Engage Local Communities

Creating durable bonds with the communities by supporting social and economic development.

Avolta is deeply committed to promoting the growth and well-being of local communities across the 70 countries in which it operates, embedding this dedication as a cornerstone of its business approach. By contributing to their development, Avolta fosters strong relationships and generates positive social and economic impacts.

Under the focus area “Engage Local Communities”, Avolta has identified a key area of action and commitment:

Supporting Communities Create connections with the communities we serve and contribute to the growth of local economies

Avolta recognizes that sustainable business practices are inherently linked to the well-being of local communities. With this understanding, the company actively engages in initiatives that drive economic growth, foster social progress, and advance environmental stewardship. As part of this commitment, Avolta sources over 27 % of its products (by COGS) from local suppliers, directly contributing to the economic vitality of the communities where it operates and supporting local enterprises.

Our commitment in supporting local communities globally is expressed by a diverse array of projects, each tailored to address specific needs of local communities. Supporting charitable institutions and causes has been a core part of Avolta’s mission, shaping its growth and evolution since its earliest days, as a way of giving back to society.

In this context, in 2023, the Global Executive Committee approved a new Avolta Community Engagement Strategy, aimed at enhancing the company’s ability to generate meaningful impact across a focused set of social and environmental themes. This strategy identified six priority areas for Avolta’s independent initiatives at both the global and regional level:

Education for disadvantaged children & adolescents
Healthcare support for people with special needs
Support and Training for vulnerable groups
Fight poverty and food insecurity
Clean water and sanitation for communities
Ocean plastic cleaning

To ensure these areas are aligned with the needs of local communities, in 2024, Avolta conducted a comprehensive survey among its team members. This survey, completed by a statistically representative sample of over 2000 team members, confirmed the relevance and validity of the selected areas. The valuable feedback also underlined how Avolta’s Community Engagement Strategy is well-aligned with the needs of local communities and provided a stronger foundation by combining global priorities with the lived experiences of the people closely connected to the communities Avolta serves.

The Avolta Community Engagement Strategy also provides indications and guidelines for both direct and indirect engagements, as well as all those initiatives run in collaboration with concession partners and suppliers at local level.

During 2024, at global, country or location level, we ran over 300 initiatives and supported more than 220 (2023: 150) non-profit organizations, social or humanitarian initiatives and local associations and initiatives, promoting cultural events and causes while actively engaging our staff through volunteer work. In total, Avolta donated over CHF 9.7 million (+8 % vs 2023), of which 24 % through direct donations, 39 % in-kind and 37 % through fundraising.

In 2024, our corporate community initiatives – both at the company and country levels – focused on combating poverty, food insecurity, and social exclusion at the local level. Avolta supported disadvantaged children and their families by expanding access to education and healthcare while providing humanitarian aid to communities affected by natural disasters – such as the floods in Valencia, Spain – and socio-political crises, including those in Ukraine. In some cases, our team members have also been actively involved, by either participating in the selection of the charity initiatives, or through volunteering initiatives.

Stakeholder value allocation
Avolta contributes to the development of the economies in countries where it operates through the payment of fair and competitive salaries, taxes and the purchase of local products and services. As a way of assessing the economic impact of its business, Avolta annually discloses its stakeholder value allocation, which reflects the direct monetary impact of its operations over its main stakeholders. The stakeholder value calculation is based on Avolta’s CORE EBIT plus personnel expenses. It does not comprise values allocated to business stakeholders, such as suppliers or concession partners.

The accrued value allocated reached CHF 3,648 million in fiscal year 2024 (2023: CHF 3,357 million). Out of this amount, CHF 2,749 million (2023: CHF 2,539 million) was allocated to our employees in form of remuneration, retirement benefits, social security payments and other personnel expenses. CHF 134 million (2023: CHF 160 million) were interest expenses as contributions to our bondholders and lending banks. Income taxes to public authorities and communities amounted to CHF 120 million in 2024 (2023: CHF 129 million), in the countries where we operate. The dividend payment, which the Board of Directors is proposing to the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders on May 14, 2025, of CHF 1.00 per registered share amounts to a total of CHF 147 million, and if approved by the AGM, will be paid to shareholders in May 2025.

Additionally, Avolta contributes every year to a comprehensive number of social initiatives, which are described in this Community Engagement section of the report, with the remaining amounts being carried forward.

Supporting Communities

“Create connections with the communities we serve and contribute to the growth of local economies.”

The initiatives and projects described below represent some of the most prominent projects we support. The progress made and the encouraging results of our ongoing support to these initiatives make us feel very proud and is an incentive to strengthen our ties with them.

Health care support for people with special needs

Eugenio Andrades’ Legacy
The Eugenio Andrades’ Legacy is a heartfelt tribute to the life and values of Eugenio Andrades, an esteemed leader at Avolta, a respected figure in our industry, and a passionate advocate for social inclusion. Guided by Eugenio’s wife, Paula Dávila, this initiative embodies Avolta’s commitment to making a meaningful difference by supporting children with neurological disabilities, through projects that promote social inclusion via sports and fund medical care.

Designed as a comprehensive framework, the Eugenio Andrades’ Legacy serves as an umbrella for initiatives that address the diverse needs of children with neurological disabilities. It ensures lasting impact by providing stewardship for selected projects, fostering meaningful and sustained change. The Eugenio Andrades’ Legacy’s journey began in 2024 in Eugenio’s homeland of Spain, with the launch of its first initiatives in collaboration with three non-profit organizations: Fundación Deporte y Desafío, Fundación Cadete, and Fundación Bobath. Each of these programs have been thoughtfully designed to address the physical, emotional, and social needs of children with neurological disabilities.

Fundación Deporte y Desafío: This partnership harnesses the transformative power of sports to promote inclusion and well-being. Adapted sports events, such as hippo-therapy (equine-facilitated physiotherapy) and tennis sessions, along with volunteering days, in which Avolta team members and their families participated, provide children with the joy of participation and the benefits of teamwork, fostering confidence and a sense of community. During 2024, 4 events were organized, involving 68 children and their families, with the support of over 74 volunteers from Avolta’s team in Spain.

Fundación Cadete: By providing financial support, this initiative helps families access specialized therapies and treatments for their children. It enhances children’s development and well-being while emphasizing equitable healthcare and holistic family support. During 2024 Avolta provided 7 grants of 10 months duration to help 7 children (4 children from Avolta employees and 3 from the waiting list of Fundación Cadete) and their families, by providing access to therapies such as physiotherapy, speech therapy, psychomotricity and psychotherapy.

Fundación Bobath: This partnership focuses on meeting the needs of children and young people with cerebral palsy and related pathologies to receive specialized comprehensive treatment. These programs take a holistic approach to help children and young people achieve personal milestones, in a supportive and caring environment. In 2024 Avolta funded a scholarship for a day care center for a young person and financed the construction of a wheelchair for another child and other therapeutic materials.

Support to Children’s Cancer and Leukaemia Group
Children’s Cancer and Leukaemia Group (CCLG), a leading children’s cancer charity, and the UK and Ireland’s professional association for those involved in the treatment and care of children with cancer, is the charity supported by our UK colleagues. A nominated charity is chosen every three years based on the votes of our UK employees, and CCLG is the currently chosen charity partner.

2024 marked the third year of World Duty Free’s support for CCLG and succeeded in exceeding the 3-year target, reaching the £ 215,000 milestone and almost doubling the original target of £ 120,000. This incredible fundraising has been achieved through several sponsorships and events that World Duty Free staff members committed to, including skydiving, sponsored walks, zipwire challenges and bake sales, alongside many other successful initiatives.

With the funds raised, CCLG were able to support further important projects and vital research, a total of 83 new projects since 2022. These included Professor Madhumita’s research project looking into starving brain tumor cells from specific nutrients and proteins as an alternative way of destroying the cancer. If doctors can take away an amino acid that cancer cells rely on, it could kill the cancer cell. And, because healthy cells can make their own amino acids, it shouldn’t affect healthy cells as much and could be a kinder treatment with fewer side effects. Some of the team from World Duty Free had the privilege of attending CCLG’s Research Discover day in Leeds, showcasing some of the research CCLG has funded with World Duty Free’s help.

As the 3-year partnership headed to a close, the World Duty Free teams decided they wanted to continue working with this amazing charity and extended the partnership for a further 3 years until the end of 2027. Childhood cancer research continues to be severely underfunded, and current treatments regimes are often reliant on outdated adult-oriented therapies which aren’t always effective for children’s cancer. Together with CCLG, World Duty Free is helping to make sure that children diagnosed with cancer have access to the kinder, more effective treat-ments and that their families are given reliable, helpful information as soon as their child is diagnosed.

Support to multiple projects in Greece
Hellenic Duty Free Shops implemented various community activities throughout the year, actively engaging team members’ to foster participation and team building. This year’s initiatives included the Non Finish Line Charity Run, and the Run For The Cure with donations to the Together for Children Institution, and Breast Cancer Organizations respectively. Further initiatives included the support of Make-A-Wish Hellas, an organization granting wishes of children with critical illnesses to transform their lives; Galilee Palliative Care Center, which provides palliative medical and nursing care along with psychological, social and spiritual support to patients and their families, as well as the Skytali Hellenic Heart-Lung Transplant Association. Furthermore, Hellenic Duty Free Shops donated to local community in-kind health items such as defribillator and tourniquets.

Education for disadvantaged children and adolescents

SOS Children’s Villages program in Brazil, Mexico and Kenya
Our global collaboration with SOS Children’s Villages started several years ago in 2009 and continued in 2024, fostering the long-standing relationship and benefitting, with all the programs involved, nearly 35.000 people, including infants, young children, teenagers and their families. SOS Children’s Villages works towards keeping families together, provide alternative care when needed, supporting young people on their path to independence, and advocating for the rights of children. With the support of Avolta, SOS Children’s Villages improves the lives of at-risk children and families, enabling a future in the communities where SOS Children’s Villages work. During the longstanding collaboration, Avolta has supported the deployment of education, family and community strengthening programs in several villages in different countries of the world: Igarassu (Brazil), Agadir (Morocco), Battambang (Vietnam), Lavrovo (Russia), Nairobi (Kenya) and Comitan (Mexico).

Captain Dufry – Avolta ́s global charity initiative
Avolta continued extending the reach of its global charity initiative “Captain Dufry”. Launched in 2020, Avolta sells Captain Dufry, a soft toy dog wearing a scarf, goggles and aviator hat, across Avolta stores in over 20 countries. Benefits from this initiative are donated to the global charity, which for the 2021-2024 period is SOS Children ́s Villages. Captain Dufry is available at an accessible price and designed to be an irresistible “feel-good” purchase. This item gives our customers the perfect opportunity to buy a gift that truly makes children feel special – both their loved ones and those in need of support around the world. Beyond the financial objective pursued with Captain Dufry, this initiative also serves to increase awareness amongst Avolta’s customers of SOS Children’s Villages and their activities and this is achieved with accompanying in-store communication and signage to build awareness. Avolta reserves high-visibility spaces across the stores where Captain Dufry is available, including dedicated sales displays and gondolas.

Hudson Round-up program
Since 2008, Hudson has leveraged its extensive presence in airports, commuter hubs, landmarks, and tourist destinations across North America to support Communities in Schools® (CIS), the largest organization in the U.S. dedicated to empowering students in need. CIS connects students with caring adults and community resources, working in more than 3,000 schools nationwide as the leading provider of K-12 school-based integrated support systems.

In 2023 and early 2024, Hudson’s customers raised nearly USD 1.9 million through the company’s in-store round-upfor-charity program to help CIS fulfill its mission of ensuring students succeed in school and life. This record-breaking amount represents the largest single contribution in the 16-year history of Hudson’s partnership with CIS.

Funds raised through Hudson’s efforts are distributed nationally, supporting 26 CIS affiliates in communities where Hudson operates, including cities such as Chicago, Atlanta, Indianapolis, San Antonio, Dallas-Fort Worth, Washington D.C., and Seattle. Contributions to the CIS National Office enhance organizational capacity, strengthen national network support, and expand the integrated student support model into additional schools across the USA.

As CIS’ longest-standing corporate partner and a past recipient of its All In For Students Philanthropic Partner Award, Hudson has helped the organization grow from serving 1.3 million students in 2008, to more than 2 million students today.

Support & Training for vulnerable groups

Brazil – CTA program – empowering the future of needed young people
Since 1995, Avolta has been proudly sponsoring the CTA program, a social promotion program in Rio de Janeiro designed to enhance the skills of young people and improve their employability. In 2024, 20 participants from communities near RioGaleão Airport benefited from this free professional education program. For the first time, with the support of the sponsorship, the initiative expanded to São Paulo Airport, adding 18 students from the local area. The program’s curriculum includes a wide range of subjects, such as English, technology, retail operations, professional guidance, teamwork, leadership, ethics and citizenship, in addition to internship in our stores and administrative areas, and cultural visits around the city.

The program spans eight months of daily classes and is structured into three comprehensive modules (World of Work, Contemporary World and “Extra Muros/Outside the Walls”). It serves students aged 18 to 22 years of age from diverse backgrounds, including different genders, sexual orientations, nationalities and ethnicities. Participants are provided with free meals, uniforms, educational materials, and transportation assistance. Avolta goes beyond education by supporting participants as they take their first steps into professional life. Some graduates join Avolta’s team or find opportunities with other partner companies within the airport environment. For those who do not secure immediate employment, ongoing support is offered to help them identify further educational or career paths.

The CTA program is a source of immense pride among Avolta employees, many of whom actively mentor students. Each year, over 50 volunteers from Avolta and its Brazilian partners contribute their time and expertise. Over its 29-year history, the program has demonstrated remarkable success. Employability rates are consistently high, and since Avolta began its sponsorship, more than 840 young people have benefited from this transformative initiative. Plans are already in place to expand the initiative to additional airports in the near future.

Avolta’s commitment to the CTA program continues to be a cornerstone of its mission, reflecting its dedication to creating lasting opportunities and empowering the next generation.

PizzAut: empowering Employability for autistic individuals in Italy
In 2024, Autogrill partnered with PizzAut Onlus, a local association committed to raising awareness about the employability of autistic individuals and renowned for its pioneering achievement of creating the first pizzeria entirely run by autistic staff. The collaboration was launched with the integration of a young man from the association into Autogrill’s team, reflecting the shared commitment to fostering inclusion through meaningful job placement opportunities.

A centerpiece of the partnership has been the launch of the GourmAut sandwich, specially crafted with a round shape to symbolize inclusion and available. From July to October 2024, the sandwich was available in 290 Autogrill stores across Italy. For every unit sold, Autogrill pledged € 1, aiming to reach a target of 200,000 sandwiches sold. Proceeds were directed to support PizzAut’s initiatives, including the innovative PizzAutoBus project, which focuses on creating more job opportunities for autistic individuals, while promoting their social inclusion. By combining impactful fundraising with a platform to highlight the talents of individuals supported by PizzAut, the GourmAut campaign successfully delivered lasting social impact, bridging awareness, inclusion, and meaningful employment.

Fight poverty & food insecurity

Journey For Good Foundation: changing lives in North American communities
The Journey For Good Foundation embodies Avolta North America’s unwavering commitment to addressing poverty and driving lasting social impact through community-focused initiatives. Established in April 2024, it builds on the legacy of the former HMSHost Foundation by uniting the charitable efforts of several Avolta brands HMSHost, Hudson, and Dufry in the region. Its mission is rooted in creating sustainable and scalable solutions with a focus on five key areas: food security, safe housing, education, workforce development, and support for veterans and their families.

Food security is a cornerstone of the Foundation’s efforts, partnering with food banks and local organizations to combat hunger and ensure access to nutritious meals for vulnerable populations. Addressing homelessness is equally vital, with initiatives that provide safe housing, essential furnishings, clothing, and pathways to empower individuals to rebuild their lives with dignity and security.

Education and workforce development play a central role in the Foundation’s mission, fostering opportunities for long-term growth and self-sufficiency. Programs that enhance access to education and training, particularly in the hospitality industry, leverage Avolta’s expertise to help individuals develop sustainable careers. Additionally, the Foundation honors veterans and their families by addressing their unique needs through tailored programs offering food, shelter, medical care, and job training.

At the heart of the Foundation’s operations is an innovative fundraising mechanism. Travelers shopping at participating Avolta dining venues, convenience stores, and duty-free outlets can round up their purchases to the nearest dollar, with the extra funds directly supporting the Foundation’s programs. This initiative has already made a significant impact, with nearly USD 1.5 million awarded to 65 charitable organizations across North America during 2024.

By addressing the root causes of poverty and fostering community empowerment, the Journey For Good Foundation is transforming lives. It exemplifies Avolta’s commitment to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles by creating tangible, positive outcomes, while fostering resilience, opportunity, and inclusion. For more information, visit the website https://journeyforgood.org.

Food donations: offering support for local communities while reducing food waste
Within the F&B sector, Avolta has a series of active partnerships with non-profit organizations in the different regions where the company operates.

Among these, in the USA, Avolta has cooperated with the Food Donation Connection (FDC) since 2011, by donating surplus food to people in need through partnerships with local social service agencies. Every donor location is matched with a group of qualified charities that collect the food at scheduled days and times. FDC has worked with our operational teams to make sure the food is safe and healthy and to render the donation process more efficient and secure. In 2024, our F&B teams have provided about 320,000 meals to charities across North America. We are expanding our food donation program to our retail operations and will widely deploy this retail process in 2025.

Also in Italy, Avolta has been actively supporting non-profit organizations active in combating food waste. Its most significant partnerships include those with Banco Alimentare, Pane Quotidiano and Fondazione IBVA, which receive surplus food and donations from Autogrill’s central warehouse. Since 1989, Banco Alimentare has been collecting unspoiled, non-expired food that is no longer sellable and would otherwise be thrown away. Pane Quotidiano, based in Milan, puts human dignity at the center of its activity and has been distributing food to those who need it since 1898, while Fondazione IBVA, based in Milan since 1801, offers families in need a supermarket where they can shop for free with dignity, just like regular customers. In 2024, over 220,000 product items were donated to these local charities.

Clean water & sanitation for communities

One Water and Avolta: A Partnership Transforming Lives
Since 2016, World Duty Free has collaborated with The One Foundation as a commercial supporter for the sale of the charity’s bottled water brand “One Water” in all of its UK airport stores. Founded by Duncan Goose, The One Foundation is a charitable organization addressing water poverty by funding clean water and sanitation projects in underserved communities.

Through its One Water project, it channels funds from the sales of One-branded products into programs that provide safe drinking water, sustainable infrastructure, and hygiene education. Over the past seven years, World Duty Free has been raising money through the sale of One Water to bring clean water, sanitation and hygiene solutions to some of the world’s poorest communities. Through the sale of One Water across World Duty Free shops £ 2.8 million in total to date have been raised, changing the lives of over 462,000 people. Together with One Water and The One Foundation, Avolta is helping to strengthen water and sanitation services across Kenya, Rwanda, Ghana and Malawi through the delivery of piped water and sanitation services and by capacity building with local utilities for better service provision. Together, the program is repairing broken water points and providing the tools and community training required to ensure the future sustainability of these pumps.

Charity Water Project in Zurich and Basel Airports
Avolta continued the partnership initiated in 2014 with Flughafen Zürich AG, which, under the name of “Charity Water”, raises funds for charitable causes through the sale of bottled water in the airport. For every bottle of mineral water sold at the price of CHF 2.50, which is obtained from the Adello spring in Adelboden, in the Swiss Alps, 50 cen- times are donated to a charitable organization. Stiftung Theodora, a Swiss charity that brings joy to hospitalized children through visits by professional entertainers, known as “Dream Doctors,” and Stiftung RgZ, a Swiss non-profit organization promoting social integration – through coun- seling, education, employment, and housing services – of individuals with disabilities were the 2024 new beneficiary of this project, for which about CHF 370,000 were raised by the end of the year.

Ocean Plastic Cleaning

Oceana
In 2023, Avolta began its collaboration with Oceana: the largest international advocacy organization focused on ocean conservation. Through this partnership Avolta has raised funds from the sale of reusable bags made from 100 % recycled plastic bottles. The funds were donated to Oceana’s marine habitats campaign for the protection of 30 % of the marine surface, and thus of its endangered spe- cies. Besides protecting marine wildlife by reducing the im- pact of single-use bags, the partnership aims to increase consumer awareness of the importance of simple actions that can be made by everyone to help benefit the environ- ment. The initiative first involved our retail stores in Spain in 2023 but has now been extended to another 19 countries in 2024 across all the regions where Avolta operates.

And a long list of other local contributions
Support for the underprivileged is deeply rooted in our company. In addition to the main initiatives mentioned above there is a long list of causes and projects of all sizes that Avolta subsidiaries and employees support year after year. Amongst others, these include direct donations to communities affected by the Valencia Flood, to the Presi- dential Earthquake Relief Campaign in Turkey and the sup- port of our Armenian operation to the social program Chil- dren of Armenia Fund (COAF). The main protagonists of many of these actions are our employees, who champion the causes and promote their support through micro- donations, charity runs, bike rides, bake sales and other ini- tiatives to support the many deserving projects. Internally we give voice to these initiatives through our internal com- munication platforms to recognize the effort, generate awareness and motivate other employees to develop initia- tives of their own.

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