Building a better everyday for people, planet, and places

Contributing to the economic, social, and environmental development of the cities, regions, and countries in which we work is central to our contracts. From supporting the Community Garden at the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS), to ensuring apples grown at the Scottish Parliament find their way into the jars of a local jam and chutney producer, we make it our mission to work with small, local charities, organisations, and businesses. 

Supporting communities across the UK and Ireland

Sodexo is an intrinsic part of many communities across the UK and Ireland, and one way we show that is by encouraging our employees to support local causes through volunteering and fundraising. 

For instance, the Sodexo team at SFRS have supported the retired firefighters' annual lunch and taken part in cake sales and volunteering days for the firefighters' charity; we have also bought a table at the charity's annual ball when given the opportunity. 

At the Cambuslang SFRS site, we work with a local community group, Healthy n Happy, which runs a Community Garden at the site; our Chef Manager Ross Hamilton is regularly found in the garden, helping the group to prepare and serve dishes made with produce grown on-site. A key aim for Healthy n Happy is to provide activities and events to support local people's connections and relationships with themselves, their family, friends and other people in the community, which Ross is happy to support: 

Our team at the Scottish Parliament recently volunteered 18 hours at local beaches, clearing over 100kg of litter from the coast. The contract's General Manager, Kevin McMahon, has also supported charitable organisations from a strategic angle, donating time and expertise to help get his local church café up and running safely. From completing risk assessments to advising on the compliance and safety aspects of running a café, Kevin has helped the group to source equipment and develop documentation and processes to ensure a safe and legal operation, preparing for Environmental Health and other regulatory visits.

Making work fit our employees

We pride ourselves on being flexible employers that work with people to make work right for them. Colleagues across all our contracts are provided with access to our wellbeing hub for mental health support, offering guidance, 24-hour support, one-to-one counselling, and learning opportunities for colleagues. We offer all colleagues the opportunity for both online and face-to-face learning, with over 800 online hours being completed throughout 2022 in Scotland alone. 

We also offer apprenticeships and other professional qualifications through relationships with local colleges as well as national providers, with over 30 colleagues across Scotland having completed professional development opportunities in the past 18 months. First aid training is an activity strongly encouraged within the contract, with 11 also trained as contract-specific Mental Health First Aid responders. Many colleagues are active contributors to our employee network groups, including our SoTogether network, our Sodexo Working parents network, and PRIDE network. Over 40% of the contract team have flexible working arrangements in place; making sure that their jobs fit in with their lives and responsibilities. We also have extremely high levels of local recruitment, with 90% of colleagues working within 20 miles of their SFRS base. At HMRC, some sites have a 100% local workforce (Sodexo employees living within a 30-minute commute to the office). 

Doing our bit for the planet

We strive to conduct our business in such a way that it impacts the world positively, drives progress, and respects the resources on which our future depends. That means reducing unnecessary energy consumption and implementing a strategy of reducing, recycling, and repurposing to minimise or eliminate waste in partnership with our clients and supply chain. In one year alone at SFRS, we managed to increase recycling rates by 8% and reduce waste destined for landfill by 2.72%, through ongoing education and awareness campaigns. The management team have sourced a local supplier to arrange donation of unwanted furniture to community and charity groups, keeping it out of traditional furniture waste disposal streams, and the night security teams have a checklist to ensure no unnecessary electrical equipment is left running overnight. 

The team at SFRS have also taken part in a wide range of local initiatives to reduce unnecessary waste, supporting Litter Picks for World Earth Day; and as part of the Queen's Jubilee Green Canopy project, donating 17 native trees for planting across Scotland at SFRS sites. 

At the Scottish Parliament, we are proud to source all of our meats from Campbell's; a family business like our own, with a passion for local Scottish produce and the highest standards of production integrity. We both believe in using every part of the animal from nose to tail, resulting in less food waste, and maximising the use of every resource required to rear the animal. We regularly host drop-in events and pop-up restaurants with Campbell's and other suppliers to communicate these messages and other sustainability tips to our customers on-site. 

Through a cup levy scheme and reusable container initiative, the Scottish Parliament team have successfully diverted in the region of 7,700 hot drink cups from waste disposal per year; saving the equivalent of 193kg of waste from finding its way to landfill. 

It is estimated that our first fully electric vehicle (delivered in 2022) will save Sodexo 1,465kg of CO2e emissions per year; with planned replacements for other vehicles in our Government fleet, the overall annual savings are likely to reach 22,000kg of CO2e emissions. 

Across our Government Agencies business, we are also proud to encourage sustainable diet options by ensuring up to a third of our main meals served daily are plant-based, and that the whole menu reflects responsible sourcing practices.

Working with small, local suppliers 

A key element of our social value strategy focuses on our commitment to enhancing the capabilities and capacity of our small, medium enterprises (SME) and voluntary, charity and social enterprise (VCSE) network and suppliers. On a global scale, Sodexo feeds 100 million customers daily – imagine the impact and social value we can bring to communities just by supporting a range of smaller suppliers and businesses. 

In the UK and Ireland, our SMEs represent over half of our core supply chain and account for 44% (£256 million) of our total spend. The Scottish Parliament is a great example of where we've sourced a considerable share of our equipment and produce from local SMEs, including Edinburgh Tea & Coffee Company Ltd. for hot drinks and Vegware Ltd. for all food packaging. 

Our work with small and medium enterprises also has a significant impact on local economies, and the diversity of our suppliers is what makes us resilient in the face of uncertainty.  

The entrepreneurial mindset has always been part of Sodexo’s DNA, and this year we launched our global Accelerators programme in the UK and Ireland, in partnership with L Marks - a corporate innovation specialist and early-stage investor. Through the programme, start-ups receive mentoring from senior executives, insights from subject matter experts, and the potential for future investment. We aim to collaborate with growth-driven start-ups and help them to take their business to the next level, because we believe these fledgling firms will be the innovators of the future. 

Ensuring sustainability and social value is crucial

Community has always been at the heart of Sodexo’s approach to doing business. All our initiatives help to develop a closer bond between local communities and ensure opportunities are available to all. We’re passionate about making a tangible difference in the places we operate. 

Our founder, Pierre Bellon, wanted Sodexo to be a responsible, caring, and inclusive business. Today, we are guided by our Social Value Strategy, which outlines the principles we live and work by to create a greener, healthier, safer and more prosperous society for all. 

It’s all part of how we build a better everyday for the millions living near our sites – from Lerwick to Land’s End.