Compass Group Annual Review 2006

Acting responsibly in business

Acting responsibly is not new to Compass. We believe that meeting stakeholder expectations is an essential building block for business sustainability and growth in shareholder value.

Governance of social responsibility

Our tradition of encouraging local ownership provides a firm foundation on which to build. We believe there is more we can do and have this year set up a Corporate Responsibility Committee, chaired by Sir Roy Gardner. Its remit is to provide strategic direction and guidance on all aspects of business practice and responsibility ensuring consistent implementation everywhere we operate.

Solid foundations to achieve industry leadership

In 2006 we have taken steps to improve our environmental, social and ethical performance. We have put in place ‘Speak Up’ lines so that our employees can raise any concerns about how we conduct our business on a confidential basis. Most significantly, we have reviewed the values that are at the heart of Compass. They guide us on how we conduct business regardless of where we are in the world. Our values are Openness, Trust and Integrity; Passion for Quality; Win Through Teamwork; Can-Do and last, but not least Responsibility, a clear commitment to embedding responsible business practice as part of our culture.

To help focus our attention we have also set out a clear framework of responsibilities that are specific to Compass as well as those which are common to all large businesses.

A future priority for us is to establish a common set of performance indicators. This will provide us with a means to monitor and manage performance at a Group level complementing existing measures at an operating company level.

Our responsibilities

Business integrity

The Compass Group Code of Ethics sets out our social, ethical and environmental commitment towards each of our stakeholders and the communities in which we operate. The Code is the bedrock of our corporate responsibility programme.

Safety, health and the environment

Our number one operational priority is safety, health and environment. We believe that each of us at Compass Group has a moral obligation to safeguard each other, our customers and the environment by operating a safe, injury free and healthy workplace, serving food that is always safe to eat and which minimises our impact on the environment.

We take our environmental responsibilities seriously, believing that effective environmental management is in the interests of both our business and our clients in whose premises we operate. Our Environmental Policy sets out our commitment and our Safety, Health and Environment Forum (SHEF) promotes policy, sets standards and monitors best practice across the Group.

We asked Trucost PLC to assess our environmental performance and our key impacts. Utilising the model used by the British Government to select the KPIs relevant to each sector of British industry they identified greenhouse gases, particularly CO2 emissions and waste as our key impacts. Next year we will set out the actions we will take to better manage our direct impacts and thereafter we will report annually on our progress.

Diet and nutrition

As a global foodservice company we know that we have an enormous influence on what our 20 million consumers a-day choose to eat and drink. As such, our contribution to their diet and nutrition is our most significant impact.

We are working closely with our clients, suppliers, governments and regulators across the world to respond to the emerging public health issues associated with obesity and diet. We aim to provide a wide choice of menu items so that consumers seeking healthier options to suit their particular lifestyle are well served.

Culinary tastes vary across the globe, so we do not aim for a consistent approach, but rather basic principles that place healthy eating as a primary responsibility across the globe. Priorities in North America will be very different from countries in, say the Asia-Pacific regions.

Sourcing food responsibly

The purchasing decisions we make have implications for food production and environmental sustainability. We expect our suppliers to have the same high social, ethical and environmental standards as we aspire to.

Our people

Our people are our greatest asset and the face Compass presents to the world. We want them to be motivated and engaged, we value their diversity and are committed to providing them with development and training opportunities to fulfil their potential. We also encourage employee volunteering to support the communities in which they live and work.

Community

We have a strong track record in community engagement. Compass in the Community, established a decade ago, recognises the best community-based initiatives from across the world. Projects promote healthy lifestyles, tackle social exclusion, improve employability and promote sustainability and diversity. Compass in the Community rewards successful teams with a donation to support their project.

How are we doing?

External recognition such as inclusion in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index provides a benchmark for our performance. Our commitment to the United Nations Global Compact, the Percent Club and other relevant organisations demonstrates our intent.

In 2007, we will be producing a Corporate Responsibility report which will explain our approach to managing our social, ethical, environmental and broader economic impacts in more detail.