Food for thought – Purpose Lab Ambassadors offer Sodexo fresh perspectives
When students are settling into their university accommodation, strolling around their campus or grabbing lunch, how much do they know about the people working behind the scenes to ensure everything runs smoothly?
Sodexo might not be a household name to most students, but its work impacts the everyday lives of thousands across campuses worldwide.
With over 50 years’ experience in the education sector, Sodexo is a trusted partner to many universities across the UK, including Purpose Coalition universities. CEO of Schools & Universities UK, Tracey Smith, and Growth Director, Laura Brimacombe, got together with Purpose Lab Ambassadors recently to talk about the company’s role which encompasses everything from catering to student accommodation and broader facilities management.
Many of the participating students were interested to hear about the wide range of work Sodexo does on campus, from phone calls to every new student ahead of the new term to its flatmate finder system and from cookery classes to budgeting courses.
Its aim is to help students embrace the challenges of their new life, making sure that every touchpoint is a positive and welcoming experience.
That ambition to get things right extends to Sodexo’s catering services, guiding the development of a food experience that offers choice, convenience and value for money. It also needs to be inclusive, sustainable and responsive to evolving student needs.
There are meal deals, loyalty points and promotions designed around student preferences, reflecting the sort of catering options found on the high street.
At this session, Sodexo were able to tap into Purpose Lab Ambassadors’ diverse experiences and perspectives, particularly around the challenges of sustainability and affordability.
It gave them a unique platform to provide feedback and ideas such as the importance of meeting diverse dietary needs. They were also interested to learn more about Sodexo’s extensive social impact credentials, including initiatives like its global Stop Hunger Foundation which supports communities facing food insecurity and empowers people to escape cycles of poverty.
Sustainability was a focus of keen interest and students heard how Sodexo’s work with another Coalition partner, Solent University, achieved a reduction in food waste by 48% in their first year of partnership and eliminated 24,000 plastic bottles by switching to cans.
Sodexo works hard to gather insights from diverse university campuses, leveraging the data to help tailor the food and facilities to student needs but, importantly, to also measure its long-term impact on student wellbeing, retention and sustainability, quietly creating environments that support students and enable them to thrive, academically and socially.
Purpose Lab Ambassadors are helping to ensure that student voices are heard and can shape the services they use every day at university, collaborating with a purpose-led organisation that is willing to listen.
By engaging directly with students on the issues that matter to them, Sodexo isn't just managing campuses – it’s learning, adapting and improving the student experience.
