Sodexo pledges purchase of 300 tonnes of surplus food from Yume by 2024
SodexoYUMEMRF 00326Sodexo, global leader in quality of life services, is taking strides in its commitment to food waste prevention, pledging to purchase 100 tonnes of food per year for the next three years from certified Social Traders, Yume.
Food purchases made through Yume allow high-quality surplus food to make its way through Sodexo’s supply chain, preventing unnecessary food waste.
In the past month alone, Sodexo worked with Yume to intercept 32,000 Red Velvet cakes and 12,220 bowls of soup destined to become further figures in Australia’s food waste problem.
Darren Hedley, CEO, Energy & Resources APAC & Country President, Sodexo Australia said:
For the past four years we have partnered with Yume to make an impact on the food wastage culture in Australia. Operating across more than 300 sites in Australia, we recognise our responsibility to give our consumers the highest quality food through the most socially – and environmentally – conscious approach.”
Australia wastes around 7.3 million tonnes of food each year, representing about 300 kilograms per person, according to research by the Department of Agriculture, Water and Environment.
Sodexo was the first corporate buyer to take the Yume Pledge in 2018. Since, Sodexo has consistently pledged each year and has purchased more than 190 tonnes of food through Yume to date.
Katy Barfield, Yume Founder and CEO said:
The Australian commercial food sector is responsible for 55% of the food which ends up in landfill – this is equal to 4.1 million tonnes of food each year. We need more companies, like Sodexo, to make a commitment to minimising food waste in this country.
Since 2016, Yume estimate they have saved more than 590 million litres of water from going to waste and prevented 10 million kilograms of CO2 emissions, largely due to the support of corporate Australia.
Sodexo’s partnership with Yume is part of its Better Tomorrow corporate responsibility roadmap, with a key focus on reducing waste.
About Yume
Yume works closely with manufacturers and primary producers, to understand their surplus food problems and develops new and safe avenues to market via an online BtoB marketplace. In doing so, the award-winning social enterprise - one of only three companies globally using technology to offer an innovative market for surplus food - has prevented nearly 3 million kilograms of food from becoming food waste.