Green Superheroes contest 2021 : discover our 2 winning CSR projects

From 18 January to 19 February, the Newrest CSR team received more than 50 internal applications. Through them, employees from all around the world presented their CSR initiative. After the pre-selection of 8 of them by the internal jury, projects had 30 minutes to pitch their relevance. On 26 March, the winners were known: congratulations to Balance Ton Pot (France) and Te Mana No Te Natura (French Polynesia)! Here is a look back at this competition which mobilised the Group’s teams.

Brief: Sneak peek on the “Green Superheroes” employee contest

With the “Be the Change” Charter launched in 2020, the Corporate Social Responsibility became central at Newrest. The “Green Superheroes” contest is part of this approach. It’s open to all Newrest employees. Its objective is to reward and value all the good practices and CSR projects implemented globally. All projects that have had a positive impact on the environment and society have their chance. The winners of the competition have the opportunity to participate in the deployment of their project in the other countries of the group with the help of the CSR team.

A look back at the 2021 edition

The first edition of the internal competition in figures, it is:

• More than 50 projects received
• More than 20 countries participating in the competition
• 8 projects pre-selected by the jury to pitch their project
• 2 great winners: a Jury Prize and an Employee Prize awarded after an internal online vote. This second price invite employees to participate tp the final decision.

Newrest congratulates and thanks the 8 projects that particularly reached the attention of the jury before the oral pitch phases:

• Waste to Wealth – Nigeria: implementation of selective sorting on the Nigeria site
• TE MANA NO TE NATURA – French Polynesia: collection and transformation of bio-waste into bio-fertilizer
• reCIRCLONS! – Switzerland: use of reusable containers to reduce the use of single-use plastic packaging.
• Becycle – France: Using bikes instead of cars, goal: 20,000 km!
• Balance ton Pot – France: Raising awareness among young people about waste sorting.
• Projet d’Appui aux Populations Locales – Gabon: working with local communities and promoting local products
• Be the Change, Blossom the Seed – Tunisia: promoting local products and ancestral Tunisian know-how
• The Plympton Farm – Guyana: promotion of local products and collaboration with local farmers.

Focus on the purpose of the winners’ projects

The Jury Prize was awarded to the Balance Ton Pot project carried out in France in the catering segment. Ludovic Santus is head manager of the La Providence school group in Mesnil-Esnard. After studying the behavior of his young guests, Ludovic created a sorting table made of 100% recycled materials from scratch. The goal of this approach is to sensibilise them about the importance of selective sorting Thanks to his initiative, the site now sorts all its yoghurt pots and bread. Tomorrow, all bio-waste will also be sorted. He have invested in the teaching staff of the school group in order to make everyone aware of the impact of this type of practice.

With their dedicated prize, the employees are highlighting the Te Mana No Te Natura project developed in French Polynesia. The vegetable factory at the FAA’A production center produces around 300 kg of bio-waste every day. The center faces high waste collection costs and difficulties in obtaining local supplies. Newrest Polynesia decided to partner with the CJA (Centre for Young Adolescents) to collect the bio-waste and transforms it into bio-fertilizer. This collaboration allows to give a part of the bio-fertilizers to the employees. It helps them to cultivate their vegetable garden. Newrest Polynesia plans to buy their production directly from them. A perfect example of circular economy that can be implemented in many countries.

The CSR department is leading the way

Created during the summer of 2020, the CSR department asserts its intentions through this internal contest. This action proves that CSR topics involve the 24,000 employees. A real added value emerges from these internal actions. In addition to consolidating CSR projects around the world, this competition is a new opportunity to unite employees and energize the life of the group. This momentum is a further reminder of the group’s desire to achieve its 2025 ethical and ecological goals.

On 26 and 27 May, the Board and the CSR department received the initiators of “Balance ton Pot” to discuss their initiative, start planning the roll-out worldwide and congratulate them personally. It has been agreed to set up steps to deploy the project. The first step is to create a kit to easily reproduce the table with a list of materials, construction guidelines and communication tips. Then the project will be used in pilot sites. Finally, the kit will be made available to all countries and sites to enable them to implement the project independently, with the support of the CSR team.

For more information:

• The “Be the Change” charter gathering the CSR objectives of Newrest
• Follow all Newrest’s social plateforms