Lucie LALANNE [TBS Education 2020]

CSR Manager NEWREST GROUP SERVICES

After a Parisian first experience, at Société Générale, on the issues of digital sobriety, Lucie joined the executive headquarters of Newrest in 2020 and marked her return to Toulouse by participating in the creation of the brand-new CSR department of Newrest (36,622 employees in 54 countries, one of the world leaders in multi-sector catering). In fact, for this group, which has a turnover of over 1.6 billion euros, the reduction of environmental and social impact is an important issue and is materialised by strong CSR commitments, outlined in a "be the change" charter. Food waste is a constant concern for the company and top management is very concerned by these issues. Lucie explains the initial work undertaken by the CSR team in two main stages.

Newrest's annual CSR competition: concrete projects to reduce the environmental impact of their activities.

It all began with an initial awareness-raising phase that was difficult to carry out - with more than 150 sites around the world and very diverse cultures - even though awareness is relatively widespread and there are significant disparities between countries. This phase was notably realized through a global competition entitled "Green Superheroes" aimed at all the group's teams, in which everyone can present an action implemented locally. One representative example is the creation of a vegetable garden on the production site in Nigeria, as well as the sorting and recycling of organic waste into methane to supply kitchens. The best projects are also intended to become reference projects that can be duplicated around the world. The competition, which was very well received by employees, has been repeated in 2021 and 2022.

Calculating the necessary starting point therefore results in the deployment of a reliable and harmonised reporting system on all sites.

This involves developing a new feature of the integrated management software, to speed up, harmonise and improve the reliability of feedback from all production units. This was necessary in order to compare the actions referenced in the charter with operational reality!

« To measure progress and deploy corrective measures, you must first know where you are starting from! » 

At the same time, the data collected via the new tool makes it possible to measure the group's progress and to draft the extra-financial performance report required by European legislation. The indicators monitored include water consumption, organic waste tonnage…

To avoid dispersion of initiatives, it was also agreed that the CSR department would set a guiding theme every six months: for example, the collection of organic waste or the reduction of energy or water consumption.

Food waste, a major issue given the group's activity, is the subject of particular attention

In this rather complex context of implementing such a program, Lucie appreciates the firmness of the group's decisions combined with the flexibility, worthy of a 

startup, in the deployment, particularly in identifying good practices and replicating them within the group.

This involves a number of recommendations and processes implemented in the production of the company. First, they promote short supply chains. Upstream of production, recipes are designed to minimise waste, they work on optimising product preservation methods and packaging. During production, they adjust production to the quantities ordered. After production, they calculate the quantities wasted and optimise the use of unsold products: selling at reduced prices to individuals, donating to associations, composting as a last resort.

 Newrest's desire to reduce its impact is also shared with all its clients 

In addition, Newrest's desire to reduce its impact is also shared with all its clients, including airlines. The indicators contributing to the calculation of carbon footprints of companies are increasingly requested by airlines and are also fundamental for each actor of the value chain to measure their starting point and their progress.

In conclusion, the stakes are immense, and everyone's mobilisation is the key to success ! 

"I hope that the CSR department will gradually disappear behind the collective mobilisation so that everyone, on a daily basis, will take ownership of these issues.”

Interview by Pierre Souloumiac TBS Education 1988