Using our voice as a force for good

From preparing for the Deposit Return Scheme in Scotland, to supporting the work of the Purpose Coalition across the UK, by working in partnership with policymakers we can offer high-quality expertise and practical support to our Government clients. Find out more about how we’re building a more inclusive supply chain, developing the local communities where we operate, and leading on pioneering net-zero ambitions for the sector.

As the world’s 19th largest employer, we’re a loud voice in business and in the catering and facilities management space. We work closely with the Business Services Association (BSA), a policy and research organisation representing public and private sector policy interests, and the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), which provides business insight to government. In addition, we are also members of the National Social Value Taskforce and Social Value UK Advisory Board, and we co-chair a working group with the Ministry of Defence on improving and evolving the Social Value Model. 

By regularly attending and leading forums on key topics, we can have our voice heard and indirectly influence government and stakeholders on important decisions. We take our responsibilities seriously and continually strive to represent the challenges and needs of our clients and their properties in a meaningful and accurate way.

What is our Social Impact Pledge? 

Our pledge underpins our strategic business ambitions whilst focusing on four impact pathways - People, Planet, Places and Partners. It outlines our key commitments as an ethical manifesto for improving the quality of life for society and our planet. 

As of this year, we’ve made progress on several of our commitments. This includes giving ex-offenders a second chance, having filled 72 job vacancies with people from an offending background. One of our General Managers at HMRC, John Lafferty, has established strong relationships with three local prisons, where he works with resettlement teams to recruit prison leavers for suitable roles; the model is subsequently being rolled out in other HMRC sites. Across Sodexo, we have committed to filling 5% of our workforce with prison leavers by 2023. 

We want to achieve a gender-balanced workforce that is socially and culturally diverse; we were the first hospitality business to publish our ethnicity pay gap in addition to our gender pay gap. By publishing our statistics and committing to ambitious targets, we hope to drive meaningful change in the diversity of our employees. 

We also aim to be the employer of choice for service leavers, veterans, reservists and their families, and are keen supporters of SSAFA’s Friendly to Forces pledge. As part of the MoD Career Transition Partnership, and working with military command and local communities, we have implemented a wide range of policies to help serving regular and reserve personnel, veterans, and their families gain employment. This includes having a flexible approach to granting leave for employees and members of the Reserves, and offering employment opportunities for spouses of service personnel.

As facilities providers to three fire and rescue services in the UK, including the world's fourth largest (Scottish Fire and Rescue Service), we are also proud to support retained fire officers to be able to work for Sodexo whilst also being available on-call to respond to emergency incidents. This is especially important in remote rural areas, where it can be challenging to recruit and retain a full-time firefighting staff. 

Several of our contracts, including DWP (Department of Work and Pensions), made use of the national Kickstart scheme, creating roles for 16-24 year olds who were at risk of long term unemployment. Additionally, we continue to build our apprenticeship programmes, ensuring all appropriate roles are considered for apprenticeships. As a result, we have had over 1,100 apprentices this year, representing 3.8% of our headcount.  

The apprenticeship levy gifting scheme matches small and medium sized employers (SMEs) and voluntary, community and social enterprises (VCSEs) with larger ‘levy paying’ organisations looking to support apprenticeship training via their levy fund. We have used this to recruit apprentices or to train and upskill our existing workforce, supporting 126 apprentices - with more coming on board regularly. So far we have gifted or pledged £1.4 million of our own apprenticeship levy to SMEs that would benefit from apprenticeship training, like the Little Sport Co., who were able to train six employees to develop their skills and deliver physical activity to improve mental health and reduce obesity in 22 Greater Manchester schools. 

Building a better tomorrow

Looking at driving equality of opportunity to people and places with less opportunity is how we break the cycle of Britain's endemic poor social mobility. Working with The Purpose Coalition, headed up by the Rt Hon. Justine Greening, we are joining forces with some of the UK's most innovative purpose-led leaders and organisations to create a better tomorrow for everyone. Businesses that lead with purpose can impact society and shape a better future for the next generation. 

We are proud to be an industry leader on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, which recognises our robust ‘Better Tomorrow 2025’ sustainability roadmap. This sets out our responsible business goals and is about tracking and reporting on our global, regional, and local progress.

We pledged to make a 34% cut to our carbon footprint by 2025, and are pleased to say that in 2021 we exceeded this science-based target. While the UK and Irish Governments have Net Zero targets of 2050, with the Scottish Government targeting Net Zero by 2045, we are committed to achieving this even earlier - no later than 2040. In 2022, we became one of the first organisations globally to have both near and long-term science-based targets validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), as we prioritise decarbonisation to reach Net Zero (note: we are currently in the process of updating our Net Zero science-based target to FY2040 with the SBTi). 

This will be achieved by implementing the following initiatives as part of our Net Zero transition plan:

• The launch of a 100% hybrid and electric vehicle company car policy.
• Ongoing membership of the Climate Group’s RE100 initiative and procuring 100% renewable electricity by the end of 2025.
• Switching to 100% reusable, recyclable and compostable packaging by 2025.
• Increasing the number of plant-based meals and recipes to 33% by 2025 (where contractual obligations allow).
• Tackling food waste at all appropriate sites through our WasteWatch powered by LeanPath programme and reducing food waste by 50% by 2025.
• A thorough responsible sourcing strategy that facilitates better working with suppliers
• Working with clients to achieve net zero collaboratively.

At our sites in Scotland, we are working with our clients to effectively implement the Scottish Government's Deposit Return Scheme, launching in August 2023. The scheme will incentivise people to return their used bottles (using a deposit system), which will help to improve recycling rates, increase the quality of recycling materials and significantly reduce litter. We expect to see bottle returns of up to 90% as a result of implementation. 

Recognising the connection between food waste and carbon emissions

A third of all food produced globally ends up in landfill, making food waste one of the greatest contributors to climate change. At Sodexo, we are committed to reducing food waste by 50% by 2025.

Following a COP26 that did not adequately reflect the tangible impact of food waste, we launched our Appetite for Action report. This looked at how food waste levels, and therefore carbon emissions and net zero ambitions, are impacted by the current global issues around supply chains. 

In turn, this led to us calling on the UK Government to commission a dedicated strategy for tackling food waste, recommending that mandatory food waste reporting was part of this strategy. We were especially pleased to see this result in Defra issuing a consultation on food waste reporting for large businesses. 

Aoife Wycherley is our chair of the Business Services Association’s SME Partnership Committee and has spoken out about the issue with carbon accounting for smaller companies. While most companies are trying to tackle climate change, Net Zero reporting requirements are often different for each, which can lead to mountains of paperwork. These extra hoops can be overwhelming for small suppliers, so she has suggested Sodexo and other high-profile businesses come together and create one set of questions aligned with Net Zero targets.

A considered and uniform reporting system will not only make things simpler for suppliers but lead to better compliance. It should be something everyone can understand, be easily rolled out, and be used across multiple food industries. We want to support our suppliers by making these reporting requirements as easy as possible.

Deploying a responsible sourcing strategy 

In early 2022, food buyers in the UK’s biggest organisations reported a 60% increase in food waste due to pressure on supply chains. Because we know that monitoring and management drive change, we responded by accelerating our deployment of WasteWatch by Leanpath, targeting 100% roll-out in relevant sites by 2025. This technology enables kitchen teams to find efficiencies and make changes to operating procedures, and has already saved Sodexo and our clients over 3,200 metric tonnes of carbon emissions.

We also continue to build resilience in our food supply chain by partnering with SMEs, who account for three-quarters of our supply network and 44% of our spend. This allows us to create shorter supply chains, promote sustainable agriculture practices, and work with organisations that share our environmental and social values. The Scottish Parliament is a great example of where we've sourced a considerable share of our equipment and produce from local SMEs, including Campbell Brothers for our meat and poultry, and Grahams Family Dairy for our dairy produce.

Sodexo’s General Manager at the Scottish Parliament, Kevin McMahon, said, “Supporting Scottish businesses is of the utmost importance to our customers based at the Scottish Parliament. Whether it’s government officials, MSPs, or visitors – they all want to see a range of great Scottish businesses featured in our premises. Luckily, Scotland has an abundance of natural produce and brilliant entrepreneurs and so we are able to source a significant proportion of our equipment and supplies locally. Even the hot drinks we serve in our cafés are produced on our doorstep by The Edinburgh Tea & Coffee Company Ltd.!’

Creating social value and ensuring sustainability isn’t just ‘nice to do’  

We strive to ensure that everything we do creates an overall positive impact on our environment and society. Our commitment to transparent social accounting – evidencing our achievements and providing accessible reporting – enables Sodexo to share its progress each year, internally and externally. Doing so helps inform our continued approach to leadership on the issues that matter, and being a positive national influence for improving quality of life. 

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