HOUSTON, Aug. 13, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY), the leading global foodservice distribution company, announced today its 2025 Responsibility Goals, building on the company's long-standing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives. These newly defined goals set a clear path for the future and demonstrate the company's continued commitment to care for people, supply products responsibly and protect the planet.

"As the global leader in foodservice distribution, it is our responsibility to operate in a manner that meets the needs of our customers today, while producing positive, lasting change," said Tom Bené, Sysco's president and chief executive officer. "Our 2025 goals are a solid foundation that further demonstrate our global sustainability commitment. We are leading our industry with our CSR initiatives and by including specific long-term goals that align with our strategic business priorities, we are living our vision of becoming our customers' most valued and trusted business partner."


Themed Delivering A Better Tomorrow, Sysco's 2025 Responsibility Goals are aligned to three focus areas: People, Products and Planet.  

• Charitable Giving
  • Donate a total of 200 million meals in our local communities.
  • Contribute a total of $50 million to our local communities.
• Diversity and Inclusion
  • Increase total U.S. associate ethnic and gender diversity to 62 percent.
  • Increase spend 25 percent with women and minority-owned suppliers.
• Health and Well-Being
  • Expand products in our portfolio with health and wellness benefits.
  • Double associate participation in health and wellness programs.

• Animal Welfare
  • Publish Sysco's Animal Welfare Policy and ensure compliance by all Sysco Brand Suppliers.
• Responsible Sourcing
  • Identify and develop responsible sourcing commitments for five key commodities.
• Human Rights
  • Ensure all high-risk suppliers abide by Sysco's Global Supplier Code of Conduct.

• Sustainable Agriculture
  • Double the availability of Sysco Brand organic produce.
  • Extend our Sustainable Agriculture program into five fresh crops.
• Energy
  • Reduce the carbon footprint of our fleet and operations by sourcing 20 percent of electricity from renewable sources and powering 20 percent of fleet vehicles with alternative fuels.
• Waste
  • Divert 90 percent of operations and food waste from landfills.
    
    

Sysco is the global leader in selling, marketing and distributing food products to restaurants, healthcare and educational facilities, lodging establishments and other customers who prepare meals away from home. Its family of products also includes equipment and supplies for the foodservice and hospitality industries. With more than 67,000 associates, the company operates approximately 330 distribution facilities worldwide and serves more than 600,000 customer locations. For fiscal 2018 that ended June 30, 2018, the company generated sales of more than $58 billion.

For more information, visit www.sysco.com or connect with Sysco on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SyscoCorporation or Twitter at https://twitter.com/Sysco. For important news and information regarding Sysco, visit the Investor Relations section of the company's Internet home page at investors.sysco.com, which Sysco plans to use as a primary channel for publishing key information to its investors, some of which may contain material and previously non-public information. Investors should also follow us at www.twitter.com/SyscoStock and download the Sysco IR App, available on the iTunes App Store and the Google Play Market. In addition, investors should continue to review our news releases and filings with the SEC. It is possible that the information we disclose through any of these channels of distribution could be deemed to be material information.

Certain statements made herein are forward-looking statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. They include statements that express management's expectations or beliefs regarding the future. These statements involve risks and uncertainties and are based on management's current expectations and estimates; actual results may differ materially. For a discussion of the risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements expressed herein, see the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended July 1, 2017, as filed with the SEC, and the company's subsequent filings with the SEC (available at www.sec.gov). Sysco does not undertake to update its forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable law.