December 17, 2003—Sodexho USA, supplier of food and facilities management services, recently announced its Supplier Code of Conduct, a series of standards designed to encourage vendors and suppliers to operate in an ethically and socially responsible manner.
The new code of conduct outlines standards and expectations in such areas as forced and child labor, wages and benefits, working hours, health and safety of workers, freedom of association, human rights and fair labor practices, the environment, community involvement, ethics, conflicts of interest, and communications. A complete copy of the guidelines is available from the Corporate Responsibility section of Sodexho USA’s Web site.
The code of conduct is an outgrowth of the January 2002 announcement by Sodexho USA President and CEO Michel Landel that the company intends to become a benchmark for social responsibility within its industry and throughout corporate America.
Sodexho USA is also reportedly the first and only management services company in the US to endorse the Global Sullivan Principles, the corporate code of conduct developed by the late international civil rights leader Rev. Leon H. Sullivan. Signatories agree to support a variety of corporate responsibility initiatives related to human rights, equal opportunity, business ethics, and protecting the environment.
