Sodexo launches 'Better Tomorrow Plan' to meet the challenges of community and environmental practices

Sodexo (PARIS:SW) (OTCBB:SDXAY), world leader in Quality of Life solutions, announced today the creation of the "Better Tomorrow Plan," designed to better respond to the challenges of proper Nutrition, Health and Wellness, Local communities and Environment. The Plan’s objective is to take a new step by consolidating Sodexo’s sustainability performance and measuring the impact of its actions.

The "Better Tomorrow Plan" comes from a long process of upstream work during which Sodexo consulted experts and all of its stakeholders, both internal and external, over a twelve-month period.

Sodexo: 43 years of shared fundamentals

Pierre Bellon, Sodexo’s Chairman, founded the company in 1966, setting out the company’s beliefs, mission, values and ethical principles, which continue to serve as a unifying force for the Group’s 380,000 employees around the world today.

Sodexo’s mission, which has remained the same for 43 years, is two-fold: "To improve the Quality of Daily Life for all those who we serve and to contribute to the economic, social and environmental development of the cities, regions and countries in which we operate."

The three pillars of the "Better Tomorrow Plan" roadmap

Sodexo has leveraged its experience and expertise in sustainable development to define a true strategy around which it carries out its actions worldwide.

This new strategy is based on 3 pillars:

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"We Are"

The first pillar, entitled "We Are," presents Sodexo’s fundamentals: a company of people in the service of others, with a commitment to sustainable development that is based, like its strategy, on focusing on basic human values and ethical principles.

Values

• Spirit of Service
• Team Spirit
• Spirit of Progress

Ethical Principles

• Loyalty
• Respect for people
• Transparency
• Rejection of corruption and unfair competition

"We Do"

3 priorities, 14 commitments

For each of its 14 commitments, organized around 3 priorities, Sodexo has developed indicators to measure the degree of implementation and the impact of the actions that are undertaken.

• Nutrition, Health and Wellness

As a world leader in foodservices, Sodexo has a direct role in the food consumption of over 50 million people each day. Sodexo helps promote a healthy and balanced diet, limited in fat, sugar and salt, and proposes solutions that promote health and wellness.

Commitments

• Local communities

Present in 80 countries, Sodexo is committed to continuing to play an important role in the economic and social development of the local communities where we operate. The continuing high level of malnutrition and hunger in the world is a particularly important focus area for action in our efforts to improve Quality of Life. We support the development of fair trade that benefits local producers.

Commitments

• Environment

Respecting the environment means creating a Quality of Life framework in the communities in which we live, while meeting the expectations of our stakeholders for a sustainable planet. With 33,900 sites in 80 countries, Sodexo is aware that its activities have an impact on the environment.

• Commitments

Examples of local achievements

Australia. Well-being, local employment and good environmental practices in the heart of the Outback

Located more than 500 kilometers from the nearest city is BHP Billiton’s Olympic Dam, the largest uranium mine in the world. In the heart of the Australian desert, we responded to our client’s request by creating a unique living environment through our On-site Service Solutions that enable BHP Billiton to attract and retain employees needed for a planned mine expansion, with:

• services to enhance the well-being and health of the site’s inhabitants by, for example, providing nutrition information during meals, offering customized fitness programs and operating multiple sports facilities (soccer field, golf course, swimming pool, etc.);
• employment by Sodexo of local inhabitants and active participation in the community sports and cultural life of Roxby Downs;
• A "zero waste initiative" which has resulted in the recycling in ten months of 28 tons of waste, saving 15,000 Australian dollars, which were donated to Children's Hospital in Adelaide and the local Royal Flying Doctor association.

China. "Live Life" at Nokia’s headquarters

In 2008, on the Beijing site of our client Nokia, we developed an innovative program called "Live Life," with a series of easily accessible, well-being offers to improve Quality of Life, both within and outside the workplace. The program provides access to facilities and quality services as well as courses run by a team of health and fitness professionals. Since the end of August 2009, more than 1,250 on-site employees out of 2,000 have enrolled.

Madagascar. Local community development in Madagascar

In Fort-Dauphin, 92% of our employees, including managers, are from the island, 43% are women and the great majority live in the surrounding communities. Sodexo has also developed partnerships with local organizations to create support programs for local producers to help meet the needs of the mining sector. Since 2007, we have helped over 250 producers of fruits and vegetables to diversify and increase the standard of quality for their products.

Sweden. Protecting fish species red-listed by WWF - Sweden

Sodexo in Sweden has implemented a seafood policy of removing from menus, recipes and catalogues any species on the WWF's red list. This action has been applied to 100% of our sites throughout all segments.

"We Engage"

Helping increase awareness among stakeholders

The originality and strength of the "Better Tomorrow Plan" is the engagement of all company stakeholders (employees, clients, consumers, suppliers and institutions) in a process of continuous improvement focused around the three priority areas: Nutrition, Health and Wellness; Local communities; and Environment.

Sodexo is committed to listening and to dialogue with:

• employees, training them and encouraging them to participate in programs for sustainable development;
• clients, assisting them in achieving their sustainable development strategy;
• consumers, helping them make more healthy and sustainable consumption choices;
• suppliers, working on its supply chain participants and involving them in its sustainable development commitments;
• public sector entities of the cities, regions and countries in which Sodexo operates.

Examples of local achievements

France. Partnership with the city of Brest to support the organic produce industry

In addition to our employees, we seek to engage our clients and suppliers in creating real momentum for long-term change and a positive impact throughout the entire value chain, from local producers to clients to consumers. Among recent actions, we launched an innovative initiative to enable school cafeterias in the city of Brest to source organic produce from local farmers. Today, 20% of the products that Sodexo serves to 5,500 Brest schoolchildren are sourced from organic farming. However, local organic production remains insufficient to meet future needs and supply the 900,000 meals prepared each year. To encourage local producers to convert to organic production, Sodexo partnered with the city, local associations and specialist distributors so that farmers are not adversely affected by declining yields as a result of their conversion to organic farming. Specifically, Sodexo and the city have committed to maintain farmers’ revenue by buying their produce at a price equivalent to that of organic products until the products can be labeled AB.

World. Educate our consumers regarding Health and the Environment through our Motivation Solutions

Over 25 million people worldwide benefit from Sodexo’s Motivation Solutions (service vouchers and cards such as Restaurant Pass, Gift Pass, Assistance, etc.). In Belgium, Sodexo launched “Eco Pass” for company employees in June 2009 encouraging the purchase of environmentally friendly products: low consumption light bulbs, systems for recovering rainwater, filters for diesel engines, etc. Since its launch, more than 5,000 people in Belgium have benefited from Eco Pass.

Another initiative is "Vivir Bien," launched in Mexico in March 2009, aimed at helping fight obesity among clients, affiliates and consumers of Sodexo’s Motivation Solutions. A dedicated comprehensive and interactive website offers general information on nutrition and health as well as diagnostic online tools, forums for exchange with health professionals and addresses of restaurants known for the proper nutritional balance of their menus.

Long-term goals

The "Better Tomorrow Plan" is a continuous improvement approach based on the commitment of all stakeholders. It applies in 80 countries and the 33,900 sites where the Group operates and will involve three phases:

Measuring Performance

To demonstrate our determination to maintain our commitments and in consideration of the large number of sites around the world, "Better Tomorrow Plan" performance will be assessed in two steps:

• Progress indicators
  First, we will measure and publish the progress indicators of our action plans, which will be consolidated at Group level.
• Impact indicators
  Next, we will measure the real impact of these actions on pilot sites. We will extend this measurement to the country level, then regionally and, ultimately, to the Group.