Heroes of Change contest 2023: discover our 2 winning CSR projects!

Previously known as the Green Super-Heroes, Heroes of Change is a CSR contest which aims to reward projects undertaken by Newrest teams around the world.

It is an opportunity to highlight the societal actions implemented by employees and to be an inspiration for worldwide Newrest teams!

Heroes of Change 2023 is :

• 42 projects based on 7 of the 9 pillars of the Group’s CSR Charter
• 24 countries represented
• 10 shortlisted projects
• 2 winners

The 10 shortlisted projects!

From the 42 projects submitted, only 10 have been shortlisted to present their initiatives to the jury:

– France applied with Friwaste, a project that aims to reduce food waste by regulating the quantities ordered and encouraging recycling, sorting and donation to charities. This initiative also involves reducing paper use by dematerializing tasks via Winrest, Newrest’s internal digital tool.

– Angola has set up a circular project called From Oil to Soap, in collaboration with an association, to teach the inhabitants of Angolan villages to make soap from Newrest kitchen used oils.

– In Sweden, Stockholm unit signed an agreement with Arlanda airport to replace the fuel of its vehicle fleet with biofuel by purchasing biodiesel at a competitive price, reducing their transport-related carbon emissions by 80-90%.

– Gabon took part with the P.A.P.L project (Local Population Support Projects), which consists of assisting, accompanying, and supporting local populations around the Group’s onshore sites in their everyday activities, both socially and economically.

– Costa Rica has proposed a project that has already been in place for several years, at the San José unit. The aim of this initiative is to recycle and/or reuse all types of waste and to reduce energy consumption by taking several measures. The company also has a beehive and a collaborative vegetable garden.

– Laos studies the potential of local producers, then supports and invests in viable agricultural projects, to promote responsible and solidarity-based purchasing, and to encourage the development of Laotian communities and the circular economy.

– In Oman, Newrest team have developed The Canteen Garden, implementing a vegetable garden in several remote locations to promote sustainability and encourage healthy eating habits within workplace. The garden is cultivated by employees on sites and the food is then used in the staff canteen.

– Zambia has partnered with a local organic farm, Loctaguna, by purchasing their fruits and vegetables and giving them with the organic waste from their unit’s activities for free. This waste is then transformed into compost and reused for the farm production.

– Colombia has set up the Semillero project, which aims to identify, promote, and facilitate access to education, training, adaptation and stability at work. This action is in partnership with the Colombian apprenticeship service and is addressed to vulnerable populations.

– In Tunisia, Newrest has worked with the association Wallah We Can to purchase their organic fruits and vegetables (produced using local and sustainable farming methods) and to train the staff of a school canteen on good culinary and health practices.

And the winners of the Heroes of Change contest are… Newrest Gabon and Newrest Angola!

The Jury Prize goes to the P.A.P.L project in Gabon:

Newrest Gabon has set up P.A.P.L (Local Population Support Projects), to support the populations and local residents of its onshore sites in their daily activities, both socially and economically. Through this project, they have contributed to the establishment of a supplier network that enables them to promote local purchasing.

Their project focuses on 4 key areas:

– Agriculture: The team has helped to set up agricultural cooperatives to source fruits and vegetables. This has boosted commercial activity in these regions and created jobs thanks to the income generated by these purchases.

– Fishing: Newrest Gabon supports neighboring village fishermen through the purchase of fresh fish and the pre-financing of cold rooms to enable them to increase their merchandise storage capacity and better meet our demand.

– Livestock farming: Newrest Gabon accompanies and subsidizes a laying hen farm by pre-financing the purchase and transport of food to enable them to feed their animals better and increase their capacity to produce fresh eggs.

– Local employment: In addition to the indirect employment of 150 people generated by the activities that Newrest Gabon supports, they also employ 70 local people directly on their sites.

The Audience Choice Award goes to Angola for its From Oil to Soap project:

This project, in partnership with Quimica Verde, aims at training the inhabitants of isolated Angolan villages to make soap from used oils generated by Newrest Angola’s kitchens.

It is with this laboratory that they give a second life to their oil and make people in need benefit from it. Quimica Verde is responsible for carrying out various analyses, as well as training and setting up the “Minha Agua” project, which goal is to improve the living conditions of the inhabitants of these villages.

Their project has several objectives:

– Promoting access to drinking water

– Communicating the importance of basic hygiene

– Raising awareness of the menstrual cycle

Thanks to the donation of oil from Newrest Angola’s kitchens, Quimica Verde is able to collect one of the two essential ingredients for soap production. The second is caustic soda, which we also supply thanks to a partner customer.

A team then travels to the villages to train local people to make soap for their own consumption, giving them access to this basic hygiene product.

The Group is proud of its employees’ initiatives.

The real actors of change are the Group’s collaborators, as demonstrated by their involvement and motivation in the development of ambitious environmental and/or social projects.

Each year, as part of the Heroes of Change contest, Newrest supports and assists its employees in undertaking actions that help demonstrate the pillars of the CSR charter, which is central to the group’s strategy.