The Leonardo Challenge has diversified its goals over the years, addressing issues of crucial importance for society and the environment. Each edition delivered a new challenge and helped increase awareness of important issues.

The first challenge, Race 2 Space, organised in 2021, focused on health and wellness: topics of great importance, especially in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. The second challenge, the 2022 Leonardo World Tour, with the participation of Leonardo stakeholders, focused on teamwork and on creating a sense of belonging among participants.

This year’s edition, the Leonardo Challenge 2023, focused on protecting the Earth. The key goal was to make people aware of the importance of reforestation and environmental conservation. From September 25 to October 1, Leonardo employees, worldwide, came together both physically and virtually to participate and travel as many kilometres together as possible. It was a great success, involving a record-breaking figure of 1,754 employees, from 27 countries, who travelled a total of 66,817 kilometres.

Leonardo, in collaboration with the non-profit organisation One Tree Planted, has committed itself to support a reforestation project in Malawi (Africa) in return for the kilometres travelled by its people. Thanks to the overall effort, Leonardo will plant 1 tree for every 3 kilometres travelled during the challenge week, which means a total of ca. 22,000 trees will be planted in Malawi.

The project supported by Leonardo includes the regions of Enyezini, Misuku, Kaswiti, and Embangweni, and involves targeted actions to restore depleted forests, combat climate change and maximise biodiversity. In addition to tree planting, the project plans to engage local communities in educational and awareness-raising initiatives to promote sustainable resources, climate change, agroforestry, and gender equality.

Planting activities will take place between December 2023 and March 2024, with tree growth being monitored continuously.