Positively impacting individuals and clients, our communities and the environment is one of Sodexo’s core values. It’s at the heart of everything we do, every day. Our sourcing and supply chain management practices reflect this priority. By making commitments and taking the steps outlined to achieve our commitments, we believe we can make a tangible impact at the local and global levels.
Our partnerships with esteemed organizations such as the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) help us continually evaluate the effectiveness of our commitments and keep us accountable on progress.
Sodexo’s Approach to Responsible Sourcing
- Our responsible sourcing strategy comes from a careful assessment of environmental, social and economic impacts.
- We have worked with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) since 2010 to conserve natural resources and minimize environmental impacts.
- WWF helped us develop a sustainable sourcing strategy for the five product categories that have the highest environmental impact: fruits and vegetables, palm oil, soy, beef and dairy.
- We follow clearly defined criteria for sustainable seafood in conjunction with WWF and are committed to sourcing 100% sustainable seafood by 2025 globally.
- We engage third-party organizations, including the Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council and Business for Social Responsibility, to ensure responsible sourcing.
- We contractually require our produce vendor partners to source local and seasonal foods whenever possible.
- We support more than 2,000 farmers and farmer co-ops, contracting with more than 75 regional produce distributors.
Sodexo’s Animal Welfare Strategy
- We are the first in the industry to adopt a company-wide animal welfare policy – read about the status of our commitments. This policy requires all suppliers to continuously improve the welfare of animals in our supply chain.
- We are a founding member of the Global Coalition for Animal Welfare.
- We recognize that animal welfare is a key component of responsible sourcing, and we support the globally recognized Five Freedoms of animal welfare:
- Freedom from Hunger and Thirst
- Freedom from Discomfort
- Freedom from Pain, Injury or Disease
- Freedom to Express Normal Behavior
- Freedom from Fear and Distress
Sodexo’s Pledge to Fighting Climate Change
- In partnership with the Humane Society of the United States, we are working to increase plant-based menu options and committed to making 42% of our university menu items plant-based by 2025 Production of plant-based foods emits significantly less greenhouse gas and requires less water and land than animal-based foods.
- As a member of the World Resource Institute-Better Buying Lab (WRI), we enable customers to choose more sustainable food options.
- We are committed to training 100% of our employees on sustainable practices.
- We are committed to seeing a 50% reduction in food waste by 2025. We are working to reduce food waste, a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, through the WasteWatch powered by Leanpath tool.
- We are committed to reducing carbon emissions by 34% by 2025. To reduce carbon emissions within the supply chain, Sodexo focuses on:
- Promoting sustainable agriculture
- Developing products and services based on the principles of the circular economy
- Improving resource efficiency
To learn more, we invite you to consult the following documents:
- Statement of Respect for Human Rights
- Statement of Business Integrity
- Sodexo Animal Welfare Position Paper
- Sodexo Animal Welfare Frequently Asked Questions
- Sodexo Supplier Code of Conduct
- Sodexo Supplier Code of Conduct - Supplier Guide
- Sodexo Sustainable Seafood Strategy
- Our Commitments to Animal Welfare