Social enterprises are businesses which trade for a social purpose that reinvest or donate over half their profits to further a social or environmental mission.
The Challenge helps social enterprises grow their revenues and impact by tapping into corporate supply chains. The social enterprises then reinvest profit or donate them to their local communities to create positive change.
Sodexo and Nestlé have worked together for seven years, with the global services company providing catering and integrated management services at 14 Nestlé sites in the UK and Ireland.
Sean Haley, regional chair of Sodexo UK & Ireland, said: “We are proud of the work we do to support social enterprises through our supply chain. At Sodexo we have our own commitments, through our social impact pledge, around supporting marginalised communities into employment, and ensuring we are sourcing responsibly, so it’s vitally important to us that we partner with other organisations who share these values.”
A social enterprise that Sodexo and Nestlé already work with is WildHearts Office, which provides office supplies, addresses social mobility issues in schools and aims for gender equality in the developing world.
Robin Sundaram, responsible sourcing manager at Nestlé UK & Ireland, commented: “When making procurement decisions, we incorporate the environmental, social and economic impacts of our decisions.
“We’re excited to join with Sodexo in the Buy Social Corporate Challenge so we can help even more communities by supporting more social enterprises. We also want to increase the diversity of our supplier base, as we know that social enterprises are intrinsically more diverse than small, medium enterprises and larger organisations.”