BURLINGTON, Ontario, June 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- To celebrate National Indigenous History Month and encourage greater efforts to advance reconciliation, Sodexo Canada is releasing a comprehensive report chronicling its wide-ranging initiatives to contribute to Indigenous prosperity and quality of life.
Called Economic Reconciliation through Indigenous Prosperity, the report is rooted in Sodexo’s global commitment to sustainability, diversity & inclusion and fighting hunger, which guides every decision the organization makes.
The company, which has around 10 000 employees in its Canadian food service and facilities management operations, bases its extensive Indigenous relations commitments on four pillars:
- Leadership in developing awareness and respect for the societal and economic importance of Indigenous history and culture.
- Creating Indigenous employment (6.5 per cent of the company’ total workforce is Indigenous with 44 per cent of the organization’s Energy and Resources segment being made up of local Indigenous people).
- Contributing to the economic strength, sustainability, and quality-of-life of Indigenous Communities, and;
- Helping grow and develop Indigenous-owned suppliers through first-right-of-refusal procurement contracts, skills training and shared business experience and technology.
Sodexo Canada is currently engaged in about 40 partnerships with Indigenous communities and nations across Canada and works with more than 100 Indigenous-owned suppliers. The company’s experience is that Indigenous partnerships and business relationships work best when they are based on respect, recognition, revenue sharing and representation.
The report details:
- An industry-first, online training program for employees on Indigenous history and culture to help create a more inclusive workplace. Developed in collaboration with Reconciliation Education and the First Nations University of Canada, this course is mandatory for all salaried employees.
- The role played by the company’s internal Council for Indigenous People (CIP) employee network group to promote and celebrate Indigenous people, cultures, and values. Today, the network has 30 chapters and more than 175 ambassadors across Canada. Each chapter helps promote and raise awareness of Indigenous history and culture locally and conducts outreach projects to build and strengthen relationships with the company’s Innuit, Métis and First Nation partners and employees from Indigenous communities.
- The practice of encouraging Indigenous employees to share what being Indigenous means to them on company social media channels to provide workplace teams with unique insight into their perspectives, cultures and experiences.
- Specialized on-site training and certification opportunities for Indigenous employees. These include: the Red Seal Chef Certification Program, dedicated to helping Sodexo chefs at remote sites and from different Indigenous communities gain new culinary skills and advance their careers; the Fitness Leader Training Program and the Buildforce Supervisory Training Program. Since launching in 2018, more than 75 employees have graduated from these programs.
- Practices to ensure the safety and security of both Indigenous and non-Indigenous women working at the company’s remote sites. These include safety working groups, weekly meeting spaces for women to share or seek support, surveys, a safety matrix, a women-only dorm policy, and alarms and panic buttons for any potential safety concerns.
- Sustainability and quality-of-life partnerships to advance Indigenous communities. Examples include programs to reforest Indigenous lands, protect water quality and fight hunger, particularly among children and youth. Community partnerships often also involve financial supports to improve infrastructure and mentoring programs and skills training to create lasting employment opportunities.
“With this report we pay tribute to the remarkable efforts of Sodexo employees – both Indigenous and non-Indigenous – and our external Indigenous partners over two decades to help make possible the aspirational goal of meaningful reconciliation,” says Suzanne Bergeron, President, Sodexo Canada. “we know this report will help inspire corporations, small and medium size businesses and individual Canadians from all walks of life to join the journey to reconciliation and help shape the path to a better future.”
About Sodexo
Sodexo delivers a wide range of customized solutions designed to optimize work and living environments. It has been providing food and facilities management services in Canada for over 40 years, with a focus on enhancing safety, work processes and well-being. A market leader in Canada, Sodexo has been recognized as a top employer for the past seven consecutive years. It is proud to have created the Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation, an independent charitable organization that has raised over $3 million to fight hunger and donated more than one million meals to at-risk youth across Canada since 2007. Sodexo is included in the CAC Next 20, CAC 40 ESG, FTSE 4 Good and DJSI indices.
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Key Figures
- 10 000 employees
- Recipient of Canada's Greenest Employer Awards 2021
- Recipient of Canada's Diversity & Inclusion Employer Awards 2021
- 1 million consumers served daily
Media Contact
Stéphanie Aubin, +1 514 402-1839
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at: https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/4fa3e1d5-30af-40e6-85db-0be78d6af26b
