Sustainable growth tops the agenda at Sodexo's Partners with Purpose conference
Sodexo UK & Ireland welcomed 43 supply partners to Brighton & Hove Albion’s Amex Stadium for its second ‘Partners with Purpose’ supply partner conference, the agenda for which focused on themes around sustainable growth and collaboration.
Attended by over 110 representatives from its supply chain, including SMEs and VCSEs, Sodexo’s ‘Partners with Purpose’ conference facilitated insightful discussions and sessions with senior leaders from across Sodexo. They shared the latest developments, priorities, and plans in areas such as encouraging sustainable diets, supply chain diversification, achieving net zero 2040, and working together to drive greater positive social impact.
A key focus of the day was Sodexo informing its supply partners about its new pledge to add further diversity to its supply chains as part of a wider social impact initiative across the organisation. Each supply partner created their own personalised pledge on this topic, aiming to create positive action across the industry.
Julie Ennis, CEO of Corporate Services and Energy & Resources, provided valuable insight on how clients are focusing on food and employee experience as talent attraction enablers. She also discussed Sodexo’s ambition to grow significantly in food services and experience-led services, therefore relying on partners and suppliers to support sustainability, agility and differentiation.
Claire Morris, CEO of Sodexo Live! also shared insight on the segment’s ambitions for the business and how embracing digital innovation is driving customer satisfaction in its hospitality offer at over 45 sites, including the AMEX Stadium, Brighton, where the conference was hosted.
At last year’s Partners with Purpose conference, held in March 2023, Sodexo announced the launch of a roadmap for its supply partners to support not only Sodexo’s net zero journey but also their own. This year, Sodexo also took the opportunity to expand the conversation beyond net zero by introducing the Green Line vision, which supports the group's ambition to be a market marker in sustainability, and discussing how the wider social impact supply chain agenda will evolve over the coming years.
A collaborative approach is key to sustainability strategies. At Sodexo, just 1% of emissions are under our direct control in scopes 1 and 2, the majority - 99% - lie within scope 3, with 34% stemming from our supply chain. This is why our supply partners play an invaluable role in enabling us to realise our goals, and this annual conference is a chance for us to share our plans our successes and the challenges that lie ahead so we can work together to make a difference.
At our Partners with Purpose conference last year, we introduced our net zero supplier engagement strategy, a vital component of our overall net zero approach.
Tremendous progress has been made and in our January 2024 net zero report, we highlighted a notable 30% cut in supply chain emissions from our 2017 levels, cutting 100,903 tonnes of CO2—the equivalent of flying around the world 8,581 times. This achievement is testament to the collaboration between Sodexo and our suppliers.
During the conference, guests at the event sampled an innovative lunch menu curated by the Sodexo Live! culinary team, with dishes taken from Enactus’s ‘Chance for Change’ global recipe book. The cookbook was the brainchild of Enactus Team Aston who participated in the Action4Impact incubator project, part of Sodexo’s Stop Hunger Foundation's partnership with Enactus. The cookbook supports female refugees in the UK by featuring their global recipes such as Chicken Galinha Cafreal and Goan style Bebinca.