Diversity

Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion
As the largest foodservice distributor in North America, Sysco Corporation is committed to diversity and inclusion. Sysco strives to maximize and leverage our diversity efforts to better serve our customers in the communities in which we operate.

Operating from more than 170 locations throughout the contiguous United States and portions of Alaska, Hawaii, and Canada, Sysco's product lines are as diverse as the 50,000 associates who support its daily operations. Sysco understands that building a great company is just like creating a great product - you must maintain all the right ingredients. For us, those ingredients are the cultures, backgrounds, ideas, and experiences behind our diverse workforce that embodies Sysco.

Our Diversity Strategy
At Sysco, diversity is categorized into four key areas: (1) workforce, (2) leadership, (3) supplier, and (4) community. We also participate in the leading foodservice industry organizations to help promote and support the benefits of diversity and inclusion in the industry.

Workforce
Sysco is proud of the significant and growing presence of women and people of color in our workforce. Over one quarter of our employees are people of color, and one fifth are women. We're proud of the fact that talented professionals of all backgrounds view Sysco as a place of unlimited opportunity where they can make a difference.

Sysco S.T.E.P. (System to Entry-Level Promotion) is an independent-study program designed to provide motivated associates with basic training on key management concepts while providing a realistic job preview of frontline operations for Supervisors, District Sales Managers, and Marketing Associates. Sysco S.T.E.P. has been an outstanding asset in our mission to improve diversity at the supervisor and manager level. Participation of women and people of color in the program continues to grow each year.

In order to build a truly diverse workforce, particularly among our Marketing Associates (MAs), Warehouse, and Transportation associates, Sysco actively recruits the very best candidates from a wide variety of backgrounds. As part of our commitment to attracting diverse associates to our workforce, Sysco maintains a series of recruiting ads, direct mail brochures and other tools designed to increase our visibility among diverse groups.

Leadership
We are proud of the significant and growing presence of women and people of color in leadership roles at Sysco. At Sysco, we're committed to building an environment where every employee can reach his or her full potential. In 2008, we experienced significant growth in the number of women and people of color in leadership positions.

Sysco is one large company ($37.5 billion in sales for fiscal 2008) comprised of more than 100 operating companies in North America. Women are in top leadership roles either serving as President or Executive Vice President at 12 of those operating companies. You will find that at Sysco our commitment to diversity extends throughout our organization, all the way to the top.

The goal of Sysco's Management Development Program (MDP) is to increase the pool of diverse talent in senior leadership positions. The MDP provides development opportunities and mentoring to diverse talent. The MDP focuses on competencies in the areas of operations, logistics, maintenance, finance, warehousing and transportation particularly at our operating companies throughout various regions. Candidates in the program are subject to a rigorous screening and interview process to ensure that the most qualified candidates are selected for the program.

The MDP is a hands-on, on-the-job training process that takes the participant throughout various operational departments for 24-36 months. This hands-on experience is tracked and evaluated as the participants are coached through various business and operational experiences to become future leaders of Sysco. Participants who successfully complete the program must be willing to relocate to an operating company with an available executive leadership position.

With training programs like our Management Development Program, it's no wonder the average tenure among our senior executives is approximately 20 years, with a 95% retention rate. Additionally, Chief Executive magazine has historically ranked Sysco in the top 20 companies for developing leaders.

Suppliers
Diversity plays an important role in every aspect of our business. Minority and women business owners are often pioneers, forging new paths into industries that were once inaccessible to them. Minority and women business enterprises pave the way to a broader palette of products and services, as well as providing new ideas and new ways of doing business. Diversity affords Sysco business the opportunity to draw on a world of new and diverse experiences.

Sysco aims to provide the widest possible variety of high-quality products to our customers. We rely heavily on our minority and women-owned suppliers to assist us in meeting the diverse needs of our customers. Supplier diversity, therefore, helps to guarantee better products and better services.

In an increasingly more diverse environment, supplier diversity matters now more than ever at Sysco. Partnering with minority and women-owned suppliers isn't just good practice-it's good for business. Diverse suppliers help Sysco meet the changing demands of foodservice operators while supporting strategic alliances that enable the continued success of Sysco, our customers and our supplier partners.

Our commitment to the success of those who help sustain our industry, including our supplier partners, is strong and it's the reason why we seek to engage and retain suppliers as diverse as the product lines we offer. At Sysco, we partner with over 400 minority and women-owned suppliers, and each year this base continues to grow. Our total purchases from minority and women-owned suppliers has grown from $400 million in fiscal year 2006 to $455 million in 2007 and we reached $600 million in fiscal year 2008.

Community
At Sysco, we realize that it is difficult to promote diversity in our future leadership from behind our office doors. We know that we must be active citizens within the communities in which we live, work and serve. Through corporate donations, employee volunteer initiatives, and fundraising partnerships, Sysco's commitment to social responsibility and community service is making a difference every single day in our communities across the country. We measure success in more than just dollars and cents, it also includes our community outreach efforts and our ability to make positive contributions to the communities in which we work and live.

From nutritious meals to educational opportunities, Sysco is helping make sure our neighbors have what they need to live healthy, happy, successful lives. Sysco is also a proud supporter of childhood hunger relief efforts, "earth friendly" causes and actively participates in efforts designed to protect our environment and promote environmental sensitivity. Being a good corporate citizen is an integral part of Sysco's business and corporate culture. Sysco and its associates are increasingly more active in supporting both local and national charities. Our goal is to help our communities thrive and prosper by donating of our time and resources.

For more information on Sysco's commitment to diversity, visit our Corporate website.