More than one million people in the UK will be offered MSC certified sustainable fish in workplace restaurants, schools, hospitals and defence sites, thanks to leading foodservice provider Sodexo.

In a world-first, Sodexo has had all of its restaurants and cafés certified to serve Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified sustainable fish. MSC fish will be available in around a thousand sites ranging from Manchester Royal Infirmary, the Co-operative and Eton College to primary schools in Wiltshire, Colchester Garrison, Blenheim Palace and Chelsea Flower Show.

Hannah Arcaro, UK Foodservice Manager at the MSC, said: “What Sodexo has achieved is nothing less than amazing. Serving MSC certified sustainable fish at nearly a thousand sites will introduce a huge cross-section of British consumers to the issues around overfishing and how they can be part of the solution. By helping to reward the certified fisheries around the world, who have proven that they are fishing sustainably, Sodexo and its customers will be helping to transform the seafood market to a sustainable basis.”

Michelle Hanson, Commercial Director, Sodexo UK & Ireland, said: "This is a landmark achievement for us. MSC certification of our restaurants and cafés was an ambitious target that we set ourselves as part of the Better Tomorrow Plan, our sustainability strategy to 2020.

"Like most people, we were alarmed to hear about declining fish stocks. Through MSC certification, we believe we are making a real difference in helping to protect the world's fish stocks.

"Traceability of our fish from boat to plate has always been very important to us. With the MSC Chain of Custody certification, we have complete assurance that every step of the supply chain has been certified to ensure that we know that every piece of MSC fish that we serve comes from a well managed fishery.

"We are passionate about sustainable sourcing at Sodexo and have really engaged with our staff and customers at each of our sites with training initiatives and promotional material to get everyone working together to support sustainable fishing."