Leijona Catering strengthens domestic food security through regenerative agriculture
LEIJONA CATERING’S COMMITMENT
Leijona Catering, owned by the Finnish state and offers food and restaurant services, aims to promote regenerative farming principles through its food procurement.
IN PROGRESS
Commitment made in 2022
DURATION
2022 – 2024
For Leijona’s customers, long-term food security is an essential issue, just as the domesticity of food is a significant intrinsic value. In our opinion, the Carbon Action development work serves the well-being of the Baltic Sea and the future success of the Finnish food chain and supports these special goals of ours and our customers.
Ritva Paavonsalo, CEO, Leijona Catering Oy
Leijona Catering is a Finnish government-owned company that offers food and catering services. Our business serves security-critical locations within government institutions and operations. We are guided by the values of customer centricity, sustainability and corporate responsibility, and renewal. We employ approximately 500 food and catering professionals in several locations in Finland. Our crucial sustainability targets are reducing food waste and the carbon footprint per meal.
In the face of changing climate and weakening biodiversity, we have a strategic interest in a solid domestic food chain and emergency supply readiness. Hence, we want to start applying regenerative farming principles, including carbon farming, soil health and biodiversity improvement, in our sourcing and purchasing practices in relevant product categories. This will happen in the future via regenerative farming product certificates/certificates of origin; in the meantime, by communicating the targets, developing proper sourcing and product quality requirements, and implementing those requirements with our suppliers.
Leijona Catering gives our Baltic Sea commitment to the Baltic Sea Action Group for 2022 – 2024. Our goal is to support the development of a sustainable food system in our role as a professional buyer organisation and to target related communications to our customers (buyers of our catering services), our end customers (clients in our restaurants) and the general public (engagements in social media channels). Our commitment focuses primarily on the Carbon Action program coordinated by BSAG.
Leijona Catering will offer competence development on regenerative farming to our employees and key personnel of our suppliers and partners. We will include Carbon Action and regenerative agriculture in our key messages targeted at all our stakeholders.
COMMITMENT GOALS
1
To support the reduction of carbon emissions and improvement of biodiversity within the scope of our annual food offering via menu development, ingredient choices and by increasing the share of regeneratively farmed food once the method is developed, transparent and recognisable through the supply chain to the end customer.
2
Leijona Catering joins the Carbon Action company platform and network and the cooperation between various actors in the food supply chain.
3
Over the commitment period, we develop an understanding and share information on carbon farming, soil health, biodiversity improvement and the Carbon Action program in our internal and external communications.
The duration of our commitment is three years. The implementation of our commitment is followed up with the practices of the Carbon Action program and in the annual reporting of Leijona Catering.
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