Local development
Companies must ensure that local communities benefit from the development opportunities that their presence implies.
Sodexo strives to implement genuine sustainable development initiatives in partnership with all stakeholders, including clients and local players, by:
- Promoting local recruitment and employee development
- Encouraging local procurement and the creation of small businesses
- Taking action in society by supporting local initiatives
- Supporting humanitarian actions
Madagascar
Promoting local recruitment
By maximizing local employment opportunities, we contribute to developing local capacity. At Fort-Dauphin, 75% of our personnel across all employment categories, including the management team, is local and a third is from the communities directly affected by the mining project. Women represent half of our personnel.
Local procurement
Based on the findings of a 2006 study conducted with the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) to assess the region's agricultural production capacity, Sodexo partnered with a number of regional associations to create programs for assisting local producers in meeting our procurement needs in the mining sector. Since 2007, we have been helping fruit and vegetable farmers diversify their production, and raise their product quality standards. Local sourcing represents a steady 50-60% of our total fruit and vegetable purchases.
Supporting humanitarian actions
We have deployed an HIV prevention program that focuses mainly on employee training. With the assistance of Population Services International, a non-governmental organization, we conduct educational campaigns four times a year, which focus on providing employees with adequate knowledge about prevention measures against the spread of HIV/AIDS and other serious diseases in Madagascar. As part of our efforts, we also conduct a range of communication initiatives that target our customers.
For more details, read our 2006-2007 Act as a corporate citizen report.
