Heroes of change contest 2026: discover our 2 winning CSR projects!

For the past five years, the internal Heroes of Change CSR competition has recognized employees who actively contribute to advancing CSR across the Group. Each year, it highlights inspiring local initiatives that showcase the commitment of Newrest teams and their tangible contribution to social, societal and environmental challenges.

For the 2026 edition, projects competed in two categories:

• CSR Revelations: emerging projects or one-off initiatives;
• CSR Champions: sustainable, structured and scalable initiatives.

A total of 36 projects from more than 25 countries took part in the competition, reflecting steadily growing participation since the launch of the initiative.

Ten projects were then shortlisted to present their initiatives to the competition jury. Combined votes from both the jury and Newrest employees determined the two winning projects, which you can discover below.

And this year’s winners are…

Chile won the CSR Champions category with its project “Supply Chain of Local Suppliers”

Implemented over a 13-month period, the project supported small local farmers by helping them become part of the supply chain serving the Candelaria mine in Chile.

The initiative identified gaps in training, infrastructure and market access, which were addressed through investments, sanitary improvements and more than 1,600 hours of technical training.

As a result, participating producers were integrated into a more structured and sustainable supply system. The program culminated in the first order of five tonnes of locally sourced fruits and vegetables for the mine’s catering operations.

Denmark took first place in the CSR Revelations category with its “From Waste to Warmth” project,

An innovative solution that recovers heat generated by its refrigeration system and reuses it to heat company facilities.

By installing a heat recovery unit, energy that was previously wasted is now fed back into the building’s heating system. This approach reduces energy consumption, minimizes waste and improves the overall efficiency of the facilities.

In addition, the new refrigeration system now uses CO₂, the least polluting refrigerant gas currently available on the market.

Selecting the winners was no easy task, considering the high quality of the projects submitted and the strong commitment of employees to Corporate Social Responsibility across the Group.

A big thank you to all participants for their dedication, and to all employees who took part in the voting process.

See you next year for new CSR challenges!

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

• Heroes of Change contest 2025: discover our 2 winning CSR projects!
• Heroes of Change contest 2024: discover our 2 winning CSR projects!