Closing the Loop - Sodexo's Circular Approach to Waste Management
Thuy Ngo
SVP, Strategic Accounts & Services, APMEA
Sodexo
How is Sodexo integrating circular economy principles into its food waste management practices?
For Sodexo, sustainability is at the core of everything we do, rooted since our founding in 1966. We were among the first companies to establish our corporate responsibility roadmap, Better Tomorrow, in 2009. In 2019, we set an SBTi approved target to reduce carbon emissions by 34% by 2025. In 2022, we accelerated this journey by committing to reach Net Zero by 2040 and becoming the world leader in sustainable food and valued experiences.
To achieve these ambitions, we’ve identified four key levers and embraced a circular approach: waste reduction, responsible sourcing, sustainable services solutions and efficient energy management. Our teams are empowered and trained to reduce, recycle or repurpose where possible.
To address food waste, we’ve implemented WasteWatch, a tracking program to eliminate the food waste produced in our kitchens or by our consumers. Since starting the program in 2018 in APAC, we’ve avoided 3,720 metric tonnes of food waste, equivalent to 25,356 metric tonnes of CO₂.
With better visibility of our waste generation, we’ve implemented innovative and impactful solutions across our operations in close collaboration with our clients.
Pre-consumer waste such as vegetable trims, coffee grounds and used cooking oil are repurposed into infused water, soup stock, coffee mugs, biofuels, and soaps. For our client UWC South East Asia (Dover) in Singapore, our efforts reduced pre-consumer food waste from 2,590 kg in January 2018 to 241 kg by March 2024. We also participated in the Singapore National Environment Agency’s pilot to co-digest food waste and used water sludge. At a technology client’s Philippines site, 550 litres of used cooking oil were converted into 2,000 soap bars which benefitted underprivileged communities. This ground-up initiative will be scaled up to include all food operations in the country.
At many client locations, consumer plate waste is converted into compost which in turn nourishes their gardens. Our marketing campaigns encourage consumers to take only what they need or ask for small portions for their appetite. At a manufacturing client’s site in India, we are growing vegetables on-site, consuming them and then using the generated food waste as compost back in the garden, creating circularity.
What technologies is Sodexo employing to support its circular approach to food waste?
Our WasteWatch program powered by Leanpath is our key tool for tracking, analysing and managing food waste. Utilising an intelligent weighing scale connected to the cloud, it serves three primary functions: recording food waste, analysing the reasons for food loss and facilitating operational and behavioural changes to minimise waste both in the kitchen and on consumer plates.
At various sites, we’ve installed food digesters that efficiently convert waste into recycled water or liquid nutrients. We’ve also collaborated with like-minded partners to repurpose our food waste into compost, biofuels, or reusable products like coffee mugs.
By collaborating with our ecosystem of stakeholders in Singapore and around the region, we are advancing towards a sustainable future together.
