Sodexho (NYSE:SDX) (Paris:SW) has received the Corporate Diversity
Award for Innovation, part of the recently concluded Diversity Tour de
France. The award was presented to the company by Mr. Azouz Begag,
Delegate Minister for the promotion of equal opportunity on December
14 at the Diversity Tour's closing ceremony.
The 18-city Diversity Tour de France was launched in October to
build corporate awareness and support for progressive approaches
toward diversity, highlighting positive examples and best practices.
The campaign sought to promote dialogue between corporate leaders,
young people from immigrant families, senior citizens, disabled people
and women seeking employment.
The Diversity Awards are based on five criteria: corporate
commitment; the involvement of employee representatives; initiatives
to raise awareness, provide training and communicate within the firm;
human resources policy and management; and the company's relations
with the community.
The Innovation Award received by Sodexho is presented to "the
company that has initiated original programs, consistent with one or
more of the five criteria, that have produced tangible results and can
be easily transferred and/or widely implemented."
The award recognizes Sodexho's actions and initiatives to place
diversity at the heart of the workplace and, in particular, its
pro-diversity efforts in France.
The jury was comprised of representatives from a wide range of
government bodies, organizations and associations involved in
promoting diversity in France, as well as representatives of Diversity
Tour de France partner organizations.
Diversity, a key growth driver for Sodexho
With more than 332,000 employees representing 130 nationalities in
80 countries, Sodexho seeks to foster understanding of the importance
of diversity among its employees as well as all of its other key
stakeholders.
Diversity has always been one of Sodexho's core values, a
commitment formalized in France through the Group's October 2004
signing of France's Diversity Charter.
Sodexho also works to raise awareness and provide training related
to diversity throughout its global organization, emphasizing the
importance of a diverse working environment in which each individual
can develop his or her full potential.
About Sodexho Alliance
SODEXHO ALLIANCE, founded in 1966 by Pierre Bellon, is the leading
global provider of Food and Facilities Management services, with more
than 332,000 employees on 28,300 sites in 80 countries. For Fiscal
2006, which closed August 31, 2006, SODEXHO ALLIANCE had sales of 12.8
billion euro. Listed on Euronext Paris and on the New York Stock
Exchange, the Group's current market capitalization is 6.9 billion
euro.
www.sodexho.com