Q: How seriously does Sodexo take the issue of water management and how long has water been on the agenda?
A: Our clients and the markets we operate in are placing increasing emphasis on resources and sustainability initiatives. They are increasingly aware of the connections between the services we provide and sustainability, and expect a serious commitment from us.
In the autumn of 2009, the Sodexo Group launched its global sustainability roadmap known as the Better Tomorrow Plan, which is our strategy to 2020. Within this strategy is a commitment to Reduce our water footprint in all countries where we operate and at our client sites.
Q: What is the business doing at an operational level to reduce its water usage?
A: In this industry we operate on clients sites, which make monitoring and measuring utility consumption a challenge due to a lack of sub- metering. This makes it very difficult to demonstrate the benefits of any improvement actions taken as well as being able to set reduction targets.We are developing common resources to assess the water footprint of selected offices and shape water conservation and management programmes at sites where we are responsible for water procurement. At our operational sites where we are unable to measure water consumption good water management practices are maintained, such as operating dishwashers only when fully loaded, part filling sinks to perform tasks rather than using running water and eradicating bad practices such as cooling food under running water.
Q: Have you done any work on tracking your water footprint through the supply chain and do you feel it is the responsibility of the foodservice business to influence good water practices at a production level?
A: As part of our Better Tomorrow Plan we are currently focusing on developing a methodology to define our water footprint. This will take account of our direct operational water consumption and indirect consumption from our complex supply chain. Another aspect of the work is to assess the water footprint of key commodities in our supply chain and develop a strategy to reduce the impact of production on water stressed areas.
