Sodexo recognised for social impact leadership through to operational excellence at numerous industry awards
Source: The Social Mobility Awards 2026
From left to right: Andy Boucher, Vice Chair of Making The Leap; Janet Wigley, CEO Corporate Services, Sodexo; Angela Halliday, Responsible Business & Partnerships Director, Sodexo and guest host, Sue Perkins.
This autumn Sodexo UK & Ireland has been recognised at a number of industry awards covering its leadership in driving social mobility, commitment to nurturing talent and delivering exceptional experiences for its clients across different sectors.
Sodexo won the Leadership of the Year award at the annual Social Mobility Awards, held on 6 October. It was recognised for embedding inclusive recruitment and progression into its core business model using the scale of 30,000 colleagues to both deliver impact and reshape employer practice. Through initiatives such as Starting Fresh and inclusive talent pathways, Sodexo is creating direct access to employment and progression for underrepresented groups.
Sodexo’s Culinary Academy was highly commended at the awards in the Progressive Programme category.
Sodexo also celebrated with two wins at the 2026 Foodservice Cateys, Sodexo Live! group executive development chef Ian Page won Chef of the Year and Laura Moorcroft, regional support manager for Sodexo at Colchester Garrison was awarded the Extra Mile award for developing a partnership with Essex Cares, a local charity which supports people with learning disabilities, autism and other neurodivergent conditions and creating positive, inclusive and enriching workplace experiences for young people with special educational needs and disabilities, providing them with genuine routes to employment.
Last week Gary Broadhurst, contract retail development chef at Colchester Garrison won Higher Apprentice of the Year at the East of England regional final of the National Apprenticeship Awards. Gary now progresses into the National final.
Over the last month Sodexo teams have received recognition for delivering operational excellence for the company’s clients. This has included:
- HMP Peterborough: Accredited Trainer of the Year at the 2026 British Institute of Cleaning Science (BICSc) Awards. The new Cleaning Academy has supported around 160 prisoners achieve a BICSc qualification in the past 18 months which will help improve their employability on release.
- Sodexo Health & Care: Best Workplace Performance & Transformation Award at the FM Awards UK for a brand-new digital restaurant concept at Colchester Hospital which has dramatically improved satisfaction, reduced queues and enhanced staff wellbeing; demonstrating how FM innovation unlocks time, performance, and better outcomes for frontline NHS teams.
- Sodexo Corporate Services and Circles celebrated winning the Customer Experience Award alongside a client at the British Council for Offices (BCO) National Awards 2026.
At Sodexo, our people are our greatest strength, and these awards showcase the impact they make every day. From helping individuals overcome barriers to employment and progression, to delivering innovative solutions and exceptional service for our clients, our teams consistently live our values in action. Their commitment to improving quality of life, supporting communities and creating better everyday experiences for those we serve is what makes recognitions like these so meaningful. We couldn't be prouder of what they have achieved together.