When developing a reliable supply chain, it’s important to include suppliers who positively impact people and the planet. Whether you’re searching for suppliers who source locally, prioritize environmental sustainability, or seek to work with businesses owned by diverse groups, utilizing responsible sourcing strategies is a valuable way to achieve your organization’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) targets through your procurement practices.  

“At Avendra International, responsible sourcing is our commitment to positively impact both people and the planet. We achieve this by maintaining a robust and innovative supply chain that meets the diverse needs of our clients.” says Natily Santos, Vice President of Responsible Sourcing at Avendra International and Aramark. 

In celebration of Earth Month, we’re highlighting the initiatives our Responsible Sourcing team has achieved to enhance the supply chain and ensure a more equitable and resourceful future for our clients, suppliers and the global supply chain. 

A few key highlights include:  

Under the umbrella of Avendra for Good, we have two active programs:  

The Avendra for Good Supplier Recognition Program highlights diverse-owned suppliers that are also participating in the EcoVadis supplier sustainability assessment program. To date, we’ve featured seven suppliers through this program. 

We have also developed the Avendra for Good product tagging initiative in collaboration with US Foods. This program identifies products that meet specific sustainability attributes through the US Foods e-procurement platform, enabling our clients to easily be aware of products with sustainability attributes to meet their sustainable sourcing goals. 

Expanded supplier participation with EcoVadis, an independent sustainability ratings agency, by adding over 300 European suppliers. Aside from assessing the supplier and providing a score, the EcoVadis platform provides suppliers with a variety of tools, resources and recommendations to strengthen their programs on environment, labor and human rights, ethics and sustainable procurement. Actions on these issues lead to increased customer confidence, greater risk management and improved supply chain stability for everyone. 

In 2024, over $310 million of client spend was with contracted suppliers identified as diverse-owned. To further support small businesses and suppliers of diverse backgrounds, Avendra, Aramark launched the Level UP!™ Program. In conjunction with Certify My Company and Sysco as strategic partners in this effort, Level UP! Is a 10-week mentorship program that prepares aspiring suppliers with resources to successfully collaborate with major distributors. Focused on merchandising, logistics and procurement practices, Level UP! debuted in the fall of 2024 and has already helped its participants connect with category leaders.  

MaetaData was acquired by Aramark in February 2025, igniting a new era of sourcing transparency. This long-term technology partner provides innovative AI-driven technology that elevates ingredients and source transparency, engages and empowers local, small suppliers and optimizes the company’s responsible sourcing purchasing analytics and reporting practices. 

The Maetadata functionality will further enhance Avendra’s Sustainable Sourcing reporting capabilities. It will be integrated* with Mosaic, the AI-powered procurement platform that transforms data into actionable insights to help Aramark and Avendra International team members make smarter purchasing decisions and boost operational efficiency. Mosaic is part of Aramark’s Hospitality IQ, an innovative AI-powered solutions hub. 

*External client data is securely segregated on MaetaData’s original servers managed by dedicated MaetaData teams.