Arlin Wasserman: A Drive to Sustainability

“Sustainability means many, many different things to different people,” said Arlin Wasserman, noting that this is one reason why it’s sometimes such a slippery subject. Wasserman, vice president of corporate citizenship at Sodexo, said foodservice directors are in a powerful position to help define what sustainability will mean in the coming years. “Efforts to promote sustainability are linked to our ability to feed ourselves,” he said, adding that foodservice progams should be at the leading edge of corporate and institutional sustainability initiatives.

Wasserman warned the audience about “The Six Sins of Greenwashing,” emphasizing “green” as a promotional strategy when it is not backed up by substantive effort.

People are looking for responsibility in what they eat more and more, looking for attributes of “fresh, healthy, local, organic, animal welfare, fair trade, good for the planet,” he said. “People don’t necessarily want all these attributes every day in every meal, but they do want to know ‘If I eat this, and feed this to my family, I can feel good about it.’”

Transparency about choices is key, Wasserman said.