Sodexo

Sustainable development strategy
The company has set out its corporate responsibility road map by identifying and prioritising the areas where it has the most impact, via a materiality assessment. Under the Better Tomorrow 2025 umbrella, the company has identified issues such as carbon emissions, small and medium enterprise support and promoting healthy choices, covering the three benchmark dimensions of environment, nutrition and social inclusion. The company has set time-bound targets and reports on them via its corporate documents.

Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions
Sodexo commits to reduce its absolute scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 34% by 2025. It has also aligned with a 1.5-degree trajectory, with reduction targets validated by the Science Based Targets initiative, the first company in its segment to do so. To achieve this, the company is focusing on increasing its sourcing of renewable energy. The company also contributes to transparency by disclosing its progress against targets.

No leading practices were identified for the company in the nutrition measurement area.

No leading practices were identified for the company in the social inclusion measurement area.

Governance and accountability for sustainable development
While responsibility for Sodexo’s sustainable development strategy lies with the Steering Committee for Corporate Responsibility, the company has an opportunity to strengthen accountability by assigning this responsibility to its highest governance body and disclosing further information on its decision-making processes and oversight responsibilities, as well as linking sustainability objectives and targets to roles and remuneration.

Stakeholder engagement
Sodexo discloses that it conducts stakeholder engagement activities and has built enduring relationships via its programmes. However, the company could improve its transparency regarding this topic, by further disclosing the specific issues raised by its stakeholders, as well as how it identified its interlocutors. Finally, Sodexo could also disclose how its stakeholders’ concerns are integrated into the company’s strategy, outside of its materiality assessment.

Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions
As with its scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions, Sodexo has committed to an absolute reduction of scope 3 emissions of 34% by 2025. The company acknowledges most of its emissions are in this category and has committed to focus its efforts by collaborating with its clients and suppliers. While the company discloses this target is also aligned with a 1.5-degree trajectory, this has not yet been approved by the Science Based Targets initiative.

Food loss and waste
When it comes to reducing food waste, Sodexo has set up a programme, WasteWatch, which is backed by its smart waste measurement technology and focuses on eliminating waste generated by its kitchens. It has also joined the 10x20x30 initiative. The company discloses having reduced food waste 45.3% in the sites where its initiatives have been implemented. However, the company could improve its performance by disclosing how it engages with its supply chain partners on this matter.

Plastic use and packaging
While the company discloses that it is reducing its plastic use and transitioning to sustainable forms of packaging, it has an opportunity to strengthen its commitment by setting targets to reduce plastic use or transition to more sustainable forms of packaging and reporting against these targets.

Antibiotics use and growth-promoting substances
While the company commits to reducing both prophylactic use of antibiotics and growth-promoting substances for aquatic and farm animals in its animal welfare supplier charter, it does not disclose the processes involved in implementing the policy, such as external auditing practices or verification processes.

Availability of healthy foods
Sodexo aims to offer more healthy meals to its guests through its global health and wellness programme called Mindful. This programme includes restrictions on fat, sodium and calories, and its criteria are defined on the company’s website. While the company has set a target to offer 100% of its consumers healthy lifestyle options, this target does not set specific thresholds for nutrients relevant to this indicator. The company can also improve its performance by reporting progress across its operations.

Accessibility and affordability of healthy foods
While the company has a commitment to address food insecurity by improving the accessibility and affordability of healthy foods, it has an opportunity to develop commercial activities designed to make healthy foods more accessible and affordable for vulnerable groups.

Clear and transparent labelling
Sodexo has committed to transparency regarding nutritional information on its offerings via its Mindful logo as well as using Nutri-Score in some of its locations. The company states that via its logo, it communicates the ingredients in each dish, providing complete nutritional information. Furthermore, it has developed an application by which its users can make healthier choices. However, the company does not provide information in the public domain on whether nutritional information is also available for food offerings not covered by the Mindful initiative.

Food safety
While the company discloses compliance with national regulations and/or the Codex General Principles of Food Hygiene, it has an opportunity to strengthen its commitment by disclosing the percentages of its own operations that are certified to a food safety scheme/certification programme recognised by the Global Food Safety Initiative or other widely recognised (industry-specific) certification.

Child labour
While the company commits to prohibiting child labour in its own operations and requires its suppliers to adhere to the same standard, it has an opportunity to disclose a coordinated and consistent monitoring system for its own operations.

Forced labour
The company states it does not allow forced labour in value chain, via its statement of respect for human rights as well as its supplier code of conduct, with the latter covering important elements such as forbidding the retention of personal documents. Furthermore, the company also respects the rights to collective bargaining and association in its own operations and supply chain. The company could strengthen its activities against forced labour by having perennial and continuous monitoring process.

Living wage
The company does not disclose that it pays its workers a living wage or requires its suppliers to do the same. Neither has it set targets to do so in the future.

Land rights
The company has included land tenure rights clauses in its supplier code of conduct, which covers adherence to the principles of free, prior and informed consent, contract transparency and disclosure. It also has an ethics line were individuals, including external communities, can report violations. The company could improve its performance by disclosing its remediation and grievance process for land right violations.

Sodexo commits to respecting human rights and the ILO core labour rights. The company also identifies its human rights risks and impacts covering its own operations and supply chain. It has a grievance mechanism that is accessible to both its workers and external individuals. While the company explains that it has a risk-mapping process through which it identifies human rights risks, it does not disclose how it assesses its salient human rights risks. Finally, while Sodexo discloses the categories of stakeholders whose human rights may be affected by its activities, it does not provide any examples of engagement with these parties.

Sodexo demonstrates its commitment to gender equality and women’s empowerment by having been a signatory to the Women’s Empowerment Principles since 2015. It discloses information on the health and safety of its own workers and expects its supply chain partners to commit to respecting the health and safety of their workers. It also discloses information on the collective bargaining agreements covering its workforce as well as the proportion of women in its workforce and female board members (7 out of 12). However, it does not disclose other diversity categories. The company does not commit to paying its workers a living wage, nor does it expect the same of its supply chain partners. While it states that it observes applicable laws around working hours, no universal national limit exists in some of the countries in which it operates, including India, Pakistan and Ireland.

Sodexo has policies or disclosures for most of the issues related to acting ethically. The company prohibits bribery and corruption and takes steps to identify and address bribery and corruption risks and incidents. The company also has a public commitment to protect personal data but does not disclose the types of information it collects. It has a global tax strategy but does not disclose the amount of corporate income tax paid for each tax jurisdiction. Finally, while Sodexo requires third-party lobbyists to comply with its lobbying and political engagement policies, it does not disclose its approach to political engagement nor specify that it does not make political contributions.