Turning Passion into Action

Leading the Effort against Climate Change

Young people are fueling the efforts to combat climate change like never before. We see it on the global stage, with leaders like Greta Thunberg, and on our own campuses, where students understand they will be most impacted by the social, economic and physical effects of climate change in coming decades. 

This groundswell is changing expectations for social responsibility on campus, especially in the area of sustainability. In Sodexo’s 2019/2020 President to President thought leadership series, Dianne F. Harrison, Ph.D., President of California State University, Northridge (CSUN), talks about the opportunity this presents. In “Educating the Environmental Stewards of Tomorrow: Presidential Leadership and Climate Change,” she writes, “University leaders have the responsibility and opportunity to harness people’s passion into positive action.”  

Sodexo is a ready partner. Already we have seen success in several areas. 

Plant-Based Dining

Twenty-five percent of U.S. students choose a plant-forward diet according to a 2019 Technomic, Inc. and Sodexo is catering to the trend. Partnering with the Humane Society and the World Resources Institute – Better Buying Lab, we’ve developed and introduced 200 plant-based new recipes. We also partnered with Impossible Burger to offer the meat alternative at 1,500 partner sites this August.

Lighting and Equipment Retrofits

We are replacing outdated lighting and making other high-efficiency retrofits to reduce energy consumption, lower carbon emissions and cut costs for our partners. For example, at University of New Orleans, our facilities management team upgraded more than 22,000 LED bulbs and installed new HVAC controls, saving more than 2.8 million kilowatt hours of energy, earning the campus a $250,000 rebate as well as recognition as one of the state’s top reducers of energy consumption.

Food Waste Prevention

This fall, about 200 of our university partners will implement our food-waste prevention system, WasteWatch powered by Lean Path (WWxLP). The data-driven system identifies causes of waste and enables onsite teams to make informed changes that reduce purchasing costs and improve operational sustainability. 

These solutions are part of the broader effort at Sodexo Universities to anticipate changing needs on campus and innovate to improve Quality of Life.

There are certainly challenges ahead when it comes to climate change, but we firmly believe in the power of strong partnerships based on a joint commitment to students and their futures.