Василий ЛЕКСИН: помощь людям и природе в ДНК Авито

Vasily LEKSIN, Product Manager for ESG at Avito, answers questions from the editors of the iXBT.pro portal

How is Avito developing the ESG agenda?

Avito's mission is to help everyone improve their own life and the lives of people around them. Help and support are embedded in our DNA. Every second resident of Russia has an account on Avito, and we use our resource, among other things, to tell our users about important social and environmental problems that they may not have thought about before. We help save resources on the production of new goods by extending the life of used items through their resale, transfer to those in need, or recycling. We help ourselves and connect people, giving them the opportunity to help others. To unite all our charitable mechanics, in 2023 we launched a special section "Avito Benefit". Here, users can find information about our social projects, environmental initiatives, learn who and how can be helped on Avito, and what corporate charity and volunteering programs are available in the company.

What environmental projects does the company implement?

A careful attitude to the environment is embedded in the very idea of Avito. Thanks to the fact that users buy not new, but high-quality, but used things, they extend their life. This helps save resources on the production, packaging and disposal of goods, reduce the carbon footprint and transportation costs. To show Avito users how this works and at the same time encourage them for responsible consumption, we launched the “Eco-counter”. Using a special formula, we calculate the amount of resources saved by each user. The calculation takes into account the reuse rate and the costs of production, logistics and disposal. In the user's profile, you can see how much electricity and water has been saved and how much CO2 has not entered the atmosphere, thanks to the fact that he or she sells and buys goods on Avito. Since 2022 alone, together with users, we have saved 472 million m³ of water and 259 billion kWh of energy, 56 million tons of CO2 have not entered the atmosphere. You can also extend the life of things by transferring them to charity or сдаdав for recycling. For this, Avito launched the “Second Life for Things” project. Things in good condition may no longer be needed by you, but will be useful to someone else, for example, a person with a low income or a large family. And if the thing has been in use for a long time, then it can be сдаdав for recycling. Almost everything is accepted – clothes, books, toys, furniture, electronics, etc. Things for charity and recycling can be taken to one of the collection points (they are marked on a special separate collection map), and in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Vladimir you can also order free removal. The partners of the project “Suitcase”, “Good Things”, “Grateful Wardrobe” and “Just сдаdав Things” will sort them and, depending on the condition, send them to a charity store (branded items), to those in need (items in good condition) or for recycling. The project operates throughout the country. By September 2024, about 75 thousand points for сдаdав things and collecting recyclables were already marked on the map.

What social initiatives does the company have?

Avito Benefit has several permanent charitable mechanics to help foundations. And, of course, we connect when help needs to be provided quickly, such as to those affected by the flood in the Orenburg region or to residents of border regions. In 2023, we launched the “Sign of Good” charity mechanic. Users who, when placing an advertisement in the “Goods” category, make a donation of 100 rubles to one of the partner foundations receive a special badge on each such advertisement. You can also transfer money to the foundation through the project landing page, and then add a badge to one of your advertisements. The “Sign of Good” is visible both in the search results and inside the advertisement. It helps to tell other users about the promotion, who may also want to join it and support one of the foundations. Currently, the project already has 27 charitable organizations that deal with environmental problems, environmental safety issues, and help animals, adults and children. And also such a badge increases trust in the seller, especially if he does not yet have a rating on Avito. In addition to mechanics for users, Avito donates to charity on behalf of the company. We have a “1 ruble” mechanic – we send 1 ruble from any paid placement in the “Goods” category to partner foundations. In 2023, thanks to the “Sign of Good” and “1 ruble” mechanics, more than 60 million rubles were collected and transferred to foundations.

Do you only help financially, or are there other formats of work with foundations? We are implementing a large project of systemic assistance to the LizaAlert squad. Through a special landing page with an interactive search map, Avito users can transfer equipment and inventory necessary for searching for missing people to the squad, or transfer funds for its purchase, as well as contact the squad and join the search. In addition, through Avito Travel, we find and pay for housing for volunteers during search operations and training. In two years, we have found housing for 247 people in 65 cities, and thanks to our users, we have managed to raise funds and transfer equipment for a total amount of more than 12 million rubles. With the funds raised through the section, the squad was able to buy and equip, among other things, one of its headquarters vehicles. Another bright project is “Rain Man”. In April 2024, together with the Naked Heart Foundation, which helps children and young adults with autism and other developmental disabilities, we launched a campaign to support Autism Awareness Month. We created a joint collection of raincoats decorated with drawings by the foundation's wards, and supplemented it with customized raincoats from stars: the founder of the foundation Natalia Vodianova, writer and playwright Alexander Tsypkin, actors of the series “The Word of a Boy” Lev Zulkarnaev (Zima) and Yaroslav Mogilnikov (Yeralash). Raincoats from the foundation's wards were sold on Avito, and those painted by stars were sold in the format of an auction. All proceeds were directed to the development of the foundation's programs. Stars, the media and bloggers supported us and helped to tell what life with ASD is like, and once again remind us how important it is to treat those who are different from us with care and respect.

You mentioned supporting residents of the Orenburg region during the flood and helping residents of the Kursk and Belgorod regions. Tell us about these initiatives.

We respond quickly to humanitarian crises and connect those in need of help and those who want to help. For example, during the flood in the Orenburg region, when Avito users shared necessary things with the victims, provided temporary housing and overexposure for animals. All advertisements were conveniently accumulated in one section, and they could be found by the hashtag #IHelp. This was Avito's first humanitarian campaign of this scale. 25 thousand advertisements were placed on the site, more than 10 thousand orders were delivered to residents of the Orenburg region. In total, during the campaign, Avito users provided charitable assistance for almost 30 million rubles. Our partners – logistics companies that supported the initiative helped the victims save 2 million rubles on delivery. In August, we launched a project to help residents of the Kursk and Belgorod regions. You can help residents of the Kursk region by transferring things with a preferential delivery for 1 ruble from Avito, offering free housing and work with accommodation. You can also order preferential delivery for residents of the Belgorod region. To date, Avito users have placed more than 164 thousand orders to the regions for a total amount of almost 500 million rubles. More than 9 thousand goods were sent at a symbolic price. This allowed local residents to save 24.7 million rubles on delivery costs. In addition, sellers actively provided discounts to buyers from border regions, thanks to which users saved over 250 million rubles. More than 100 families from the Kursk region have already gratuitously rented temporary housing. Since the beginning of the campaign, more than 800 advertisements have been placed on the Avito Real Estate platform offering free accommodation. Almost 120 employers from the Kursk region published their vacancies on the platform for free. The campaign continues, the terms of preferential delivery were decided to be extended until the end of October.

To what extent do Avito employees share the company's initiatives and participate in corporate charity?

Our employees are actively involved in charitable activities. They volunteer in orphanages and social homes for adults, in animal shelters, participate in blood donation programs, collect things for those in need, books for libraries, therapeutic food and medicines for animals, participate in charity races, and act as intellectual volunteers for foundations. They conduct career guidance quests for children from orphanages and families in difficult life situations, organize educational master classes for the wards of foundations. For example, last year, colleagues from the “Long-term rental” category recorded a lecture for residents of the Nochlezhka rehabilitation shelter on how to safely find and rent housing. And also our employees actively donate funds and “internal currency” (points with which we say thank you to each other for help in projects or receive for participating in various events) to charitable foundations. The latter the company converts into rubles and sends to non-profit organizations. Last year, more than 3 million rubles were donated to foundations, almost 2 tons of things were transferred to charity and recycling.

Photography and illustrations provided by Avito