Sodexho Named Worldwide Sector Sustainability Leader by DJSI for Third Consecutive Year

PARIS, October 17, 2007 - Sodexho has been selected for the year 2007-2008 as an index component for the Dow Jones Sustainability indices for the World (DJSI World) and Europe (DJSI STOXX). In addition, Sodexho was named for the third year in a row, as supersector worldwide leader in its industry category, “Travel and Leisure.” Sodexho is the only France-headquartered company listed in the DJSI as a supersector leader.

DJSI annually benchmarks the sustainable development performance of major global companies through an assessment by the SAM Group rating agency including the highest-ranked companies in the indices. In its review of Sodexho's sustainability performance, the SAM Group wrote:

“Sodexho continues to lead its industry in terms of sustainability. The company has again demonstrated an excellent overall sustainability performance, which strongly relates to its straight-forward business philosophy ("endurance" is a key word) and high transparency of the company (i.e., clear indicators to measure progress). Sodexho's management capabilities in the economic dimension belong to the best in the industry. This is demonstrated by a solid performance in corporate governance, brand management as well as risk management, and above all food safety. The company has also achieved a top score in the environmental dimension. This is not only due to good reporting systems but also to a convincing performance in this area. The above industry average performance in the social dimension is underlined by good scores in social reporting, stakeholder engagement and standards for suppliers which also play a fundamental role in controlling risks.”

Commenting on the ranking, Sodexho CEO, Michel Landel said, “This distinction is exceptional and recognizes the constancy of the Corporate Citizenship efforts of Sodexho's teams around the world. We are very proud of this achievement.”

Sodexho also has been selected again as a component for 2007 in the FTSE4Good index, www.ftse4good.com, an equity index series designed to facilitate investment in companies that meet globally recognized corporate responsibility standards.

SODEXHO ALLIANCE (www.sodexho.com), founded in 1966 by Pierre Bellon, is a leading global provider of Food and Facilities Management services, with more than 332,000 employees on 28,300 sites in 80 countries as of August 31, 2006. For Fiscal 2007, which closed August 31, 2007, SODEXHO ALLIANCE had revenues of 13.4 billion euro. Listed on Euronext Paris, the Group's current market capitalization is more than 7.9 billion euro.

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.