Sustainable Cities and Communities

One of NIS’ priorities in the social responsibility and sustainability segment in 2024 is to support projects that focus on all members of society, with a special emphasis on youth, local community development in all areas, and improving environmental protection NIS once again stood out as one of the leading investors in socially responsible projects in Serbia, in which, together with support for professional sports, 481.1 million dinars were invested in 2024.

PROGRAMS OF COMMUNITY SUPPORT

NIS pays great attention to the youngest members of the community, and thus, at the beginning of 2024, it delivered a new van for food distribution to the Preschool Institution Zrenjanin, which enabled fresh meals from the central kitchen to arrive on time in 20 kindergartens belonging to his institution. Also, at the beginning of the year, another holiday donation was made, and in a joint humanitarian action with the Partizan Basketball Club, new winter clothing and footwear were provided for almost 600 socially vulnerable children who are beneficiaries of the services of social welfare institutions and organisations throughout Serbia. In order to provide support to young people from vulnerable social groups, NIS and the SOS Children’s Villages Serbia Foundation organized educational workshops aimed at empowering young people supported by this organisation, with the aim of preparing them for entering the labour market and supporting them in finding their first job.

As a part of the traditional, end-of-year holiday campaign, NIS provided vouchers worth RSD 25,000 each for the purchase of clothing and footwear for 120 large families and families of single parents cared for by the Religious Charitable Trust. The campaign was also joined by company employees – members of the Volunteer Club, who, in their desire to brighten up the holidays for sensitive members of our society, provided a large amount of sweets for the beneficiaries of the Religious Charitable Trust’s Kitchen in Belgrade, as well as for the beneficiaries of the “Duga” Day Care Centre in Leskovac.

In 2024, more than 45 sponsorship projects were implemented in the fields of sports, culture and science. The long-term cooperation with the Partizan Basketball Club, the Basketball and Volleyball Federations of Serbia continued. Support was also provided to the Paralympic Committee of Serbia, as well as the Volleyball Club of Vojvodina, and youth sports were of particular importance to the company. In the field of culture, support was provided to the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as to the gala concert “Stars of the Bolshoi Theatre Ballet”, which visited Belgrade for the first time in almost 50 years. All proceeds from ticket sales for this concert were donated to improve the conditions for the education of young artists in our country. The project involves major donor support for the purchase of equipment for the needs of 71 member schools of the Association of Music and Ballet Schools of Serbia, founded by local governments or the Republic, and for specific educational areas within the framework of artistic education.

CORPORATE VOLUNTEERISM

The NIS Volunteer Club, which is also one of the largest corporate volunteer clubs in the country, with almost 2,000 members, continued to implement numerous campaigns. In 2024 alone, with the aim of creating a more humane social environment and achieving a higher level of social and environmental responsibility, members of the Volunteer Club donated more than 600 hours of volunteer work to the community.

Among other things, the NIS Volunteer Club, through its activities, also advocates for the development of social entrepreneurship and fosters cooperation with associations focused on supporting vulnerable members of our community. To this end, the Company’s hardworking volunteers supported the work of the “Evo ruka” association in early autumn by participating in the campaign of ajvar preparation, the sale of which the Association raises funds to improve the quality of life and empower families of children with developmental disabilities and rare diseases.

Support was also provided to the “Naša kuća” association, which cares for people with developmental disabilities and through its activities advocates for their social inclusion and economic empowerment. At the Company’s Business Centre in Novi Sad, the Volunteer Club organized the sale of this association’s products, in order to contribute to the sustainability of its business.

PANEL DISCUSSION “OUR SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY”

In order to highlight the importance of sustainable development and the importance of contributing to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, a panel on the topic of a sustainable future was organized by NIS and the Dnevnik newspaper on 29 November at the Cultural Station “Svilara” in Novi Sad. The panel was attended by Vadim Smirnov, Deputy General Director of NIS, Vladimir Arsenović, State Secretary at the Ministry of Economy of the Government of the Republic of Srpska, and Prof. Dr. Srđan Kolaković, Director of the Science and Technology Park in Novi Sad.

The topics that were in the focus of the discussion were sustainable development, responsible attitude towards natural resources, the importance of energy transition and green agenda in business.