Sourcing of materials, Food loss & waste and Packaging & other waste material sustainability matters related to ESRS E5 Resource Use and circular economy are mostly supported by the Responsible sourcing and On-site resource efficiency pillars of our Climate & Nature strategy, described in section 2.2.2 Environmental information. The corresponding policies, actions and targets are summarized in this table.
Sodexo’s Climate Transition Plan to Achieve Net Zero by 2040
Climate & Nature core pillars
Responsible sourcing
Policies
Sodexo commitment to protect forests and peatlands
Targets and commitments
- Deforestation and conversion free supply chain globally by 2030 for palm oil, soy, beef and paper products.
- 100% certified sustainable disposable paper products by 2025
- 100% physical sustainable certified palm oil by 2025 for cooking oil, frying oil and margarine (including purchases of RSPO PalmTrace certificates)
Sustainable eating
Policies
No specific policy from this pillar is linked to ESRS E5
Targets and commitments
No specific target or commitment from this pillar is linked to ESRS E5
On-site resource efficiency
Policies
No specific policy from this pillar is linked to ESRS E5
Targets and commitments
Food waste reduction:85% deployment of the WasteWatch program by 2025 50% reduction of food waste by 2025 through the WasteWatch program
Sourcing of materials
STRATEGY, TARGETS AND POLICIES [E5-1, E5-2, E5-3]
The preservation of natural resources and the implementation of circular models constitute a fundamental axis for achieving our commitments regarding nature and climate. Except for unprocessed food products, Sodexo does not purchase raw materials but finished products. This means that our ability to reduce the environmental impact related to the extraction and use of natural resources mainly relies on our responsible sourcing strategy, which is one of our 3 core pillars, as detailed in section 2.2.2 Environmental information.
From a resource use and waste prevention perspective, the latter entails:
- Eliminating superfluous items and reducing single use products;
- Ensuring sustainable sourcing of renewable resources, mainly through well-established sustainability certificates and standards (especially for key commodities like paper and palm oil…, as detailed in paragraph Commitments and targets of the Responsible sourcing pillar in 2.2.2 Environmental information);
- Transitioning away from use of virgin resources by increasing the share of recycled, recyclable content in the products we buy as well as switching to reusable models. Among the initiatives we developed:
- Switch from virgin to recycled polyester fibers for our uniforms
- Switch to recyclable, low-impact gloves replacing traditional nitrile or latex ones in the Netherlands
- Development a dedicated sustainable food service disposables policy - described in section 2.2.2.5 "Packaging and Waste",
As part of its Responsible sourcing pillar, Sodexo is committed to the following:
- Deforestation and conversion free supply chain globally by 2030 for palm oil, soy, beef and paper products.
- 100% certified sustainable disposable paper products by 2025
- 100% physical sustainable certified palm oil by 2025 for cooking oil, frying oil and margarine (including purchases of RSPO PalmTrace certificates).
METRICS
Resource inflows by category [E5-4]
Sodexo's inflows purchases consist mostly of food products, including meat & fish, dairy & eggs, fruits & vegetables, beans, pulses & cereals as well as prepared food & beverage. Sodexo also purchases non-food products, such as maintenance parts, cleaning products, food service disposables or uniforms. Split of food products by category, together with GHG emissions are detailed in section 2.2.2.1 Climate change (E1), under GHG emissions and energy.
Metrics related to biological materials that are sustainably sourced and products with recycled components for our most material products [E5-4]
Responsible sourcing of paper has been an area of focus for the Group for several years, with the measure and follow-up of the share of paper sustainably sourced and the share of recycled paper.
A recent analysis to assess the environmental upstream and downstream impacts of our non-food purchases confirmed that hygiene paper is one of the most impacting non-food categories, together with packaging and food service disposables.