Ethical Conduct

“I expect every employee to share Sodexo's commitment to business integrity by maintaining the highest legal and ethical standards in our business practices.”

- George Chavel, President and CEO

Doing business the right way.

Ethical conduct is at the core of Sodexo's business practices. We believe in treating everyone - our customers, clients, employees, business partners, and the communities we serve - with the utmost regard for business integrity.

Our Ethical Conduct policy, which has been in place since Sodexo's inception, outlines our company's values and serves to ensure that ethics are woven into all of our business methods and systems.
 
Being ethical is not only the right thing to do it, also makes good business sense. We believe that acting in accordance with high ethical standards is one of the ways Sodexo secures and maintains business relationships and attracts and retains employees. In this spirit, we strive to ensure business integrity is at the forefront of our business. For example: 

• In 2009, Sodexo was named one of the World's Most Ethical Companies by the Ethisphere Institute.

• In 2005, we hired a Vice President of Compliance to support our business integrity program and ensure our business meets the terms of our ethical standards.

• New management employees attend orientation where ethical conduct is emphasized as a core value. Our Ethical Conduct policy is the framework for our Business Conduct Guide. New management employees also receive the Business Conduct Guide and are required to acknowledge their understanding and acceptance of it. In addition, executives, senior leaders, and new managers are required to take interactive online ethics training through our own Sodexo University. All employees are expected to conduct themselves in accordance with uncompromising ethical standards. We have posted Business Integrity posters at all accounts and offices to reinforce this expectation day-in and day-out.

• We conduct an annual disclosure survey of ethical conduct to our managers, confirming their understanding of company policies, and that they disclose any violations and/or concerns.  A 100% response rate was achieved in 2007.

• We have a Business Abuse Hotline that provides employees at every level an opportunity to report legal, ethical, or safety concerns anonymously, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

• Our Legal and Ethical Compliance Steering Committee and our Law Department keep abreast of changes to local, state, and federal law to promote compliance with new rules and regulations. Our Legal and Ethical Compliance Steering Committee ensures that company policies and procedures are updated accordingly.

• Sodexo requires all of our manufacturers to adhere to our Supplier Code of Conduct, which addresses respect for people, the environment, and business integrity. We commit ourselves to these principles and ask the same from our business partners.

We are a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact, the leading framework for ethical businesses. We are committed to aligning our operations and strategies with the Compact's ten universal principles for business conduct in the areas of human rights, labor, the environment, and anti-corruption.  Download Sodexo's Human Rights policy (also in Spanish).

Sodexo takes pride in its ability to maintain the highest legal and ethical standards while continuing to grow its business. Our commitment to Business Integrity is and will remain an unwavering pillar of our company's corporate citizenship and business success.