Biofarm implements 17 Sustainable Development Goals

1.    No Poverty

The UN warns that simply focusing on finances is not enough to fight poverty effectively. Enterprises wishing to tackle this problem must also focus on education, equal access to services and the fight against social exclusion. Biofarm's activities in this area include concern for the regular increase in the remuneration of our employees, which in 2022 alone amounted to an average of 19.2% for the company's HQ. Our team also has access to private medical care. In addition, we are also constantly involved in the charity initiatives to support people who are affected by poverty.

2.    Zero hunger 

According to the UN guidelines, the world should eliminate the problem of hunger by 2030. Mass waste of food is one of the most important factors increasing inequalities, therefore Biofarm prevents food waste in the company. After team-building events, we donate the leftover food to centers for those in need. The leftovers from company meetings are available in the kitchen for all the employees. Additionally, Biofarm provides fresh fruits for employees in the HQ.

3.     Good health and well-being

Health is the main mission of Biofarm: goal number 3 from the 2030 Agenda is particularly close to us. Although human life expectancy has increased in recent years, society still faces many challenges in the fight for good health. Therefore, with a view to creating better healthcare system and sanitary conditions, Biofarm organized in 2022 the Health Day for the employees, Diabetes Awareness Day in 2021, and also conducts periodic medical check-ups and provides educational materials for the employees. Our employees can also participate  in local runs, thanks to which we encourage them to exercise.

We are also involved in other initiatives that support health and well-being. We helped the TVN Foundation in building the Center for Child and Youth Psychiatry. We have already donated PLN 25,000 for the purpose. We believe that the psychiatric care of the youngest requires special attention and care in our country.

The COVID-19 pandemic negatively influenced the Polish healthcare system, so we supported doctors and pharmacists by providing them with personal protective equipment, and we provided financial donations and medicinal products to hospitals. We have allocated over PLN 3.5 million for this purpose. Every year, we also participate in the activities of the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity (WOŚP), which have a special place in our calendar of corporate initiatives.

4.     Quality education

At Biofarm, we focus on effective education. We attach great importance to the training and development of our employees. We know that each additional workshop or conference helps to create an inspiring work environment. Thanks to additional studies and training, our team includes experts in their fields. First aid workshops are important and organized regularly. Thanks to them, we create a safe work environment.

Moreover, children's education also plays a special role in the area of Biofarm’s ​​social responsibility. In order to arouse interest in math and logic in the children of our employees, we invited the kids to programming workshops that took place at Biofarm. Under the program We support healthy competition, we have been also supporting 41 sport clubs in Poland, which include over 4,000 young players. We believe that sports education promoted among the youngest will improve their health, willingness to learn and keep up the healthy fighting spirit in adulthood.

5.     Gender equality

Eliminating wage inequalities is an obligation and a challenge for any socially responsible business. At Biofarm, the salaries of female and male employees are regularly adjusted to equal levels. We make sure that wages are the same for all people in the same positions and with the same responsibility. Moreover, when organizing the Women's Day, we also do not forget about the Men's Day – during these days we promote preventive health care.

6.    Clean water and sanitation

The UN reports that more than 80% of untreated wastewater still ends up in rivers or seas. Accordingly, one of the most important goals of the 2030 Agenda is to improve water quality by focusing on the removal of pollution. Biofarm has its own effluent pretreatment plant. To minimize the negative impact of sewage on the environment, we use standardization of parameters and oxygenation of waste. The monitoring system of our pretreatment plant is based on GSM technology.

7.    Affordable and clean energy

Radically reducing the level of greenhouse gas emissions is another priority of the 2030 Agenda. As much as 60% of CO2 emissions come from energy alone, which is why at Biofarm we use a hybrid car fleet, and we use photovoltaic panels installed on the roof to power our headquarters. In the common areas, we have installed light sensors so that it only lights up when it is necessary. We also involve all the employees in caring for the environment: we encourage them to share cars when commuting, we organized the Earth Day to emphasize and promote positive behavior for the sake of our planet.

8.    Economic growth and decent work

According to the UN calculations, as many as 470 million vacancies will be needed worldwide in 2016-2030. Biofarm regularly creates new jobs: in 2022 alone, 11 of them were created in the Production Department. By recruiting new employees, we also care about the company's position in the market. We have been present in Poland for over 34 years and we also export our products to 30 countries, in four continents. We constantly raise the salaries. We also do not forget about education: we organize external and internal training for employees to ensure their development.

9.   Innovation, industry, infrastructure

The UN urges all enterprises to join the infrastructure development process, so that they can contribute to the development of industry. The contribution of Biofarm to economic development is innovation. Over 13 years, we have allocated over PLN 100 million to the purchase and use of modern production equipment. Thanks to this equipment and the commitment of our employees, we have created 13 patent applications and developed as much as 80% of our formulations in-house. We are also investing in infrastructure by building a new facility - it will be one of the most state-of-the-art pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Europe. A machine park with renewable energy, an effluent pretreatment plant and other solutions supporting the natural environment will be erected.

10.    Reduced inequalities

Inclusiveness is the domain of the developing world. According to the UN, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, if  achieved, will permanently eliminate economic, social and environmental inequalities. Biofarm wants to contribute by eliminating inequalities on various levels. We have already mentioned equal salary level for men and women holding positions with the same responsibility. In addition, our support for sports clubs is directed to both female and male teams.

11.    Sustainable cities and communities

Currently, 3.5 million people live in cities. Ensuring that these cities are green should be important to socially responsible enterprises. For this reason, Biofarm encourages employees to take care of the surrounding environment. In 2022, we organized the Earth Day and encouraged employees to grow their own herbs. We have not forgotten about the education of the youngest, so we sent cress for self-seeding to children from sports clubs included in the We support healthy competition program. We also planted 14,650 shrubs and trees in the neighboring areas. More details on this action can be found under "Life on land".

12.    Responsible consumption and production

Consumer education is a key activity to achieve responsible consumption and production. Biofarm increases patients' awareness of vitamin D, encourages them to take recommended preventive health care and emphasizes the importance of ensuring a correct level of this vitamin in the body. As we emphasized, education is important to us. This is visible in regular trainings for our medical and pharmaceutical representatives, thanks to which they can provide doctors with the most up-to-date knowledge. In addition, we support medical and pharmaceutical conferences and events to facilitate the access to information for the Polish healthcare system.

13.    Climate action 

This goal calls for urgent action to help prevent climate change and its impacts. To effectively implement this goal, Biofarm decided to use a hybrid car fleet of 160 vehicles. Drivers use the Ecologic app to control speed and monitor driving style to make sure it is eco-friendly. The diesel-powered fleet would emit 964 tons of CO2 per year, while the hybrid fleet emits 808 tons of CO2 per year. This enables annual emissions to be reduced by 16%. Moreover, the use of this application helped our drivers improve their safe driving style and minimize the risk of car accidents.

14.    Life below water

The UN remins that the protection of the oceans, seas and marine resources is necessary as part of the fight for overall environmental well-being. The exploitation of these resources should be taken into account and it should be sustainable. It is worth remembering that the good condition of the oceans is also a key aspect of successfully fighting climate warming: they absorb as much as 30% of CO2 created by human activity. The list of tasks from the 2030 Agenda for the "Life under water" goal includes such challenges as: reducing the level of water pollution, protecting marine and coastal ecosystems or minimizing the effects of ocean acidification.

15.     Life on land 

Each year, the Earth loses as much as 13 million hectares of forests. At the same time, forests are home to 80% of all terrestrial animal, plant and insect species. For Biofarm, caring for the world and Polish natural heritage is extremely important. In order to save life on land, we planted trees and shrubs in the neighboring area. In the years 2000-2004, we planted a total of 14,650 trees and shrubs. These were, among others, Norway spruce, black alder, European ash and wild roses. This is our contribution to the reconstruction of the lost forest areas: in 2010-2015 alone, the Earth lost 3.3 million hectares of forests.

16.    Peace, justice and strong institutions

Strong, supportive institutions are the foundation of an inclusive and thriving society. According to the UN, the creation of a safe and human rights society is one of the greatest challenges of the 2030 Agenda. We know that war deprives all its victims of equal opportunities for development and normal life – therefore, Biofarm has been involved in helping Ukraine since March 2022. As a first step, we took care of our employees from Ukraine. We ensured that we were ready to help them and their families. In addition, we prepared and organized 4 humanitarian transports including, among others, a respirator and an oxygen concentrator, technological equipment and fully equipped, professional first aid kits. The humanitarian transports to Ukraine organized by Biofarm helped to deliver medicines and other basic necessities to people injured by the war: we sent 190,000 packs of medicinal products. We also allocated PLN 1 from the sale of each package of dietary supplements such as: Vigalex D3 + K2, Vigalex Osteo or Ginkofar Vital to support humanitarian activities in Ukraine. We also organized food collections and financial aid.

17.    Partnerships for the goals

Partnership for the goals implies the integration of various stakeholders in order to implement good initiatives. We are also open to all kinds of activities aimed at the good of people. All humanitarian transports for Ukraine were organized in cooperation with other companies, foundations and municipal institutions. They were, among others

• Mayor of the City of Poznań Jacek Jaśkowiak,
• Each Life Foundation, 
• Lions Club Poznań 1990 members, 
• Krzysztof Wegenke – President of Maxfruit, 
• Adam Żegota – Member of the Management Board of Multeafil, 
• Krzysztof Kozanecki and Paweł Słabolepszy – Owners of Product Plus Kozanecki, Słabolepszy
• Wojciech Kruczyński - President of the Management Board and Agata Kluczyńska Secretary of Tri Tour Sports Club.

Thanks to the joint effort, it was possible to achieve even more for those in need.

Social responsibility has been part of Biofarm's mission from the very beginning of the company's existence. For 2 years, we have been trying to base all our activities on the guidelines of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and we encourage our business partners also to follow them. We want our planet to be a safe place for us, but above all for future generations. Because people and their health are our priority.

*More about the Agenda for 2030: sdgs.un.org/goals