Our contributions to the UN SDGs
SDG
Our contribution
SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-Being
We remain committed to delivering nutritious meals that nourish the body, please the palate, and promote the benefits of eating fresh, healthy foods. Offering healthy and nutritional food is one of the topics in our global ESG Framework.
Our focus extends beyond culinary excellence to support overall well-being, especially for our employees. At many of our units worldwide, we provide health checkups and spaces where employees can de-stress and relax during their breaks.
Across our regions, we coordinate a variety of initiatives for local employees, including health check stations, mental health resources, hydration campaigns, tips for healthy eating, and programs to promote better sleep.
SDG 5 – Gender Equality
We have established performance targets to drive continuous improvement as an equal opportunity employer.
Within our ESG Framework, gender equity is our initial focus under the broader umbrella of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. We’ve set clear targets to enhance gender parity and promote equality across the organization, ensuring women’s full participation in decision making and leadership roles. This aligns with our strategy to achieve success by leveraging the diverse talents and perspectives of our entire team.
To advance gender equality, as of 2024, we are implementing systematic actions, broad and targeted, across our regions and functions to achieve incremental progress required in each area.
SDG 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth
We recognize employee empowerment as a key factor in building our reputation as an employer of choice. Our ongoing organizational development includes initiatives designed to enhance gategroup’s commitment to fostering a culture where team members are valued, respected, and given opportunities to prosper and thrive.
Our dedication to job creation is further reflected in the implementation of community outreach programs, supported by partnerships with local agencies to provide transportation and housing assistance.
SDG 9 – Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
Our investments in product stewardship and innovation align with both our customers’ and our own goals for sustainable economic growth and a reduced carbon footprint. We have therefore established an internal innovation program, gatehorizon, whereby we actively look for solutions with potential for broad scaling across our global network.
We work closely with our customers to explore emerging technologies, identify opportunities to minimize the carbon footprint of the meals we serve, reduce waste, and address evolving customer and societal needs.
SDG 12 – Responsible Consumption and Production
We have implemented measures to reduce waste, conserve energy and water, and transition to circular solutions. These efforts include cutting energy consumption, recycling materials (such as aluminum, plastic, glass, and cardboard), reducing transport emissions, and minimizing single-use plastics.
Additionally, we collaborate with customers to educate and encourage end-consumer choices that support responsible consumption and production.
SDG 13 – Climate Action
As an active member of industry and cross-sector advocacy organizations, gategroup supports regulatory changes that advance climate action practices. Our approach to climate change mitigation focuses on improving operational efficiencies, transitioning towards renewable and low carbon energy use – including adopting a hybrid and electric vehicle fleet, and sourcing and generating renewable electricity – and reducing our indirect climate footprint.
We raise awareness across our regions through group-wide internal environmental campaigns and create internal incentives for enhancing environmental actions.
Additionally, we collaborate with customers and external partners to analyze inflight waste, optimize resource consumption, and reinforce our shared commitment to sustainability.
SDG 14 – Life Below Water
We are committed to eliminating single-use plastics from our products and promoting recycling and circular solutions at our production sites to reduce landfilled waste.
We implement water treatment and rainwater collection measures at specific locations to help protect marine life and ecosystems.
We also focus on responsibly sourcing seafood to support healthy marine ecosystems, and some of our locations contribute to river and beach cleanup efforts, aiding the preservation of life below water.
SDG 15 – Life on Land
We have implemented ongoing culinary initiatives and environmental measures to minimize food waste in our kitchens and transition to a model that optimizes upcycling, composting, and circular solutions to help conserve land and natural resources.
These efforts include a central recipe assembly program, composting solutions, and a strategic shift toward biodegradable and reusable packaging equipment.
Being a part of the agricultural value chain, we assessed biodiversity as a material area of focus for us, especially in our upstream activities. We are therefore actively looking for meaningful solutions where we can make a positive contribution.
SDG 16 – Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
gategroup respects employees’ rights to organize unions or professional bodies and to be afforded human rights and labor protections. We collaborate with stakeholders across our value chain to achieve shared goals, actively implementing training programs to promote fairness within our supply chains and strengthening our institutional framework through our whistleblower hotline.
Since 2022, gategroup has been a UN Global Compact (UNGC) participant and a member of the Switzerland and Liechtenstein chapter’s working group on sustainable supply chain management.