Sodexo Live! creates social impact at 2023 Labour Party Conference

Sodexo Live!, the venue partner of The ACC Liverpool Group, is set to generate a significant positive impact to the local economy during the annual Labour Party Conference.

With an aligned commitment to sustainability and supporting local communities, both organisations – Sodexo Live!, and The ACC Liverpool Group have revealed 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.

Social Enterprises

With thousands of delegates set to attend the conference between 8-11 October, 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.

Some of these include:

• Homebaked – a Liverpool-based, community owned business, the 1,700 or so pies and other treats which are expected to be sold at the conference will generate in the region of £93,500 in social value by providing jobs, training and community engagement in the local Anfield area – one of the most socio-economically deprived regions of the UK.
• Belu water – they utilise clear ethical glass bottles made using lightweight recycled glass and are 100 per cent recyclable. This encourages and supports a closed loop system and circular economy practices enabling the bottles to be recycled and material to be reused.The estimated 5,000 bottles will generate around £7,400 to be invested in improving the global supply of clean sustainable water.
• Change Please – sales from Change Please coffee outlets at the conference will enable hundreds of people experiencing homelessness to access housing, training and living wage jobs as baristas. On average, every 562 cups of Change Please coffee sold generates enough money to pay for a day of barista training.
• Nemi Teas – a specialist London-based tea company providing employment to refugees, giving them local work experience and job readiness skills to enter the UK workforce and integrate into broader society. Nemi teas are organic-certified and its teabags are plastic-free, and the packaging biodegradable. The predicted 5,000 cups of Nemi Tea estimated to be sold at the conference will create work for refugees employed at the TRAMPOLINE Café in North London to support them on their upward journey.
• Half the Story biscuits – Volumes expected for the conference will be around 7,500 which will provide 75 hours of employment at Half the Story’s bakery in Nottingham for individuals who are or have experienced homelessness.
• Spare Snacks – around 1,000 packets of fruit crisps made using wonky produce are expected to be consumed at the conference. Spare Snacks, based in St Albans, produce award-winning healthy snacks for all the family. They make use of both wonky raw and dried apples that can often be rejected because they are misshapen, blemished, or deemed the wrong shape or size.

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.”

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.”

Work Experience

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.

Food Waste

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. 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.