Sodexo - who are they actually?

Sodexo provide Mahindra College with housekeeping and food services and their staff are a friendly and vital addition to the college community. Apart from patiently cleaning up after the student evening binges and the dogs who come to share in the fun, they also clean faculty housing once a week and provide around 650 meals a day for us hungry UWCers. But who exactly are Sodexo?

From the Sodexo website:

Issy-les-Moulineaux - Sodexo has been recognized by the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) for the sixth time as the global leader for its industry segment, "Hotels, Restaurants, Bars & Recreational Services" for the year 2010-2011. Sodexo received an overall score of 82% from the ratings agency, SAM (Sustainable Asset Management), based on an assessment of its economic, social and environmental performance. The average overall score for sector businesses was 56%.

For the individual components of the assessment, Sodexo received a score of:

    * 86% for economic performance, compared with an industry average of 68%;
    * 89% for environmental performance, compared with an industry average of 49%;
    * 77% for social performance, compared with an industry average of 52%.

In addition, for the sixth consecutive year since its initial inclusion in the DJSI in 2005, Sodexo has been listed in the DJSI World and DJSI STOXX Indexes. The Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) is revised annually to reflect progress made by companies in combining economic and financial performance with a commitment to sustainable development. Its analysis is based on specific criteria including a company's governance, risk management, environmental impact and social practices with regard to it suppliers and clients.

Michel Landel, CEO of Sodexo, said: "We are proud to be recognized for the sixth year as the global leader in our industry. This ranking encourages us to continue our efforts to improve our overall financial, economic, social and environmental performance. During the very difficult environment of these past two years, we have succeeded in increasing the level of employee engagement by 7%; our employee survey also shows that 85% of our employees consider Sodexo to be a better employer than its competitors. In 2009, we put in place a new roadmap, “The Better Tomorrow Plan,” to strengthen our performance in sustainable development and measure the impact of our actions, setting three priorities (Nutrition, Health and Wellness, Local Communities and the Environment). Sodexo continues in the mission it has had since 1966: to improve the Quality of Daily Life and to contribute to the economic, social and environmental development of the communities, regions and countries in which we operate."

The consistency of Sodexo's efforts has been recognized on numerous occasions in recent years. Sodexo was included in SAM's "Sustainability Yearbook" in 2008, 2009 and 2010 and received a double distinction (Gold Class and Sector Leader). The Group also has been included in Vigeo's ASPI Eurozone Index since 2004, the ECPI Ethical Index €uro since January 2009, the Covalence Index since January 2010 and the Ethibel Excellence Index since July 2010.For more information go to the Sodexo website.