on the Zero app,you can now sign up to donate Christmas food hampers to families supported by Associação Movimento Defesa da Vida (MDV) and ENTRAJUDA. EDP customers will be able to choose the family they want to support and, if they so wish, find out the age of the children to customize their gift and add toys or other presents. For each hamper, EDP Comercial will donate another one to support even more families. When delivering their donation at one of the various MDV chapters, customers will earn Zs - i.e. Generation Zero points - which will grant them exclusive offers and discounts on sustainable partners, with new offers every week.
This is one of the Christmas initiatives included in the recent Zero app, which in less than three months has already been downloaded by 250,000 people, and which aims to be Portugal's leading sustainability program. Starting in early December and extending for four weeks, Planeta Zero users will also be able to choose the private charities (IPSS) that will benefit from energy improvement works, worth €8,000 each. To do this, they must vote for one of the three charities featured every week. The organization with the most weekly votes will benefit from several energy improvements, including air conditioning, replacement of windows, replacement of lighting systems with efficient alternatives, and other changes deemed necessary. With this challenge EDP Comercial aims to improve the housing conditions of such institutions, knowing that according to estimates, energy poverty still affects the homes of two million people in Portugal.
Maintaining the link between sustainability and social work, EDP Comercial has also joined Pinheiro Bombeiro, which is pledging €5 toward the purchase of fire protection material. This Christmas, for every customer who rents a Christmas tree with a code generated through the Zero app, another tree will be donated to charities scattered across the country, thus lighting up the holiday season of elderly people in need and children without a family.
All these initiatives are featured on Planeta Zero, which over the coming weeks will also offer free season-themed workshops and Christmas-related tips and challenges focusing on sustainability and the circular economy to make this holiday season greener and less wasteful. New discounts will also be made available to local producers and partners promoting circular economy practices.
EDP's volunteering program will also prepare hampers for families in need and sleeping bags for homeless people
Every year EDP rolls out a Christmas volunteering campaign for its employees, who have helped numerous causes over the past few years.
In 2020 the pandemic worsened some of the existing societal discrepancies and affected the livelihood of many families, making access to essential goods one of the priorities in the current social emergency. EDP will thus encourage company employees to offer Christmas hampers with food. In partnership with ENTRAJUDA, these hampers will be distributed to families in need, which have already been identified in Mainland Portugal's 18 administrative regions. For each hamper gifted by employees, EDP will donate another hamper.
Another initiative included in this campaign focuses on delivering sleeping bags to those who need it most. With this initiative EDP aims to help more than 1,700 homeless people supported by six CASA (Homeless Support Center) chapters.
