Essence of green
June 29th 2009

Sodexo is committed to identifying the elements of its business that impact on the environment and, where possible, eliminating or reducing them through management practices involving systematic planning, operational control, monitoring and review

To meet its environmantal objectives, Sodexo has adopted a three year strategy to buy from more sustainable or renewable sources across its non-food services including power, recycling and waste management. It will examine how it uses chemicals for cleaning services and the disposable products the industry is so familiar with.

“Sodexo has had an environmmental policy in place for many years now and we are continuing to raise the bar to ensure our purchasing practices contribute to sustainability targets,” says Paul Bracegirdle, environmental manager, Sodexo. Sodexo’s ‘essence’ cleaning service is designed to minimise its impact on the environment. It uses the most upto- date environmentally friendly and cost-effective cleaning equipment and materials to achieve this. Innovations such as micro-fibre systems, recycling initiatives and daylight cleaning, allow delivery of quality cleaning services while meeting clients’ and its own environmental aspirations.

Efficiency initiatives

Sodexo uses micro-fibre cloths, mops and ‘high efficiency particulate air filter’ suction cleaners, that remove 99.9% of airborne particles, to control and collect dust. Sodexo has also partnered with Ecolab for sourcing its chemical hygiene products globally. Ecolab is already testing new formulations that do not require phosphates or NTA (Nitrilotriacetic Acid) as raw materials. Each of its products is designed to increase safety, lower water and energy consumption as well as reduce waste release into the environment.

Daylight cleaning, a simple yet effective initiative, is another key element to sustainable cleaning for Sodexo. By introducing daylight cleaning the FM provider is saving a large part of the lighting energy usually used in evening cleaning.

Where possible, Sodexo also reduces the use of floor maintenance products that need to be stripped and reapplied to save on the energy expended by the equipment. When it does use strippers, it uses only those that work with cold water, providing further energy savings.

Recycling stations implemented by the company have also meant that individual bins, sometimes in their hundreds and each requiring a plastic bin liner, are no longer required.

“All our people are trained to high national standards to use products and equipment correctly to minimise waste,” states Stark. “Everything from hard wearing mop-buckets, designed to have a longer life and therefore reducing the impact on landfill, to cleaning products based on enzymes or micro-organisms to reduce the number of chemicals we use, are key to sustainable cleaning.”

Wiltshire Council case study

Sodexo has provided school catering, cleaning, caretaking and facilities management services to 200 council-owned sites across Wiltshire since 2001. The recent independent audit of these services has lead to the re-accreditation of the ISO 14001 Environmental Management System, a worldwide certification that sets standards on how organisations manage their impact on the environment.

One stop delivery: Over two years, food and cleaning deliveries to schools have been cut from three times a week to just one, with all food, cleaning materials and disposables being delivered at the same time. This initiative has resulted in almost 5,000 fewer deliveries with a saving of 44,000 road km and over 30,000 kg fewer CO2 emissions to the atmosphere.

To achieve this accreditation, Sodexo had to comply with a number of international standards set by the ISO 14001 Environmental Management System at over 200 units across the county, including schools, administration buildings and libraries. “All too often this type of accreditation is not given the due credit that it deserves,” says Alan Bowley, Sodexo’s contract director for Wiltshire Council. “The audit scrutinises the procedures and practices carried out by our teams and a lot of time and effort was put in by the 300 staff. I commend everyone who has contributed to this success which will help to ensure a cleaner and better environment.”

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