Sodexo has participated in the China-Europe Sustainable Consumption Forum at the 17th EU-China Business and Technology Cooperation Fair held in Chengdu.
The forum, which aims to build bridges between China and European Union, was dedicated to the theme of exploring opportunities for development, innovative through cooperation, and opportunities for furthering sustainable consumption, and took place under the auspices of UNIDO ITPO and the Chengdu Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone Administrative Committee.
Under the theme of "Collaborative Innovation and Ecological Reconstruction", international organisations, representatives from local government in China, major companies, institutional investors, industrial associations, think tanks, and representatives of the media exchanged their insights and perspectives on topics ranging from "green" consumption to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Grace Han, Director and head of Government, Public and Corporate Affairs, Greater China at Sodexo, shared her expertise and insights by presenting case studies on projects which have involved the French multinational food and facility services provider.
One such initiative, Sodexo's monitoring system for food waste WasteWatch, has been in operation since 2019 and is described as "an intelligent system that may effectively reduce food waste in food preparation through the capture and intelligent analysis of food waste data" - with Sodexo recording a reduction in total food waste of 5,259 tonnes and reduced food wastage of 702 tonnes at over 200 client sites between its original deployment and May 2023.
By exchanging experiences and learning from each other via a platform provided by the government, we will improve information transparency and enjoy more dividends of information sharing.
Addressing participants during the event, Han said: "It's a great pleasure to participate in the China-EU Sustainable Consumption Forum and exchange ideas about China-EU cooperation on green consumption with Chinese and European officials, experts, scholars and entrepreneurs from various fields to promote consumption upgrade in sustainability and profitability.
"Companies should actively cooperate with the government to develop a good partnership with it and other parties.
The information will serve as the cornerstone of sustainable green development and the basis for long-term strategic development of enterprises."
