Sodexo Live! & The ACC Liverpool Group Creates Social Impact At 2023 Labour Party Conference
With an aligned commitment to sustainability and supporting local communities, both organisations - Sodexo Live!, and The ACC Liverpool Group - are excited to reveal the steps they are taking to deliver an event that delivers quantifiable social impact.
Improving the communities in which it operates has been at the core of Sodexo’s ethos for many years. Sodexo Live! in the UK has a number of initiatives in place to address the four impact pathways identified in Sodexo’s Social Impact Pledge: People, Planet, Partners and Places.
Meanwhile The ACC Liverpool Group – operator of the campus where this year’s conference takes place – is focused on delivering its Social Value Impact Plan, aimed at creating positive social, economic and environmental impact across the four pillars of people, environment, community and industry influence.
The organisation recently achieved carbon neutral status and is committed to achieving carbon zero by 2030, effectively reducing its emissions and the need for offsetting.
With thousands of delegates set to attend the conference, The ACC Liverpool Group and Sodexo Live! worked in partnership with Social Enterprise UK to identify and advocate social enterprises, with the opportunity to showcase their products and services at the event.
Rebecca Kane Burton, CEO Sodexo Live!, UK & Ireland said: “Social impact is at the beating heart of Sodexo; it’s a core value upon which our founder, Pierre Bellon built the business back in 1966.
“Working with The Labour Party and our venue partner, The ACC Liverpool Group, therefore provides the ideal backdrop to showcase the social enterprises and diverse supply chain we partner with, and those joining us to create something memorable at the conference.
“For many years we have welcomed Small &Medium‑sized Enterprises ,and Voluntary, Charity & Social Enterprises into our business and worked to reduce our impact on the environment and create social impact. We also continue to partner with local colleges and other organisations to offer career opportunities to individuals struggling to find employment for whatever reason.
“I am delighted our team is able to play its part in connecting with, and benefiting the communities we serve.”
Faye Dyer, chief executive of The ACC Liverpool Group, said: “Social Value is at the heart of The ACC Liverpool Group and we are delighted to work with Sodexo Live! and the Labour Party to further our shared values and commitments.
“The Labour Party conference, taking place at our venue for the fifth time, provides us all with a valuable platform to showcase these important organisations and their initiatives, which are making a real positive difference.”
Peter Holbrook CBE, chief executive of national sector body Social Enterprise UK, added: “It’s great to see the Labour Party recognising the value of social enterprise in our economy, transitioning its annual conference to do less harm and create more benefit for people and planet.
“Integrating social enterprises into the conference’s supply chain gives a glimpse of how business can be done better, and how we can build an economy where all of society profits – so we hope other major events take inspiration from this and follow suit.”
By working closely with organisations such as Springboard and local partners, Sodexo Live! also offers work experience opportunities to many young people. For the Labour Party Conference the company has worked with Liverpool City College and Springboard to provide 14 graduates with work during the conference, and will continue to offer similar opportunities at The ACC Liverpool Group and other venues around the city such as Everton Football Club.
Sodexo Live! and The ACC Liverpool Group are also incredibly keen to track food waste. Any that remains that can still be consumed is donated to Liverpool Zero Waste to be distributed throughout the local community including schools, hospitals, community centres and local church groups.
Food waste that is no longer suitable for human consumption is disposed of using ORCA technology which mimics a natural digestion process. It works using the same principles that our body, and other living organisms are governed by, creating the perfect thermophilic biological environment for the microorganisms to digest food waste into a liquid. ORCA is a hyperlocal, distributed alternative to the traditional truck and bin collection system and enables Sodexo Live! to make significant carbon savings by eliminating the need to transport the waste away from sites.
Images Credit: The ACC Liverpool Group
