Metropolia and Sodexo extend their partnership − aiming to reduce the environmental impact of food and dining
Metropolia’s strategic ambition is to be a builder of a sustainable future. In addition to educating future sustainability experts, Metropolia also aims to develop the responsibility of its own operations. This is also taken into consideration when selecting partners.
“It has been important for us to continue with a catering partner with whom we can jointly make campus dining more responsible in many ways. Whether it’s reducing food waste, enabling more sustainable meal choices or reducing the footprint of food preparation and serving by other means,” says Anna Muukkonen, Environmental Specialist at Metropolia.
Using ozonated water for more natural dishwashing
Sodexo’s goal is to be a pioneer in responsible food. This means offering consumers healthy food options and striving to minimise the environmental impact of food.
One recent innovation in developing new solutions is the use of ozonated water for washing dishes. Previously, it has already been utilised for cleaning. Ozonated water is ordinary water into which ozone has been dissolved. Ozone acts as a natural and effective cleaning agent, destroying bacteria and viruses by oxidising them.
“We now have devices in the restaurants at both the Myllypuro and Myyrmäki campuses which add ozone to the water in the dishwashers. The ozone dissolved in the water reduces the need for dishwashing chemicals, meaning we can lessen our chemical load and the amount of chemical residue on surfaces,” says Teija Ylikauppila, Sodexo’s Site Manager.
Directing surplus food from serving lines to good causes
Food waste is a global challenge with significant environmental and economic impacts. Sodexo restaurants monitor food waste in three different categories: Plate waste refers to uneaten food left on customers’ plates. Serving line waste is food left over on the serving lines. Kitchen waste arises during food preparation, for example from peelings or unused raw ingredients. This breakdown helps identify at which stage in the process waste arises and how it can be most effectively reduced.
“In addition to encouraging customers to pay attention to plate waste in various ways, we have recently aimed to redirect serving line waste to food aid. At Metropolia’s Myyrmäki campus restaurant, serving line waste is distributed as food aid through the 'Yhteinen Pöytä' operation in Vantaa, and in Myllypuro, cooperation with ‘Stadin safka’ is about to start,” Ylikauppila says.
Although organising serving line waste for food aid requires extra work from staff and careful management of the waste’s temperature, sodexo staff feedback has been extremely positive.
“The staff have said that it feels good and meaningful when the surplus food they’ve prepared doesn’t go to waste but instead goes to where it is needed,” says Ann-Marjaana Holmberg, Sodexo’s Client Manager.
Sodexo’s goal is to reduce the amount of total waste to under 50g per customer. At the Myyrmäki restaurant, waste amounted to 42.6g per customer from January to September 2025. At Myllypuro restaurant during the same period, it was 53.2g per customer.
Further information
Anna Muukkonen
Environmental Specialist
Metropolia University of Applied Sciences
+358 40 042 5540
firstname.surname [at] metropolia.fi (firstname[dot]surname[at]metropolia[dot]fi)
Teija Ylikauppila
Site Manager
Sodexo
+358 50 408 5155
firstname.surname [at] sodexo.com (firstname[dot]surname[at]sodexo[dot]com)