Newrest: Sharpening CSR tools for global action

Multinational

Global food services provider Newrest treats corporate social responsibility as an operating system rather than a policy statement. Speaking to The Energy Year, deputy CSR director in France Lucie Lalanne explains how the Group’s nine-pillar strategy translates commitments into measurable objectives through decentralised execution, linking sustainability to operational performance.

Newrest’s CSR programme is built less as a standalone policy than as a day-to-day operating model, with country teams expected to translate Group commitments into measurable actions that strengthen both performance and impact.
“We need to convince internally that there is a destination, that there is a clear objective,” Lucie Lalanne, Newrest’s deputy CSR director in France, told The Energy Year. “The journey can be long, and it looks very different from one country to another, from one activity to another. But everyone needs to be on board.”
For energy executives managing remote or complex operating environments, this distinction matters. In remote sites management, inflight catering and concession operations, CSR is often treated as an added layer – something delivered through reporting, audits or philanthropic initiatives. Newrest’s approach instead positions responsibility as a practical framework: nine pillars, clear 2030 objectives and a decentralised execution model designed to ensure that ambition is continuously converted into results on the ground.
Rather than assigning CSR ownership to a central function alone, the Group embeds responsibility into daily operations. “The people implementing the CSR strategy around the world are not CSR specialists,” Lalanne said. “They are catering teams, purchasing teams, finance teams and operational staff. So, we need to speak the same language and focus on concrete actions.”

A strategy organised around nine pillars – with quantified targets

Newrest structures its CSR strategy around nine pillars that fall into two broad categories: commitments to the planet and commitments to its people. These pillars cover issues that are directly operational for service providers working in energy and infrastructure contexts, including food waste, waste sorting and recycling, sustainable procurement, single-use plastics, digitisation of processes, greenhouse gas emissions, ethics and safety culture, inclusion and talent development and management innovation.
What makes the model executive-relevant is that each pillar is tied to long-term quantified objectives. Among the most operationally significant targets are a 40% reduction in food waste originating from operations by 2030, measured in financial value against total purchases. The Group is also working towards sorting 50% of its total waste by 2030, a target explicitly framed as requiring optimisation at site level and adaptation to local realities.
“The level of maturity differs from one country to another,” Lalanne said. “So priorities and entry points also differ. What matters is having the same framework, but allowing local teams to move at the right pace.”
On plastics, the Group’s objective is for 50% of products purchased to be plastic-free by 2030, focused on reducing plastic in primary packaging across the value chain. In parallel, the Group reports that 100% of operational sites have implemented digital solutions within their processes, positioning paperless operations as both an environmental lever and an efficiency driver.
For climate, Newrest has set an objective of a 30% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030 on sites that have conducted carbon footprint analyses, underpinned by investment in energy efficiency, data management and site-level optimisation.

For visual insights into the global impact of Newrest’s innovative CSR model, see our infographic From commitments to action: Newrest’s 9 CSR pillars in practice.

From policy to execution: decentralised delivery aligned to global goals

The strength of Newrest’s CSR model is not only in its structure but in how it is deployed. While the report sets global objectives, implementation is led by teams in-country, who are encouraged to design and deliver solutions that fit local operating realities – whether that means responding to regulatory constraints, local supply chain limitations or the needs of specific client ecosystems.
This decentralised approach is reflected in examples of locally driven initiatives that still contribute to Group-wide targets. In practice, the model treats CSR as a management discipline: site teams are expected to identify levers that reduce waste, improve purchasing sustainability or strengthen inclusion, then track results.
“Sustainability only works if it is embedded into daily operations and carried out by the people on the ground,” Lalanne said. “What we are trying to avoid is a system that looks good on paper but cannot be applied in reality.”
For clients in energy, mining and industrial settings – where catering and facilities services are often embedded in the same operational footprint as core production – the benefit is that CSR delivery can be aligned with local community expectations and site-level performance requirements rather than forced into a one-size-fits-all template.

Tangible achievements: food waste, circularity and operational efficiency

Food waste reduction illustrates how Newrest links commitments to measurable delivery. The Group highlights the use of dedicated tools, including artificial intelligence applications to analyse flows and optimise losses as well as research collaboration to strengthen capability in this area.
“We are using technology to better understand consumption patterns and adjust production accordingly,” Lalanne said.
The results are reflected through operational achievements in multiple geographies. In France, the Group reports the recovery of more than 300 tonnes of downgraded fruits and vegetables in 2025 through Atypique, enabling the preparation of around 1 million meals. At its Gare de Lyon rail catering site, optimisation measures reduced food losses by 30% since January 2025.
Colombia provides a longer-term view of sustained execution: Newrest has run a food waste awareness and reduction programme since 2017, expanded monthly over the last three years, now reaching almost 40,000 guests across more than 120 sites. The initiative has prevented 13 tonnes of food waste and delivered a 13.7% reduction observed between October 2024 and September 2025, while also including donation streams.
Waste management and circularity initiatives demonstrate similar operational grounding. The Group frames its waste strategy as a circular approach embedded into its Integrated Management System, supported by ISO 14001 as a framework for continuous improvement. In New Caledonia, a sorting programme targeting bio-waste, paper and cardboard has reduced waste management costs by almost 50%, while creating compost and insulating material from recovered streams.

Supply chain responsibility as community impact

For energy operators, local procurement is not simply a CSR preference – it is often a driver of stability, social licence and operational resilience. Newrest presents responsible purchasing as a pillar built on long-term partnerships, support for local know-how and improvement of supplier practices while also linking procurement decisions to inclusion and socio-economic development.
“Sustainability is everywhere,” Lalanne said. “You cannot make progress on waste or emissions while leaving supply chain topics behind. Everything is connected.”
Examples range from training and purchasing arrangements that strengthen local agriculture in Chile, to a decade-long dairy partnership in Morocco and the development of a local ready-to-eat factory in Colombia intended to generate income and support community development. The report also includes partnerships designed to support vulnerable communities, such as a collaboration in Costa Rica with the Hogar Siembra foundation that combines purchasing with skills development and pathways to employment.

Decarbonisation built on investment and data discipline

Newrest’s emissions reduction approach combines capex-led infrastructure improvements with operational adjustments and carbon data management. The Group highlights investments in more efficient buildings and equipment, renewable solutions such as solar panels and the use of electric or biofuel-powered vehicles.
A key operational enabler is the use of the Tennaxia carbon platform to measure the footprints of more than 90 units in 38 countries, with an emphasis on data quality and traceability as the foundation for long-term carbon trajectory planning.
“When it comes to CSR measurement, you can have the most beautiful dashboards in the world, but if the data is unreliable, it’s just noise,” Lalanne said. “Data must serve action, not replace it.”

Social performance: ethics, safety and inclusive growth

Newrest’s CSR programme also treats workforce responsibility as an operational priority. Under “Everyday ethics,” the Group sets an objective of reducing accident frequency and severity rates by 10% by 2030 and ties the pillar to safety culture, Code of Conduct awareness and its I Care programme.
The report also positions talent development and inclusion as strategic priorities, including an international graduate programme and an emphasis on long-term skills investments. The Group highlights inclusion measures for people with disabilities, programmes to integrate experienced employees and virtual reality-based training tools designed to strengthen QHSSE culture in realistic operational scenarios.
“If sustainability no longer sits with one department, that would be a success,” Lalanne said. “It would mean that everyone takes it into account in finance, purchasing and operations.”

Recognition and governance: improving performance through accountability

Newrest frames external assessment as a proof point of progress. The Group notes that its EcoVadis score has improved over the last three years, reaching 69/100 in 2025 and earning a bronze medal. The company also reiterates its commitment to the UN Global Compact and emphasises partnership-driven execution – such as a plastic bottle recycling project in the Caribbean developed with airline clients.
This governance model – defined pillars, quantified objectives, decentralised implementation and external scoring – creates a CSR system that is structured enough to be accountable, while flexible enough to operate across highly diverse environments.

Why this matters for energy leaders

Newrest’s CSR approach offers a useful lens for executives overseeing remote operations, industrial catering or integrated facilities services. Rather than treating responsibility as a reporting layer, the Group positions it as a lever for operational excellence: reducing waste lowers cost, procurement partnerships strengthen local resilience, digitisation improves performance transparency and safety culture reduces risk.
In doing so, Newrest’s model demonstrates how CSR can be embedded into daily operational decision-making – not as aspiration, but as a measurable management system capable of delivering environmental and social outcomes at scale.

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