Responsible sourcing

What impact?

Ensuring health and wellbeing

Through the ingredients we source, we contribute to the health and wellbeing of over 80 million consumers everyday. Our partners are required to follow our supplier specifications, and they receive support and assistance through a quality monitoring plan that includes regular audits. We have strict standards for selecting products and suppliers in order to ensure we source safe, nutritious and quality food. We check these standards using a rigorous and objective testing process.

Fostering social equity

Our practices contribute to the livelihood of millions of people including through a fair and inclusive supply chain. Our Supplier Code of Conduct is fundamental to our approach; it ensures that our suppliers comply with responsible ethical, social and environmental practices.

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are the heart of their local communities, providing local jobs, generating growth and supporting their local communities. Our global Supply Chain Inclusion Program proactively seeks to increase the number of and support SME vendors and those owned or operated by women or minorities in our supply base. We run mentoring programs to support our diverse suppliers in their growth at a local level such as the UK Supply Chain Inclusion Programme or Impact+ in France.

We are partnering with local organizations and advocacy groups to support our initiatives focus on empowering women. For example, we are working with WEConnect to support companies owned by women with training and certifications.

Protecting and restoring the environment

We protect the environment through choices about who we source from, what we buy and how we work with our suppliers. By promoting sustainable fish and seafood options, ensuring deforestation free supply chains and transitioning to more reusable food containers we are reducing the impact our business has on the environment. In addition, we are also actively choosing to work with suppliers that share our commitment to reducing emissions.

As a company, we’ve committed to sourcing 100% sustainable seafood (according to Sodexo’s Sustainable Seafood guide) by 2025 and have committed to eliminating deforestation from our supply chain by 2030.

Solutions for a Forest Positive Future

We have committed to eliminating deforestation from our supply chain by 2030 by focusing on palm oil, paper, soy, and beef. In 2021, we joined the Forest Positive Coalition of Consumer Goods Forum, where we specifically support the Winrock International Project to preserve peatlands overexploitation by palm oil, pulp and paper production in the Riau province of Indonesia. 

Find out more about Our Climate Journey

A Science-based Approach for Nature

Understanding the importance of a science-based approach to sustainability and building on our current work on the topic, Sodexo is among over 200 pioneer companies participating in the Science Based Targets Network’s Corporate Engagement Program. This program aims to balance scientific rigor with practical feasibility, showcasing outcomes from companies like ours. Science-based targets for nature provides guidance to companies on contributing effectively to an equitable, net-zero, and nature-positive future (considering Freshwater, Land, Biodiversity, and Oceans).

Sodexo is piloting steps 1 & 2 of SBTN’s process: assessing Sodexo’s most material impacts on Nature, identifying where those impacts occur in our value chain and prioritizing where to act. This will allow Sodexo to consolidate, prioritize and accelerate our sustainability work in a science-based manner.