Sodexo Flies the LEAF Flag!

LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming) is delighted to announce that Sodexo, a leading provider of on-site service solutions, has joined LEAF as a corporate member, the first of its kind from the food and facilities management sector.

LEAF is at the forefront of sustainable agriculture and Sodexo is committed to setting the standards for sustainable business practices. This is an excellent partnership that will further enhance the work LEAF does across the supply chain.

LEAFs Commercial Manager, Jeremy Boxall, said: We look forward to working together with Sodexo to help the business achieve its sustainability goals. The LEAF team will be engaging with Sodexos suppliers to help them become LEAF Marque certified as well as supporting Sodexos communication activities with its clients and customers.

The LEAF Marque is a very tangible way Sodexo can demonstrate to their clients and customers   that they really do care about the food they serve and the environment.  LEAF Marque certification will also help their suppliers to demonstrate their environmental credentials. We look forward to a long and productive partnership with Sodexo.

Michelle Hanson, Commercial Director, Sodexo UK and Ireland, said: “Sodexo is excited about becoming a corporate partner of LEAF, which has done a tremendous amount over the past two decades to advocate, demonstrate and audit sustainable agricultural practices. I believe that Sodexo and LEAF share the same values in terms of being committed to sustainability and a spirit of continual progress.

“In 2009, Sodexo launched the Better Tomorrow Plan, its global sustainability strategy to 2020, which set ambitious targets to help it become a world leader in sustainable business practice.

In the UK, Sodexo has made great progress in improving the sustainability of its supply chain, embedding Red Tractor and, more recently, Marine Stewardship Council certification across all of its restaurants and cafes. Becoming a corporate member of LEAF represents the next step in our continued progress towards a more sustainable supply chain.”

Set up in 1991, LEAF promotes environmentally responsible farming and supports farmers to produce good food, with care and to high environmental standards, identified on pack by the LEAF Marque logo. It has corporate members across the food chain from retailers to food manufacturers.

To find out further information about LEAF Marque producers and suppliers please visit http://www.leafuk.org/leaf/foodchain/supplychaindirectory.aspx.eb or contact, the LEAF office on 02476 413911

• LEAF Marque is an assurance scheme based on LEAF farming principles. It is independently inspected and certified by third party certification bodies. Farms certified as LEAF Marque can use the LEAF Marque logo on all the produce they sell, direct to the consumer or to retail outlets.
• LEAF Marque growers produce a wide range of products including fruit, salads, vegetables, cooking oils and flowers. They care for the environment in a number of ways including carefully managing hedgerows to provide habitats for food and wildlife, using pesticides and fertilisers only when absolutely necessary, recycling waste and conserving energy and water.
• In addition to running the LEAF Marque scheme, LEAF is a farming charity that helps farmers to farm with environmental care and build public understanding and trust of food and farming. This is done through Open Farm Sunday and visits to their national network of Demonstration Farms.
• Open Farm Sunday (taking place on 12 June 2011) is a national flagship event when hundreds of farms open their gates to the general public. It is a great opportunity for visitors to see at first hand how farmers produce the food they eat and care for the countryside. For more information visit www.farmsunday.org
• There are 49 LEAF Demonstration Farms across England and Scotland. A variety of different groups visit LEAF Demonstration Farms including farmers, MPs, MEPs, government groups, farming, wildlife and conservation groups (including Young Farmers, Wildlife Trusts, RSPB groups) WI groups, schools, teachers and other educational bodies

Sodexo UK & Ireland

• Sodexo in the UK and Ireland employs around 43,000 people, and delivers on-site service solutions to clients at over 2,300 locations in the corporate, healthcare, education, leisure and defence sectors.
• With an annual turnover of over 1bn, Sodexo delivers a diverse range of services ranging from catering, cleaning, reception to security, laboratory and grounds maintenance services, enabling clients to focus on their core business.
• Sodexo Pass, in the UK, provides motivation solutions, such as Childcarepass and SayShopping vouchers.
• Sodexo in the World Services, which improve the quality of daily life, play an important role in the progress of individuals and the performance of organisations. Based on this conviction, Sodexo serves as the strategic partner for companies and institutions that place a premium on performance and well-being, as it has since Pierre Bellon founded the company in 1966. Sharing the same passion for service, Sodexo’s 380,000 employees manage and deliver an unrivalled array of on-site service solutions and motivation solutions in 80 countries.
• Sodexo has created a new form of service business that contributes to the economic, social and environmental development of the communities, regions and countries in which it operates and to the fulfillment of its employees.

Key figures (as of 11 November 2010)

• Sodexo in the World                                   Sodexo in the UK and Ireland
• 15.3bn euro consolidated revenue         1.1bn annual turnover
• 380,000 employees                                   43,000 employees
• 34,000 sites                                                 2,300 sites
• 80 countries