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CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY REPORT
2013-2014
From the beginning of our journey on the road to sustainability,
we sought to become agents of change in the area of
sustainable food service. We have also been committed to
translating our inspirational intentions into operational actions.
From day one, it wasn’t enough to seek out ways to be more
socially and ecologically responsible unless we could also
demonstrate measurable results on the ground. It also wasn’t
enough to be on this path without engaging our circle of
influence, knowing that in collaboration we could help realize
greater and more impactful results.
Over the past year our drive to realize measurable change has
grown more ambitious as we continue to develop and extend
our influence with initiatives and programs some of which you’ll
read about.
We are proud of our position as a change leader in our industry
and look forward to continuing on that path as we prepare to
implement our Vision for 2020.
INTRODUCTION
Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” John F. Kennedy (1917-1963), Thirty-fifth President of the USA
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Our intention is to be relentless at feeding and watering this commitment in such a way that it can grow in strength and influence.
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Our Sustainability CommitmentWe’re deeply rooted in our responsibility to clients, guests and employees.
Cleaner Foods
Humanely Produced
Minimized Eco-Footprint
Reporting Transparent
Results
Socially Responsible
26%
Yogurt free of artificial growth hormones
12.7M GALS
Chicken produced without the routine use of human antibiotics
79M LBS.
Certified Humane cage-free (shell) eggs
68.6M eggs or es.t 264K chickens
Eco/Fair Trade Certified Coffee2.7M LBS.
2013 Sustainability Scorecard
Local produce in support of the American Family Farms
$34M or est. 2,450 farmers
$34m
Seafood from sustainable sources (SWF Criteria)
8.2 million pounds
93%
Turkey produced without the routine use of human antibiotics
29.4M LBS
Fluid milk free of artificial growth hormones
25.1M GALS
92 %
81%
73 %
17%
Coalition of Immokalee Workers
$64K
76%
Items that meet the specific purchasing criteria of Compass Group’s
sustainability initiatives, as a percent of total purchases for that category
Specialty foods purchased from local producers in North Carolina as a percent of total foods purchased
9% of total spend
NC 10%
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The Menus of Change™ initiative was formed
in 2012 as a partnership with The Culinary
Institute of America and the Harvard School
of Public Health.
Compass Group has enjoyed a long
term relationship with both of these
organizations, and was honored to be
invited as a founding member of the
Sustainability Leadership Business Council
supporting this exciting and industry
“changing” initiative.
The initiative is designed to help chefs,
corporate sustainability officers, food
policy makers and other entrepreneurs
navigate through all the science-based
research at the intersection of public health,
environmental stewardship and business
success.
The Sustainability Leadership Business
Council creates an annual science-based
report which charts the future of food
and the foodservice industry, integrating
business imperatives with the latest health
and environmental issues.
We are extremely proud of our engagement
in the Menus of Change™ initiative, one
that is driving new culinary approaches for
healthy, delicious and sustainable food, while
helping the food industry better navigate a
rapidly changing world.
For more information, visit menusofchange.org
Health-Promoting Food Choices including
a variety of fresh, local, sustainable and
healthful options at all points of service
Education and Information in the form
of full nutrition labeling on all items in
the café and identification of all FIT and
local items as well as robust weekly and
monthly wellness promotions leveraging
technology and strategic partners
Marketing and Choice Architecture aimed
at making the healthful and sustainable
choice the easy choice through
merchandising, silent health tactics,
pricing and incentives
Dashboard Metrics track wellness and
sustainability progress
Associate Training Standards and
Certification Process ensure program
integrity and consistency
The Balance Kitchen Experience
The look and feel of the Balance Kitchen
reflects the culinary focus of fresh,
sustainable, delicious food that supports
health. The design is simple, yet welcoming
and keeps the food as the focal point.
The café encourages healthful, sustainable
choices while welcoming and serving
customers with a wide range of goals,
needs and wants.
Key Features
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In 2013, Compass Group introduced a
visionary café designed to promote and
measure healthful and sustainable lifestyle
behaviors. Through a combination of culinary
techniques, nutrition information, marketing
and strategic partnerships, Balance Kitchen
creates an environment that fosters and
promotes health and sustainability, while
preserving elements of choice. This industry
leading food service model promises to
change the way we look at wellness and
sustainability by implementing strategies
and tactics that have been shown through
consumer and academic research to
positively influence behavior.
DRIVING CHANGE THROUGH INDUSTRY LEADERSHIP07
Balance Kitchen
The dynamic spectrum of sustainability,
influenced by a growing population
of eco- and socially conscious eaters,
presents a constant stream of challenges
for our clients. This new normal requires
food service providers to offer innovative
technology-based solutions that are
supported by an informed onsite team.
This approach enables our clients to make
intelligent, metrics-based decisions.
In January 2013, following three years of
in-depth pilot testing, Compass officially
launched the Carbon Footprint Toolkit™. Our
onsite teams are now able to use science-
based technology to make their operation
more sustainable by minimizing carbon
impact while lowering operational costs.
The results were impressive:
From Q1 2013 to Q4 2013, our combined
participating units were able to lower their
carbon intensity on average by 5% (or 0.35
Lbs. of CO2e per guest) and lowered the
water intensity by 11% (or 0.45 gal/guest.)
To help reduce unnecessary use of
catering trucks or personal vehicles
for intra- or inter-campus travel and
deliveries, Lackmann introduced Green
Fleet bicycles for associates on campus
at Stony Brook University. This effort
supports Lackmann’s strong health and
wellness commitments, while supporting
Stony Brook University’s sustainability
initiatives. Whether bicycles are being
used for food deliveries or personal
wellness, it’s an energy-efficient, zero
emission mode of transportation.
Carbon Foodprint Stories from the Field:
The sustainability advisory
committee is thrilled that
Chartwells is taking such an
aggressive action related
to its carbon footprint. The
progress being made in
support of our sustainability
goals is amazing.”
Tammy Jahnke
Dean, College of Natural and Applied Sciences,
Missouri State University
Review MSU Case Study Results here.
Listen to our enthusiastic General Manager
talk about the project.
CUTTING EDGE TECHNOLOGY TAKES ON THE “NEW NORMAL” IN FOODSERVICE
Sometimes, Cutting Edge just means simple human ingenuity!
Some individual clients saw even more
impressive results:
One of our large, multi-account clients:
One of our Higher Education accounts cut
their lbs. of CO2e/guest by 23% from spring
2013 to fall 2013.
Another Higher Education account reduced
their monthly C02e/guest output from spring
2013 to fall 2013 by 22%.
Reduced their ghg emissions by 19%-
almost doubling their goal of 10% reduction.
Reduced their monthly ghg emissions by
234 Metric Tons or 1.7 lbs. of CO2e per
guest (January 2013 vs. November 2013).
Realized a spend reduction of over
$1,000,000 in present value terms.
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For each bike that replaces a catering van on a college or university campus over
one year, we are creating the equivalent impact of planting 30 trees and helping our
associates burn 50,000 calories!
DRIVING CHANGE THROUGH INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS 09
ZERO IS WHAT’S IMPORTANT TO OUR CLIENTS
Award-Winning Zero Waste Concessions Program
Keeping track of what is important to our clients on the sustainability
front is a constant exercise for us. We stay informed on the current
issues, emerging consumer trends and marketplace studies and pay close
attention to the types of words, questions and requests we receive from our
operations that indicate a client need. This year, the two words that came
across our desks most consistently were “Zero Waste.”
Zero Waste refers to waste management practices that emphasize waste
prevention. It’s a whole-system approach aiming for a substantial change in
the way materials go through society, with the ultimate goal resulting in no
waste. More of an ideal than a hard target, a Zero Waste strategy provides
guiding principles for continuous efforts towards eliminating waste.
We commissioned a foodservice-specific study and are engaged with a
group of clients in order to better understand expectations over the next
five years. Here is what we are hearing from our clients:
• Increase compostable single-serve items to 80%
• Reduce plastic water bottle trash volume by 50%
• Provide increased levels of re-usable cups, mugs and water containers
• Engage supply chain to reduce primary and secondary packaging
• Redirect landfill volume by 50%
We are introducing a comprehensive Zero Waste strategy that concentrates
on key touch points in food service waste; from back-of-house practices and
behaviors to front-of-house capturing methods and messaging.
11DRIVING CHANGE THROUGH INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHARLOTTE AWARD WINNING CONCESSIONS
The University of North Carolina at Charlotte
acknowledged Chartwells Dining Services for
its support of campus sustainability programs.
The University’s newsletter highlights Chartwells’
assistance with composting at the Student Union
and Zero Waste stadium concessions efforts
during football season.
Zero Waste refers to efforts that focus on
recycling, composting and reusing items in
order to reduce the amount of refuse sent to
landfills. With UNC Charlotte’s stadium facility
occupying 25 acres, Chartwells helped campus
concessions sustainability efforts by providing
recyclable drink cups, bottles, and packaging
that were compostable or reusable. Chartwells
also supported waste management, vendors and
volunteers on campus by providing recycling and
composting bins, in addition to educating fans
about the importance of Zero Waste.
A Challenge to lose 1M lbs
On Earth Day, April 22, 2013 Compass
Group North America launched The Million
Lb. Challenge, a voluntary company-wide
commitment to reduce green-house gas
emissions by one million pounds over the
course of six months. Cafés were tasked with
implementing one simple practice in the way
they manage their kitchen equipment. Nearly
200 units took the Challenge to shed 1 Million
Lbs. of C02e emissions from our operations by
just turning off equipment when not needed.
As a group, the participants realized a reduction of 2.3 Million lbs. in 2013, which was enough energy to power approximately 150 homes for a year. This achievement also generated a savings of $200k+ for our clients!
Wasted food often means that food is going
to a landfill where it decomposes and emits
methane. Food recovery is the practice of
recovering and donating perishable food
supplies in order to fight both food waste
and hunger.
More than 70 Bon Appétit kitchens at
universities and corporations around the
country are now engaging in food recovery,
including 100% of the accounts in Seattle
thanks to a groundbreaking partnership
with Food Lifeline!
The Food Recovery Network has since
asked Bon Appétit to be the first food
service company to pilot their Food
Recovery Certification, a new certification
to recognize businesses that are regularly
donating food. Almost 30 Bon Appétit
cafés have now gone through the
certification process.
Javier Ruelas, Director of Dining Services at
the Motion Picture & Television Fund, found
an opportunity to decrease the locations’
carbon footprint. Morrison partnered
with Motion Picture to install a food waste
dehydrating machine. With over 250 pounds
of food waste daily at Motion Picture, the
potential reduction was substantial.
The food dehydrator was installed in August
2012 and the impact was immediate. The
reduction in food waste being thrown into
dumpsters resulted in less trash pickups
equaling a savings to Motion Picture of
over $1,000 per month and resulted in the
reduction of 250 pounds of food waste
going into landfills daily.
The dehydrated food waste is now used
by the onsite landscapers as part of their
mulching and composting program instead
of going into landfills. The program also
generates over 1,000 liters of sterile and
filtered water per month that is used by the
landscapers as well on the Motion Picture
campus.
Pioneering Food Recovery Efforts around the Country
Morrison Senior Living Introduces Food Dehydrator
THE MILLION LB.CHALLENGEWe’re losing a Million Pounds...of CO2e
Along with other cafés across the country, we are working towards minimizing greenhouse gas emissions through reducing our kitchen equipment use by 10%.
THIS CO2e REDUCTION IS EQUIVALENT TO PLANTING 10K+ TREES.
Taking Action for a Healthy Planet
From February 2013 to February 2014 Bon Appétit tracked donation numbers for 21 of those programs and found they donated 74,339 pounds of food in a single year, which equals approximately 62,000 meals.
DRIVING CHANGE THROUGH OUR OPERATORS13
Big Impact from a Small Kitchen at TouchPoint
The TouchPoint Support Services team at Alexian Brothers PACE, a senior living community,
participated in the Million Lb. Challenge to reduce carbon emissions in our environment. Today
when Foodservice Director David Lescher, walks into his kitchen each morning, he knows that he’s
doing his part to save the environment.
Knowing their usage, David and his team decided to reduce their carbon use by turning unused
equipment off and only turning on equipment right before it needed to be used. Their simple
changes netted a savings of 18,153 lbs. of carbon emissions in the first quarter. This is the
equivalent of planting an orchard of 205 trees in that same period.
“I had no idea when we started the Million Lb. Challenge we could make that kind of difference on
the global climate. We’re just a small kitchen in Chattanooga,” said Lescher. “Imagine what could
happen if every commercial kitchen, large or small, in the country did the same thing. The impact
on our environment would be truly remarkable!”
Turning off equipment when not in use is just
the tip of the “ice machine.” There are many
other practices that can be put in place and
we will continue to challenge our operators
to find new ways that will help them to more
efficiently manage their kitchens.
Culinary Leader Introduces Sustainably-raised Farmed Salmon
When a Compass Group chef creates a new menu
item or chooses a new ingredient, he or she has the
opportunity to make a dish more flavorful, more
healthful and even more sustainable. By making
just one change, a chef can create significant
environmental impacts.
In 2013, our partners at Seafood Watch®
announced their first sustainably rated farmed
salmon produced by the Verlasso farm operations
in Chile. Verlasso Salmon are raised in the clean
waters of Patagonia off the Chilean coast. Their
unique feed ingredient lowers the feed to output
ratio from 4:1 lbs. to 1:1 lbs., minimizing the
dependence on fish oil and fish meal from wild-
caught sources. Of importance to human health,
their application of antibiotics is lower than the
industry average in Chile.
Bill Chodan is the Senior Vice President of Culinary
Development at FLIK. Within months of the
Seafood Watch® announcement, he made sure the
Verlasso Salmon was made available to his kitchens
in New York, Boston, Washington D.C. and North
Carolina. This decision represents a 26,000 lbs.
annual transition to sustainably farmed salmon.
Just one example of an environmentally conscious
choice leading to a great result!
Taking a Bite out of our Foodprint
A Natural Combination is a program
that blends finely chopped umami
rich mushrooms with ground meats
to seamlessly add an extra serving of
vegetables to the plate without losing taste
and satisfying texture.
These new menu offerings offer great
flavor that also satisfy our guests growing
desire for healthier and more sustainable
foods. One bite of a blended pork
mushroom “albondiga” (meatball) was all
it took to convince a team of Compass
culinarians.
A Natural Combination includes healthier
versions of some of America’s most iconic
dishes such as hamburgers, meatloaf, chili
and others. Most menu items include
blends that are 50% mushrooms.
The Results
For a typical burger served in our cafes,
the blend reduces:
• Saturated fat by 53%
• Calories by 49%
• Sodium by 38%
• GHG emissions by 48%*
It took a bite of something good to take a
bite out of our eco-foodprint! The concept
was developed with the generous support
and engagement of the Mushroom Council.
* As calculated by Changing Tastes
2013 Inaugural Green Ball at the NEWSEUM
Wolfgang Puck Catering created a menu
for the Green Ball that reflected the
commitment and values of the green
community to eat local, sustainable and
organic foods while providing a signature
gourmet flare. Our local Chef, Tom
Blundell, sourced the freshest, seasonably
available ingredients and crafted them
into perfect bites.
The menu featured vegetarian and vegan
options as well as regional cuisine. Most
ingredients on the menu were procured
from within 300 miles. Signature dishes
included Wolfgang Puck Kobe beef
sliders, Sesame Miso Cones with Carolina
Yellow Fin Tuna Tartar and a Charcuterie
and Cheese bar. The cheeses came from
family owned farms and co-ops.
15DRIVING CHANGE THROUGH CULINARY DILIGENCE
At the end of the day, it is our front line managers and
associates that will ultimately transform our commitments
into day-to-day action. A call for change can and does
come from all directions to the front lines. These can be
unsettling to associates who are otherwise busy delivering
on great food that is safe and delicious.
To facilitate a meaningful call to action that drives
sustainability-based changes, each of our initiatives are
supported by a wide range of training opportunities. These
are offered in the form of online classes, regional meetings,
point of sale materials and year round campaigns.
A good example is our Love Food Not Waste campaign.
Launched in 2012, this campaign continues to be the key
driver in educating and creating continuous improvement
in changing the ways we use and abuse energy, water, food
and landfill waste. Each quarter, the campaign is launched
with a new focus on a specific subject, allowing us to move
the bar from general to more issue specific knowledge.
Driving day-to-day sustainable change on the front lines
can be best realized when associates and guests are
motivated by robust knowledge.
Eurest Celebrates Earth Day promoting Love Food Not Waste
A Eurest account celebrated Earth Day with an extensive
information fair for its associates. Local environmental
groups focused on regional incentives and the reductions
people can make in their homes, while other groups
focused on ways in which they can make reductions at the
workplace. Eurest showcased its Eat Local campaign, Be A
Flexitarian and, most importantly, Love Food Not Waste.
The team also partnered with produce vendor J. Ambrosi to
create an Eat Local table with produce from local farmers.
“The Flexitarian table was a big hit,” said General Manager
Ellen Horowitz. “We had samples of a pasta frittata and
educated our customers on what being a Flexitarian means
and the impact this lifestyle has on the environment.”
DRIVING CHANGE THROUGH EDUCATION17
NEW PROGRAMS, NEW COLLABORATIONS
Building on a history of corporate responsibility and leveraging a passion for giving
back, Levy has expanded the Levy Cares program in recent years to encompass care
for the Environment, the Community and our Guests. Bringing the ethos of Levy Cares
to our broader corporate conscience is our way of making sure we deliver that same
level of passion towards social responsibility.
Levy Cares works side-by-side with our partners in order to raise the bar on socially
responsible business practices, enrich our communities and be a force for positive
change. This new era of the program opens new doors for us to expand our impact
and work to make this world a better place for us and for generations to come.
Northwestern University Partnership In partnership with the Office of
Corporate Relations, we created a
multi-pronged engagement with the
University to enhance Levy’s corporate
social responsibility mission while
providing unique new opportunities
for undergraduate students to explore
some of the most challenging questions
companies face today on sustainability.
This partnership allows Levy to
collaborate with faculty and staff to
develop new opportunities for students
to gain hands-on experience in corporate
social responsibility with a billion dollar,
industry leading company.
Northwestern University Advisory PanelIn an effort to make progress
collaboratively in our mutual
sustainability goals and to potentially
share best practices, Levy and
Northwestern have established an
Advisory Panel of faculty and staff
to provide consultation, insight and
guidance on Levy Cares long-term
strategy and planning. The advisors
include field experts, researchers and
scientists in Sustainable Business,
Corporate Social Responsibility
Organizational Management, Public
Policy and other related fields to support
each area of our program and provide the
best intelligence possible.
Levy Corporate Social Responsibility Internship Program Developed in partnership with the
Northwestern University Chicago
Field Studies program, the internship
is designed to provide students with
in-depth experience and insight into
corporate social responsibility. The CSR
Internship Program supports research,
data analysis and reporting projects
associated with Levy Cares.
Levy Cares Champion Program OverviewThe Levy Cares Champion Program is
a unique internal opportunity for our
associates to support programs and
initiatives that positively impact our
Environment, our Communities and our
Guests. Our champions provide location-
level leadership and feedback on all new
and existing initiatives for the Levy Cares
programs.
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cafe57, as part of the Green Restaurant
Association and Hearst Corporation, a
LEED Platinum Certified building, are both
deeply invested in the sustainability of their
operations. In order to educate guests and
building occupants on these efforts, Restaurant
Associates, the Hearst Real Estate Department
and Good Housekeeping magazine partnered
to host an informational table.
Topics discussed were café sustainability
practices such as composting, using paper
goods made from recycled materials, china
made from bamboo, sourcing local food
and Hearst Tower’s energy conservation.
Good Housekeeping supported the table
by displaying products that had earned
the GH Green Seal – identified as socially
and environmentally responsible products;
magazine employees were on hand to educate
guests about these products and responsible
buying techniques.
Earth Month allowed the team to take it a
step further focusing on weekly promotions
including “Recycling, Choose to Re-Use” and
Earth Week. USDA Organic Chef’s Tables
were offered multiple times a week, guests
were offered 10% off for using china instead of
disposables, and a plant and seed sale allowed
guests to kick start their spring gardens. Guest
Chef Cathy Kearney, executive chef at the local
Hyatt Regency, hosted an organic and local
Chef’s Table dish – topped off with a dressing
made from the honey she cultivates on the roof
of her hotel!
The Earth Month activities continued with
cafe57 and the Hearst B-Well team hosting a
table to discuss green markets around NYC and
eating healthily with local, seasonal produce.
The B-Well team distributed literature on those
subjects, as well as free seed packets for Hearst
employees to start their own home gardens.
The B-Well team also hosted a Lunch & Learn in
partnership with GrowNYC, a local educational
organization and administrator of the NYC
Green Market system.
In support of these various green programs,
Restaurant Associates partners with local
farms to create a farmer’s market from late
spring through early fall. Sourcing only local
and seasonal produce from the tri-state area,
cafe57 associates set-up a bountiful micro-
market and educate guests on this produce
and discuss possible uses in the home kitchen.
Also, throughout the New York growing season,
cafe57 sets up a rooftop garden to support
and supplement the executive dining room’s
culinary creations. The Executive Chef and his
team cultivate the garden with a rotation of
crops as they come in and out of season.
RESTAURANT ASSOCIATES AND HEARST PARTNER TO RAISE SUSTAINABILITY AWARENESS
21DRIVING CHANGE THROUGH EDUCATION
Growing Healthy Students through Farm to School Experiences
Chartwells School Dining Services and Anderson County School
District Four in South Carolina are helping students and families
establish lifelong healthy eating habits through a $30,000 grant
awarded to the district by the South Carolina Farm to School
Program. The grant has allowed the district to establish a Farm to
School Program to serve and promote more local produce in the
cafeteria and integrate nutrition and agriculture education into
student learning experiences.
Chartwells utilizes “Certified South Carolina (SC)” local produce
for students, the healthy-eating message is reinforced through the
use of fruits and vegetables as a healthy reward for celebrations.
“Our Farm to School Program and related experiences have
given children and teachers many opportunities to see and taste
healthier food being grown and prepared,” says Anderson District
Four Superintendent Lee D ‘Andrea. “This is quite unusual in the
typical school environment. We appreciate the collaborative spirit
and the wisdom of our food service provider.”
Mindful ChoicesSM Promotes Wellness and Sustainability in Healthcare A client success story in sustainability is
the development of Inova Health System’s
partnership with Blue Ridge Produce, a
Virginia-based local food aggregator. By
working with Inova’s leadership and the
Morrison team at Inova, the health system
confirmed Blue Ridge as an approved
vendor and began buying through them
in early 2013. This move significantly
increased the amount of local produce
available to, and purchased by, Inova
hospitals.
As a result, Inova reached a 9.5% annual local purchasing rate at one of their hospitals, with the majority averaging between 7% and 9% - the highest rates Inova has ever achieved.
Inova also hit rates of more than 15% local
produce purchases during peak summer
months, another first. The chart illustrates
the successes through Inova Fairfax
Medical Campus’ monthly local spend
rates from 2010-2013. Note the prominent
rise in local purchasing with Blue Ridge
starting in April 2013.
“The Morrison team at Inova helped us
navigate through the process of adding
Blue Ridge as a vendor and then adjusted
its menus, marketing and programs
to promote awareness of the fresh,
healthy, local ingredients,” said Inova
Health System Director of Sustainability
Seema Wadhwa. Inova Health System
Sustainability Associate Carolyn
Billetdeaux added, “Initiatives such as
weekly produce stands, monthly featured
produce, ‘Eat Local’ signage, and featured
seasonal produce at the salad bar have
also helped increase demand for the local
foods Inova has worked so hard to source.”
Morrison is working with its client hospital
and health systems to implement firm
standards for local sourcing, healthy
food marketing, wellness meal offerings,
nutrition labeling, food preparation,
healthy beverages, and fruit and
vegetable offerings. In addition, Morrison
has strengthened its sustainability and
wellness leadership role through strategic
partnerships with Healthy Hospitals
Initiative (HHI) and Partnership for a
Healthier America (PHA). During its first-
year PHA alignment (2012-2013), Morrison
positively impacted up to 41 million
patients and 500 million hospital meals.
DRIVING CHANGE THROUGH OUR SUPPLY CHAIN23
It’s been 15 years since Bon Appétit
Management Company formally launched its
Farm to Fork program in 1999, requiring that all
of its chefs strive to source at least 20 percent
of their ingredients from small farms, ranches,
and fishing operations within 150 miles of their
kitchens. Since then, the company has enrolled
more than 1,400 Farm to Fork vendors and now
puts tens of millions each year back into its
local farming communities.
That includes not just produce, but protein.
Many Bon Appétit teams work closely with local
hog farmers and beef ranchers to buy not just a
few cuts, but whole animals. That often requires
committing far in advance.
Jim O’Brien, Resident District Manager for Bon
Appetit committed to four pigs twice a month
for Case Western Reserve University, with the
option to raise that number for the second half
of the year. That’s going whole hog!
And Case Western Reserve isn’t alone in
committing to whole animals: many other
Bon Appétit teams at both education and
corporate accounts around the country do so
as well. Buying whole animals is not only more
economical, assuming you utilize them from
nose to tail as Bon Appétit does, but it is much
easier for the farmers and ranchers, who aren’t
then trying to find buyers for all the individual
cuts.
Bon Appétit Goes Whole Hog for Local Food
Bon Appétit Farm to Fork vendors Melissa and Aaron Miller of Miller Livestock in Ohio
25
A Long and Winding Road
In 2008, Compass was invited to join the
Coordinating Council of the Stewardship Index
for Specialty Crop (SISC), a multi-stakeholder
initiative dedicated to developing tools for
measuring sustainable performance across the
specialty crops supply chain.
This five year initial engagement was a period
of lively discussion and collaboration in the
development, pilot-testing and refining metrics for
water, energy, soil and nutrients. Compass knew
that the industry was in need of a viable supply
chain solution and that the SISC could become
the best solution. Our commitment to the
project included engaging our own suppliers to
participate in pilot tests. As a team, we adjusted
and refined the process to ensure its success.
In 2013, SISC announced the release of five
Working Metrics, or measurement tools, designed
to support sustainability efforts across the
specialty crops supply chain. We are pleased
to have been a part of creating this industry
solution, and we look forward to our continuing
participation, helping to further expand the
impact and influence of SISC in our industry.
An overview of the metrics and technical notes
are available at www.stewardshipindex.org.
The seafood supply chain can involve a large
number of intermediaries from the fishing
boat to the consumer. Most seafood is traded
internationally and finds its way through a
variety of export and re-export routes. There
are brokers, traders and third party processors
within virtually every link in the chain.
This presents a tremendous challenge and makes
it difficult to track a product back to the boat and
identify the source fishery information necessary
for transparent reporting. We do our best to report
as accurately as we can on the sustainability of our
seafood purchases, using the information available
and working with a variety of stakeholders,
including our partners at the Monterey Bay
Aquarium Seafood Watch® program.
Our focus this year has been on identifying
an industry wide solution to improve the
traceability systems of the seafood industry.
We enlisted the services of Sustainable
Fisheries Partnership (SFP) and initiated
a collaborative project with the Seafood
Watch® that involved developing an in-depth
data collection process of the species in our
seafood supply chain. Our goal, in partnership
with key suppliers, was to create a verifiable
report on the sustainability criteria for all of
our seafood, which would allow us to better
measure against our commitments and to
identify opportunities in our supply chain to
engage Fishery Improvement Projects.
The pilot proved more difficult than anticipated
and we haven’t realized a scalable solution.
Compass continues to be committed to
developing a viable data collection and
traceability program until we can help identify
an industry wide solution.
A video on Fishery Improvement Projects can
be viewed here.
A Responsible Way to Source Tuna
Tens of thousands of fish aggregating devices
(FADs) are deployed annually by the world’s
tuna vessels, as a way to improve catch rate
and reduce fuel costs. These man-made
structures function as open-ocean shelters
that lure schools of various species. Sea
life naturally seeks out these structures for
protection, feeding opportunities and as a
space to increase the survival of their young.
These devices will drift uncontrolled for
months, attracting a wide variety of marine life,
including tuna, sharks, billfish, and sea turtles.
Vessels set their nets on FADs, scooping up
everything around them but keeping only the
tuna; the “by-catch”, which is often dead, is
tossed over board. The use of FADs is highly
unregulated and results in what scientists
estimate to be over 100,000 tons of by-catch
annually (Tim Dempster & Marc Taquet, 2005).
Purse seine netting without the use of FADs,
is a less destructive and more responsible way
of sourcing tuna. Our guests need to know
that the seafood they enjoy in our cafes is
sourced using responsible methods of catch
that have minimal impact on the health of our
oceans. Understanding this is a critical issue,
in early 2013 we engaged in a discussion with
our partners at Seafood Watch®, as well as our
suppliers, to reverse this detrimental effect on
the sustainability of our tuna fisheries and the
ecology the oceans.
As a result of that engagement, we are
committed to purchasing 100% of our
canned skipjack tuna from sources using FAD
free methods starting January 2015. This
represents over 1.9 million pounds of skipjack
tuna or more than 50% of our total canned
tuna purchases.
For detailed information on ocean by-catch
issues, refer to this informative page at
Seafood Watch.
FISHING FOR SOLUTIONS
27DRIVING CHANGE THROUGH OUR PARTNERS
Our global food system is operating above
the resource capacity of the planet and facing
an increasing need for production as world
population continues to expand.
Humanity today is using 50% more resources
than our planet can provide. Unless we
change this stressful rate of demand on our
natural resources, even two planets will not be
sufficient to support humanity by 2030. We
are moving in a direction that can hardly be
described as a sustainable pace, questioning
the secure future of healthy food supplies,
world population and planet.
Mankind has the ability and drive to create
a prosperous future for the generations that
follow. For change to happen, both individuals
and large organizations must take ownership
of that future and step up to the challenges
we face. Corporations can and should play
a purposeful role in shaping that sustainable
future, while keeping the balance necessary
to meet today’s business mission. Both
endeavors can co-exist within the domain of
the corporate landscape. Both do at Compass
Group.
From supporting local economies, to sourcing
sustainable seafood to addressing climate
change issues, we took our first step toward
solving these and other challenges starting in
1999. And we haven’t looked back. We don’t
claim to be perfect and it’s not clear that we
can ever be perfect on the dynamic spectrum
of sustainability. But from the moment we
came to realize our environmental and
social responsibilities, we began to act on
them. Our sustainability story since that first
moment established Compass as an important
contributor towards a more sustainable future
and as a model for what is possible within the
realm of the food service industry.
We are proud of our past contributions and
are committed to continue building on them.
Where we are able to do so, we establish
specific milestones. Where we cannot
measure, we seek to create change where we
can have the biggest impact. We pledge to
the upmost public transparency, allowing us
to openly manage our progress and to adjust
our path as needed. Our Vision 2020 is our
long term aspiration that is anchored in a
roadmap to realization.
We are stepping up to challenges of the future and we are not looking back.
STEPPING UP TO THE CHALLENGE OF THE FUTURE
VISION 2020
29