Clifton College awarded Talk Education award for Innovation in Nutrition or Food
Clifton College in Bristol and its food services provider, Independents by Sodexo were announced winners of the Innovation in Nutrition or Food award at the 2025 Talk Education Awards earlier this month.
Sodexo has been providing the food services at the prestigious co-ed independent boarding and day school, Clifton College, since 2017, serving healthy, delicious and nutritious meals every day to the 1,450 pupils aged 3 to 18 years and 600 staff members.
Judges of the Talk Education awards said: “We were really impressed by your food waste reduction initiatives and your data and behaviour-driven approach to tackling the problem, in turn highlighting the school’s wider commitment to sustainability”.
The Sodexo team at the College introduced a series of practical and educational initiatives that have led to a 37% reduction in total food waste.
Over the last academic year, the catering team introduced strategies to reduce the amount of wastage. Firstly, increasing transparency to help pupils and staff understand just how much food ended up in the bin, and to act as a prompt to change behaviours. This was done by displaying real-time food waste statistics on digital screens around the dining halls.
The Sodexo team also worked with pupils to launch a competition that challenged the College’s Houses to produce the least amount of food waste, which engaged the pupils and thanks to volunteers from each House, sparked discussions with their peers.
The College and Sodexo worked together on this initiative with pupils providing the team with valuable feedback on menus which has helped minimise food production waste. The Sodexo team also partnered with Mr Bates, the College’s Assistant Head (Sustainability) and the pupil-led Sustainability Committee to run a campaign explaining how food waste contributed to carbon emissions.
We are immensely pleased to receive the Talk Education Award for Innovation in Food and Nutrition.
We understand the importance of a good meal for our pupils and staff, and being able to provide them with tasty, healthy options while also caring for the planet is an achievement we are proud of.
I’d like to thank all the staff who work in the catering team with our partners at Sodexo for their ongoing support.
We believe that how we serve food matters as much as what we serve.
This award highlights how our commitment to transparency, education and collaboration can deliver real environmental and behavioural change.
By making food waste visible, involving pupils directly and working in partnership with the College, we’ve shown that when care and innovation come together, everyone benefits – from our plates to the planet.
The College’s approach to food is focused on more intention, more collaboration, and a strong commitment to sustainability.
Find out more about Independents by Sodexo