X5 Group, a leading Russian food retailer, and Plug and Play, a accelerator, have teamed up to scout for sustainable development innovations. The two companies look to focus on projects related to reducing waste and GHG emissions as well as sustainable packaging.

X5 is set to kick off the partnership by analysing the key needs of its formats and the accelerator’s existing innovations that may be useful in its business. Startup scouting is going to begin in the summer of 2022 together with pitch sessions arranged for Russian and international projects to present their solutions.

The retailer is also expanding its programme to identify and promote employee projects, X5 Idea Challenge, with a dedicated track to discover solutions within the Company. Previously, X5 mainly scouted for innovations in store operations, logistics, back-office processes, HR, IT, marketing and other areas. Now, employees are welcome to suggest solutions to help advance the Company’s Sustainable Development Strategy.

Maria Podkopaeva, X5’s acting Sustainable Development Director:

“We are always on the lookout for new projects and ideas to support our sustainable development efforts and make our stores and facilities more sustainable and eco-friendly. Together with Plug and Play, X5 will certainly be able to find new technology-intensive projects and solutions for integration into its processes.”

Nicolas Chow, Director of Plug and Play Sustainability EMEA:

“We are proud to partner with X5 to help solve some of our most important challenges of our generation. The potential impact X5 can have on topics like food waste, climate, and packaging is enormous and they are showing leadership by taking action through innovation. As a partner of Plug and Play Sustainability, X5 will combine their scale and knowledge with the most promising sustainability startups to build a more sustainable future. We are excited to continue this journey together with X5 and develop innovations that can drive business, societal, and environmental value.”

In December 2019, X5 adopted a sustainable development strategy based on the four UN SDGs where the Company can make the biggest difference, focussing on projects aimed at promoting a healthy lifestyle and the availability of quality and wholesome foods, ensuring decent working conditions and equal opportunities for employees, advancing responsible consumption and use of resources, and supporting local communities through the development of charity.

X5 was the first Russian company to become an anchor partner of Plug and Play. In December 2019, the parties signed an agreement to jointly scout for technologies all over the world. The accelerator arranges sessions with startups to help X5 improve operating processes at Pyaterochka, Perekrestok, the corporate Transport Department and elsewhere.

To share your project suggestions and ideas for sustainable development, contact us at x5lab@x5.ru or esg@x5.ru. 

About Plug and Play

Plug and Play is the leading innovation platform, connecting startups, corporations, venture capital firms, universities, and government agencies. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, we're present in 35+ locations across five continents. We offer corporate innovation programs and help our corporate partners in every stage of their innovation journey, from education to execution. We also organize startup acceleration programs and have built an in-house VC to drive innovation across multiple industries where we've invested in hundreds of successful companies including Dropbox, Guardant Health, Honey, Lending Club, N26, PayPal, and Rappi. For more information, visit web-site.