Working for the climate

We are proud to be the first catering company with a global Net Zero target for 2040, in line with the Paris Agreement and scientifically validated by the SBTi (Science-Based Target Initiative), which aims to avoid global warming of more than 1.5°C. This implies an average (theoretical) reduction in emissions of 4.2% per year and represents  

a major commitment to the fight against climate change, commensurate with our responsibility. This commitment by the Sodexo Group is an expression of our desire to help preserve the environment and ensure a stable climate. These are global challenges in which Sodexo is fully involved as a front-line player, thanks to its responsible and sustainable service offer.  

Sodexo Luxembourg is making a significant contribution to the Sodexo Group’s global commitment and to Europe’s Green Deal ambition to become the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. In line with our global objective, we have defined our roadmap in such a way as to reduce our carbon footprint across the entire value chain.

To achieve our goal, we have embarked on a gradual structural transformation of our business. Thanks to increasingly effective and accurate standards, methods and tools for measuring carbon emissions, we can now rigorously monitor and communicate our progress, year after year.  

In line with the SBTi recommendations for businesses, we aim to achieve Net Zero by reducing our emissions by 90% by 2040 (compared with 2017), and then eliminating the remaining 10% of CO2 by developing a capture and storage strategy.  

In order to reduce our carbon footprint, we began by analysing our impacts. Here are our results in full transparency: 

Our impact in terms of direct emissions (scope 1 and 2) represents “only” 1% of our total carbon footprint: the fuel used for our fleet and to heat the buildings we own, as well as the emissions associated with production of the energy used on our premises (electricity, heating, etc.). 

99% of our emissions are therefore indirect (scope 3), i.e virtually all of our carbon footprint. Upstream and downstream of our activities, throughout the value chain, a large number of stakeholders (suppliers, consumers, service providers, etc.) are affected by these emissions, since: 

• 58.2% of emissions come from energy and refrigerant consumption at our customers’ sites;
• and 26.8% come from our food supplies.

Given the scale of our indirect emissions, we have a responsibility to take action throughout our value chain by raising awareness and working and engaging with our stakeholders.  

At the same time, our efforts are focused on local and responsible sourcing, sustainable resource and waste management, etc. Our actions go much further as we are also committed to combatting food waste, adopting meals based on plant proteins and managing energy responsibly.  

As a major player in catering, Sodexo Luxembourg serves more than 35,000 consumers in the country every day. It is our duty to offer menus that are always sustainable, tasty, healthy and desirable, but also environmentally responsible. Our talented chefs have developed new “low carbon” recipes with an impact of less than or equal to 0.9 kgCO2e per portion. Other initiatives are already up and running, such as the “Future 50 Foods” and the “Sustainable Chef Challenge”. 

Our customers, supporting our efforts 

Our customers are at the heart of our concerns, even when it comes to limiting our overall impact on the environment. Together, we are doing everything we can to accelerate their use of renewable energy. We are also developing our meal preparation methods to make them more energy-efficient. To achieve this, we are going to train 100% of our site managers by 2027 and ensure that all food offers include energy awareness-raising.