Sodexho Receives Texas DiversityFirst Leadership Award

Sodexho, the nation's leading provider of integrated food and facilities management services, recently received the Texas Diversity Council's prestigious DiversityFirst Leadership Award for its demonstrated commitment to diversity and inclusion in the areas of Workforce & Supplier Diversity, Community Involvement and Multicultural Outreach.

The DiversityFirst Leadership Award is presented annually to individuals and organizations who demonstrate outstanding accomplishments in the promotion and advancement of diversity through inclusion and strong leadership in Texas.

Nationally, Sodexho engages its 125,000 North America employees in a progressive working environment where all employees, customers, suppliers, and community partners feel welcome, valued, and respected, embracing differences as a collective competitive advantage. Sodexho employs 4,558 individuals in Texas.

Sodexho weaves diversity and inclusion into the fabric of its daily operations, with innovative programs that are led and implemented from the highest executive ranks to the front lines of employees who provide service to more then ten million people every day. Diversity and inclusion is formalized at Sodexho through the Office of Diversity, the Diversity Leadership Council, the five affinity or Employee Network Groups, diverse supplier program and Diversity Councils. Sodexho's success in leveraging the strength of its diverse workforce is demonstrated through its many awards and recognition - more than 25 earned in 2007.

The Texas Diversity Council is committed to diversity and the transformation of workplaces and communities into environments where people are valued for their uniqueness and are secure in the knowledge that their efforts make a difference.

Sodexho, Inc. (www.sodexhoUSA.com) is the leading provider of integrated food and facilities management services in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, with $7.3 billion (USD) in annual revenue and 125,000 employees. Sodexho serves more than ten million customers daily in corporations, health care, long term care and retirement centers, schools, college campuses, government and remote sites. Sodexho, Inc., headquartered in Gaithersburg, Md., is a subsidiary of Sodexho Alliance (www.sodexho.com). Sodexho, Inc. funds the Sodexho Foundation (www.helpstophunger.org), an independent charitable organization that, since its founding in 1999, has made more than $9.2 million in grants to fight hunger in America.