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Sodexo, a food services and facilities management company won Employer of the Year recently – here’s how it uses social impact, not just HR policies, to drive real inclusion and opportunity. Bill Buchan, HR Director, Sodexo UK & Ireland talks to HR Grapevine.
Sodexo has been named as the Employer of the Year by the British Business Awards 2026. What makes it stand out as a worthy winner?
Judges recognised its leadership in creating meaningful careers, opening access to opportunity and investing in people from the communities it serves.
Bill Buchan
HR Director, Sodexo UK & Ireland
Sodexo has embedded social impact and inclusion at the heart of its business strategy, not as an add on but as a driver of performance, culture and growth. It is a family-owned organisation driven by a compelling purpose to create a better day for everyone. By mapping social mobility cold spots across the UK, Sodexo tailors’ recruitment, skills and community investment to local needs, aligning job creation and skills development with needs of under-served communities.
Through its apprenticeships levy, gifting, and partnering with local organisations, Sodexo is supporting in the creation of sustainable employment pathways for those furthest from the labour market. This inclusive approach goes beyond legislative requirements, actively removing structural barriers for under represented groups through initiatives such as its Starting Fresh programme. This is a national initiative whereby Sodexo is partnering with employers from a range of sectors from beauty to construction to highlight prison leavers as a talent pool they can tap into given the qualifications, training and skills individuals have achieved whilst in prison, making them ready to move into sustainable employment.
This is a national initiative whereby Sodexo is partnering with employers from a range of sectors from beauty to construction to highlight prison leavers as a talent pool they can tap into given the qualifications, training and skills individuals have achieved whilst in prison, making them ready to move into sustainable employment
Why did the business champion its Social Impact Pledge 2030?
2025 marked ten years since the publication of our first social impact pledge. The pledge was developed as an ethical manifesto for our contracts and conduct, for citizens and communities. It set out our commitments to help us contribute to achieving a fairer and better society.
The pledge has enabled us to be transparent on our progress and success and enables us to focus on what matters most and to whom. Over the course of the last decade we have continually reviewed and evolved our commitments in line with the changes in legislation and in business and societal priorities.
