From ABC Carbon Express June 2021
The COVID-19 crisis has demonstrated just how interlinked human, business and planetary health are. Increasingly, employees, investors and consumers are demanding that businesses do more to tackle sustainability issues. We asked Sodexo how are you able to help businesses to adapt and innovate to become more sustainable?
Here’s the answer Qi Ni LEE came up with. She’s in charge of Corporate Responsibility and Diversity and the Inclusion Lead for Malaysia & Singapore.
How is Sodexo able to help businesses to adapt and innovate to become more sustainable?
As a company and a citizen of the planet, we strongly believe in contributing to sustainable growth – what we call doing good business in a good way. Sodexo started as a food services company back in 1966 and is now a leading global food services and facilities management company, which has sustainability at the heart of our business.
We help businesses become more sustainable through various collaborations with global organisations – corporate and non-profits – on sustainability initiatives. Sodexo has a Better Tomorrow 2025 framework, which adheres to the guidelines of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Our initiatives and partnerships are aligned to these goals and contributes to the most pressing issues. This is because we recognise that human, business and planetary health are heavily interlinked.
From educating on food sustainability to partnering with businesses to locally source ingredients and enhance energy efficiency of spaces, we are in a unique position to make a real difference.
For example, in 2019, we partnered with Knorr and WWF-UK to identify 50 food ingredients that are both highly nutritious and carry lower environmental impacts. Based on the Future 50 Foods Report, we began rolling out plant-based menus to more than 5000 locations across the world, including Asia Pacific where we aim to increase our plant-based offerings by 30%. One of the ways we’ve done so in Singapore, is to create plant-based burgers for many of the schools that we provide services for, using ingredients like black bean and beetroot, which are not only tasty, but also a good source of plant-based protein. We have also worked with local chefs to train them in curating and preparing planet-friendly menus.
We also believe that green innovations are crucial in using resources sustainably, and thus have offered services in this area. One area that we have been supporting businesses in is targeted food waste management technology. WasteWatch, launched in 2019, allows kitchens to capture and understand food waste through data analytics and, over time, minimise food wastage. Targeted waste management not only helps us to source responsibly and reduce our carbon footprints – it also allows us to educate our customers on consumption choices and positively reduces bottom line costs. On average, WasteWatch reduces food waste by 50% globally. In the Asia Pacific region, WasteWatch is being deployed to businesses in Singapore, Australia, Greater China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, and Thailand.
Our Sustainability White Paper, launched in April earlier this year, further highlights the importance for businesses to shift priorities and refocus sustainability efforts. In doing so, they can improve employee engagement, grow consumer satisfaction and boost the bottom line.
Sodexo has also come up with a White Paper to help us all “come clean” in more ways than one. And here’s a case study on WasteWatch to dip into.