Employees are persons employed under an employment contract. The Group distinguishes main categories of roles, taking into account the specificity of tasks: administration/office workers and line workers (production, warehouse, laboratory). Dialogue with them is conducted on a regular basis, both directly resulting from the nature of their work and accommodated to a specific category of stakeholders. Such communication channels include an internal magazine, newsletter, intranet, information screens on plant premises, posters and contact through workers’ representatives selected by the team, Employer Branding activities, regular satisfaction and opinion surveys (eNPS) and training. An additional group are potential employees with whom the undertaking contacts through job portals and its own job offer website: kariera.sniezka.pl.
Stakeholders
The list of stakeholder categories was reviewed and updated as part of the development of the Group’s value chain for this report. Śnieżka Group companies communicate with each stakeholder group using channels tailored to their needs and expectations.
[SBM-2]
This issue is regulated by the parent company in the Information Policy of FFiL Śnieżka SA. The feedback obtained during the dialogue is treated as one of the ways of verifying the activities undertaken in the Śnieżka Group.
Key stakeholders of the Śnieżka Group
| Stakeholders affected by the Group | Users of sustainability statements | |
| Primary users | Other users | |
| Employees | Investors | Industrial undertakings |
| Suppliers* | Regulators | Competition |
| Subcontractors* | Administrative units | Media |
| B2B customers* | Banks | |
| Consumers | ||
| Local communities | ||
All stakeholders have access to the Śnieżka website (sniezkagroup.com), where ESG reports (including Sustainability Reporting) and other ESG-related documents are posted. The stakeholder research described in the Double Materiality Assessment section of this chapter was integrated into the due diligence process. The Group does not intend to conduct a similar survey more often than once every 3 years, as it maintains on-going communication with each stakeholder, in line with their needs and expectations.
The Śnieżka Group liaises with suppliers of direct products (raw materials, packaging, labels, stickers, auxiliary packaging) and indirect products (purchase of services and products such as technical and advertising materials and commercial goods).
Dialogue with them is conducted primarily by establishing and maintaining relationships, including long-term ones. As part of this cooperation, they are familiarized with the Group’s regulations – they receive documents defining the ethical foundations of cooperation with the Śnieżka Group, such as the Supplier’s Code of Conduct (requirement for suppliers to declare compliance of their activities with the document, verified by self-assessment).
The Group communicates with suppliers and subcontractors, i.e., through regular meetings, announced tenders, participation in conferences and industry events, as well as through opinion surveys.
Buyers of the Group’s products for the purpose of retail resale. Customer relations are maintained by the field sales team and through the Customer Service Office portal (bok.sniezka.pl) operated by the internal Sales Support Centre and supported by mailing. Śnieżka ToC has a market research team (Customer Intelligence) that provides support for the entire Group. The experts employed there are responsible for monitoring the needs, attitudes and behaviours of B2B and B2C partners and market trends in this area and, in cooperation with other departments, support the process of creating a value proposition for the Group’s customers. The team prepares also the so-called insights, i.e. information packages on the needs of selected target groups. These materials are used to build strategic competitive advantage for products.
Users of Śnieżka products who purchase them from the Group’s B2B customers and directly from the Group through its Dekoratorium portal or the external Allegro portal. Dialogue with them is held on many levels. These include marketing materials, both online and in-store. The Śnieżka ToC team regularly conducts market research, including in the field of the image of individual brands, as well as the feedback and expectations of selected groups of business partners.
The Group has a hotline dedicated to consumers, through which they can obtain information and advice on the use and application of products. The complaints process is handled through the Warranty Service Centre.
In 2024, an extensive consumer satisfaction and preference survey was also conducted, described in the Double Materiality Assessment section of this chapter.
These include primarily the municipalities where production facilities and company headquarters are located, as well as the communities living in the above-mentioned areas, including company employees. The Group establishes a dialogue with local communities through meetings with their representatives and opinion surveys. Dialogue is also carried out in connection with the activities of the Śnieżka Foundation and its projects supporting schools (mainly local ones) and hospitals (throughout Poland).
The organization’s priority in conducting investor relations is transparency, ensuring equal access to information. An important communication medium for investors are annual meetings and reports, statements and presentations published on the Śnieżka website. This topic is covered in more detail in the operational and financial part of this Management Report.
Polish and foreign legislators are the recipients of all reports developed and published by the Group and its individual companies.
These include, inter alia, municipal and province offices in the areas where the Group conducts production activities. Communication with them usually takes place in writing/email, e.g. in the case of investments carried out in a given region.
They provide the Group with financing by granting loans and primarily in this context the Group provides information to the banks directly (via telephone/email contact and during meetings). They may also obtain data about the company from the Group’s website.
The Śnieżka Group supports the implementation of sustainable development goals through membership in organizations, including in the area of sustainable development. In 2024 the parent company was a member of: Polish Association of Paint and Adhesive Producers, Polish Plastic Pact and Polish ESG Association. Śnieżka is actively engaged in dialogue with these organizations.
Entities offering similar product categories to the Śnieżka Group (primarily paints and varnishes) are recipients of sustainability statements, but the Group does not conduct direct dialogue with them. The exception is the involvement of industrial undertakings in the activities of the same entities as competitors (Polish Association of Paint and Adhesive Producers).
Communication with them takes place through multiple channels in order to convey the most important information about Śnieżka’s activities: with their representatives on a regular basis (through the press office and directly) and during regular briefings and meetings organised to present the Group’s performance, as well as taking advantage of social media and the Group’s website.
The Group’s stakeholders (including employees, people carrying out work in the value chain, affected communities and consumers), as well as their views, interests and work, have not had an impact on the existing business strategy and business model. However, since dialogue with them was part of the organisation’s activities from the very beginning, the factors mentioned above influenced the shape of the strategy and business model.
The Management Board actively participates in designing and receiving conclusions from activities carried out as part of the dialogue with the Group’s stakeholders. The Supervisory Board (the Audit Committee within the Supervisory Board) is periodically informed about data obtained from stakeholders.