CONTACT: Monica Zimmer
301 987 4461
Fair-trade brew pours out green scheme with bio-degradable cups, wraps, and ink
GAITHERSBURG, Md., April 21, 2010 — If you’re looking for a cuppa Joe with a conscience on Earth Day, stop by one of Sodexo’s 241 cafés that serves Aspretto, the new Sodexo, a leader in Quality of Daily Life Solutions, fair trade-based hot beverage that is 100% sustainable from grower to grounds.
The sustainable coffee line sources from local markets accredited by the Rainforest Alliance, Fairtrade Foundation or the Soil Association and internationally-recognized fair trade certification organizations. Aspretto uses recyclable and bio-degradable materials in packaging and utensils. Equipment wraps are made from 100% post-consumer recycled resin and all printed materials are created with vegetable inks.
Coffee is a universal beverage of choice and Sodexo is proud to demonstrate its values and ethical principles through this fair trade product that has the potential to reach millions of people each day. Aspretto is served in nearly 250 sites in the U.S., including 177 on college campuses, 50 in corporate cafes, government buildings and hospitals. Some of the cafes where it’s most popular include Babson College and Merrimack College in Mass., Denison University in Ohio, California State – Monterey Bay, Lehigh Valley Hospital Cedar Crest in Allentown, Pa., and Saint Michael Medical Center in Newark.
As a company that buys an average of 8,000 tons of coffee and serves more than one billion cups per year, the launch of Aspretto is sure to make its mark in the global coffee industry. In the U.S. alone, Sodexo purchases 10 million pounds and serve 100 million cups of coffee each year.
The company recently announced broad and detailed commitments for sustainability and corporate social responsibility. The Better Tomorrow Plan adds a global approach to Sodexo’s continuing commitment to improving the quality of daily life for customers in three key areas of the environment, health and wellness, and community development.
Sodexo in North America
Sodexo, Inc. (www.sodexoUSA.com), a member of Sodexo Group, is a leading provider of Comprehensive Service Solutions serving more than ten million customers daily in corporations, health care, long term care, retirement, schools, higher education, government and remote sites. Headquartered in Gaithersburg, Md., Sodexo, Inc. operates in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, with $7.7 billion (USD) in annual revenue and 120,000 employees. The Sodexo Foundation (www.SodexoFoundation.org) is an independent charitable organization that, since its founding in 1999, has made more than $12.7 million in grants to fight hunger in America. Visit the corporate blog at www.sodexoUSA.com/blog.
Sodexo, world leader in Quality of Daily Life Solutions
Quality of Life plays an important role in the progress of individuals and the performance of organizations. Based on this conviction, Sodexo is the strategic partner for companies and institutions that place a premium on performance and well-being, as it has since Pierre Bellon founded the company in 1966. Sharing the same passion for service, Sodexo’s 380,000 employees, in 80 countries design, manage and deliver an unrivaled range of On-site Service Solutions and Motivation Solutions. Sodexo has created a new form of service business that contributes to the economic, social and environmental development of the communities, regions and countries in which it operates and to the fulfillment of its employees.
###