Sodexho's Environmental Action Program
is complex and multifaceted, offering solid information and tools to make our customers, clients, employees, and society at large aware of environmental problems and how they can help.
Food Alliance certified foods are produced in season by local farmers including green and red peppers, green beans, sweet corn, squash, apples, apple cider and potatoes.
 For the past several years, Sodexo has sought to utilize local and regional farmers and producers for procuring in-season products for its operations nationwide, making sustainable goods available to its customers at campuses, schools, health care facilities, and corporate accounts, with units receiving up to 40 percent of their produce from local growers.
In order for farmers to meet Food Alliance standards for production of sustainable items, they must agree not to use genetically modified products, cannot utilize hormones or fee additive antibiotics in livestock production and must continually seek to improve various other management and production practices designed to reduce pesticides, conserve water and protect the soil, operate in a manner that protects adjacent wildlife habits, and offer safe and fair working conditions for their employees.
Since 1999, the Sodexo Foundation has been committed to being a driving and creative force that contributes to a hunger-free nation. In order to eliminate hunger that affects 36 million people in the U.S., we must fight its root causes... (Link to the stop hunger site.)
Sodexo has been an active member of industry coalitions which encourage legislators, manufacturers and consumers to jointly develop rational, not reactionary, strategies to today's environmental needs. We select our manufacturing partners watchfully. Fort Howard , our largest contracted supplier of paper, napkins, tissue and towels, uses recycled fiber exclusively in the manufacturing process. Mobil Chemical, our primary contracted source for plastic can liners, uses from 30% to 90% recycled materials in their plastic liners.
Sweetheart Cup, Solo Cup, Amoco, Dart and Mobil all use pre-recycled material in the manufacture of foam plates, bowls and food containers. Sodexo will continue to form alliances with business organizations that are ecologically sound and responsible. We will continue to work with consumer organizations, governmental agencies and industry groups to implement new strategies and tactics as they evolve. We will actively participate in the long-range planning process at the local and national levels to ensure that our environment and economy are protected for future generations to come.
What is Feeding Our Future?
- Six week program where Sodexo at Barry University partners with Daily Bread Food Bank to provide meals to needy children attending summer schools.
- This year the program at Barry University will prepare 8250 meals from June 16 to July 25.
- The following local organizations will benefit from this year’s program: Urgent Inc, Betesta Christian, Christ Crusaders Lt. Angels Academy, Iglesia La Gloria, and Bible Baptist Church.
- Funded entirely by the Sodexo Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports innovative programs that fight hunger.
- Program is in its eleventh year and served 375,000+ meals in summer 2007.
- Currently, Feeding Our Future is present in 18 cities—Atlanta, Baltimore, Chattanooga, Detroit, Ft. Worth, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, Oklahoma City, San Jose, Terre Haute and Washington D.C.
- In 2007, the program also operated in 7 Canadian cities and served more than 100,000 meals.
Why is Sodexo doing this?
- As a corporation, Sodexo devotes its charitable resources entirely to the issue of hunger.
- In the communities we serve, there is an immense need for food donations and increased support of hunger relief organizations.
- Feeding Our Future helps some of the 80% of children who participate in the National School Lunch Program and are at risk of hunger or malnutrition during the summer months.
- Supplemental feeding programs such as Feeding Our Future can help offset threats from undernutrition such as proper physical growth and mental development.
- We’re the leading provider of food and facilities management services to the K-12 schools market and we serve meals to more than 1 million students a day—it’s only natural to help by doing what we know how to do best.
Is hunger among children really that prevalent in the U.S.?
- 4 million American children under age 12 are hungry on any given day. In fact, one in five people in a soup kitchen line is a child (America’s Second Harvest)
- Hungry children suffer from two to four times as many individual health problems as low-income children whose families eat regularly (America’s Second Harvest)
- 46 percent of food recipient households with children include at least one child under age 5 (America’s Second Harvest)
- The U.S. ranks 16th among industrialized nations in efforts to lift children out of poverty (USDA)
How does hunger affect children?
According to the USDA, consequences of hunger in children include:Increased infant mortality, Iron deficiency, Growth stunting, Anemia Poor learning, Increased chances for disease.
Barry University President
Sister Linda Bevilacqua and Sodexo Senior
VP Fred Formichella celebrate Feeding Our Future
Partnership. Pictured (from left to right):
 Front Row:
Dr. Michael Griffin, Barry University Vice-President
of Student Affairs
Nelta Devalcin, Sodexo Prep Cook
Sister Linda Bevilacqua, Barry University President
LaRaunce Walker, Sodexo Supervisor
Alexia Freeman, Barry University Dean of Students’ Office
Sandra Collie, Barry University Public Safety Office
Barry Frieser, Sodexo General Manager
Back Row:
Ronald Proano, Sodexo Sous Chef
Wayne McDowell, Sodexo Executive Sous Chef
Fred Formichella, Sodexo Senior Vice-President
Daphne Miles, Sodexo Executive Chef
Sodexo at Barry University donated 150 lunches during Habitat for Humanity's Building Blitz in Liberty City. Retail Manager Daniel Howley & Baker Frances Gimenez volunteered their time during the blitz.
Sodexo Servathon, held every April, is a company-wide full month devoted to fighting hunger. It is a month where Sodexo employees join forces to fundraise, donate food, and serve meals in their local communities.
America's Second Harvest defines the hungry as those who can't buy enough food to meet basic nutritional needs. The USDA currently states that more than 35 million Americans are at risk of hunger, including more than 12.4 million children. With such disheartening statistics, Sodexo Servathon presents each of us with the opportunity to reach out to help strengthen our communities.
ECOLAB APEX WAREWASHING PROGRAM:
Sodexo Supply Management, in collaboration with Campus Services, has made the decision to transition to Ecolab’s New APEX Warewashing Program in April. This program will provide Sodexo with a sustainable warewashing solution that will benefit Sodexo, our clients, our customers and the environment.
There were two key points that determined this decision:
- The ability to improve our efficiency to decrease water and energy consumption.
- The move toward a more environmentally friendly, sustainable and non caustic formulation.
Below is an example of the savings that can be achieved by effectively implementing and utilizing the new Ecolab APEX Warewashing Program.
Average client water and energy savings based on a 10% reduction in racks washed for a unit that averaged 600 racks per day:
- 698 therms of natural gas ($635.10)
- 21,900 gallons of water ($99.19)
- 12,264 kilowatt hours of electricity ($1,238.66)
- Annual net utility savings: $ 1,972.95
- APEX will also reduce plastic waste. Apex Power machine detergent is a low phosphorus formula with only 7 grams of plastic packaging.
XPRESSNAP RECYCLED PAPER PROGRAM:
Proving that simple acts can have a big impact, Sodexo announced that after only one year, its switch to recycled napkins in 1,300 foodservice operations nationwide has resulted in saving nearly ten million gallons of water, more than 23,000 trees, half a million gallons of oil and five and a half million kilowatts of energy. The company began using two types of recycled napkins last year as part of a commitment to leadership in sustainability and to providing environment-friendly practices.
Energy was saved because less power is used to recycle paper products than to create them from virgin material – enough was saved through the napkin program to power 600 American homes for an entire year! In addition, more than half a million gallons of oil were saved – 38 tanker trucks worth – and 41 tons of pollutants were kept out of the environment. Further, 4,131 cubic yards of paper were diverted from landfill space. This is enough to cover an entire football field with a two and a half feet deep stack of paper.
“These recycled products and dispensers that reduce waste are simple, easy and effective ways that Sodexo is helping our clients to be more environmentally responsible. These calculations demonstrate how little things add up to a truly significant impact by implementing environmental programs across our company”, said Arlin S. Wasserman, vice president for corporate citizenship for Sodexo. Part of Sodexo’s sustainability commitment is to continually seek out and offer our clients effective ways that we can work together to help protect our environment.
In addition, Sodexo is bringing the Xpressnap® napkin program to its client sites, which creates additional environmental savings. The program has resulted in a 25 to 50 percent reduction in the actual number of paper napkins used thanks to new dispensers that dispense a single napkin at a time.
The calculations are made by the Recycled Products Cooperative (RPC), which says that each ton of 100 percent post-consumer recycled paper that displaces a ton of virgin fiber paper saves 7,000 gallons of water, 4,100 kilowatt hours of electricity and prevents 60 pounds of pollutants from entering the atmosphere. In addition, use of recycled products helps protect wildlife habitat, diverts useful items from landfills (which saves both space and money), and helps preserve the earth's natural beauty.
Sodexo has been included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, World Index, and STOXX Sustainability Index for three consecutive years. This year, Dow Jones also recognized the company as a super sector worldwide leader on sustainability. Sodexo’s corporate citizenship priorities include fighting hunger and malnutrition, improving the quality of life of our customers and employees, promoting health and wellness, conducting ethical business, and promoting sustainability. Sodexo’s food and environmental platform in North America focuses on sourcing and providing locally grown foods, improving nutrition, promoting local economies, energy conservation and carbon reduction, reducing the use of toxic chemicals, integrated waste management and minimizing packaging.
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