CHARLOTTE, NC -- Compass Group USA announced today a major policy to shift the company's purchases away from threatened fish species and toward sustainably sourced supplies. The new policy will impact approximately one million pounds of fish purchased annually by Compass Group.

Under the policy, scheduled to begin implementation on March 1, 2006, Compass Group will replace Atlantic cod, a species which leading conservationists have recommended consumers to avoid, with more the environmentally-sound Pacific cod, Pollock and other alternatives. Compass Group also plans to seek ways to decrease its use of shrimp and salmon that are farmed in an unsustainable manner. These two species are extremely popular with consumers but are of concern to environmentalists. The company will eliminate all other 'Avoid' species from the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch list, and increase its use of 'Best Choices.'

Compass Group is the largest food service company ever to introduce sustainable seafood purchasing as policy on this scale.

"Compass Group is proud to embrace a sustainable seafood policy that will support the health of our oceans. When we learned about the significant impact that our purchasing shift could make, it was clear that this was the right thing to do," said Gary Green, CEO of Compass Group - The Americas Division.

Bon Appétit Management Company has been an influence in leading the industry to adopt sustainable food sourcing policies. Its groundbreaking approach to sustainable food sourcing has a history of inspiring change at Compass Group. For example, Bon Appétit's 2003 policy on antibiotic use in chicken led to Compass's 2005 announcement about antibiotic reduction in pork.

"This seafood purchasing policy represents a commitment of unprecedented scale in the food service industry," said Fedele Bauccio, CEO of Bon Appétit Management Company. "Bon Appétit is gratified that Compass has taken this positive step."

The implementation of the sustainable seafood program within Compass Group, including the development of purchasing standards, internal compliance mechanisms, and chef training, will be managed by the Packard Foundation-funded Making Waves Project, a non-profit partnership between the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch Program and the Bon Appétit Management Company Foundation.

"We applaud Compass Group North America for its leadership," said Michael Sutton, director of the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Center for the Future of the Oceans, which oversees the aquarium's Seafood Watch program. "Its commitment, and a similar decision by major food retailer Wal-Mart, is a significant step toward transformation of the seafood market in ways that support sustainable fisheries and healthy ocean ecosystems."

The conservation-driven mission of the Seafood Watch program is to empower consumers and businesses to make choices for healthy oceans. Seafood Watch publishes lists of seafood that are best choices, good alternatives and species to avoid. The goal of the Bon Appétit Management Company Foundation is to transform purchasing practices of the food services industry in ways that respect the global environment and traditional economies.

The policy is expected to be fully implemented within three years of today's announcement.

About Compass Group
Charlotte-based Compass Group, The Americas Division is the largest contract foodservice company with $7.5 billion in revenues and more than 152,000 associates throughout the US, Canada and Latin America. Its parent company, UK-based Compass Group PLC was ranked the 12th largest employer by Fortune magazine in 2005. It has worldwide revenues of $21 billion with over 400,000 associates working in more than 90 countries. For more information about Compass Group, The Americas Division, visit www.cgnad.com

About Bon Appétit Management Company
Bon Appétit Management Co. is an onsite restaurant company offering full food service management by providing café and catering service to corporations, universities and specialty venues. Bon Appétit is committed to sourcing sustainable, local food supplies for all cafés throughout the country. Bon Appétit is raising awareness of its sustainable sourcing practices through joint programs with Environmental Defense, the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch, and other organizations. Based in Palo Alto, CA. Bon Appétit has more than 190 cafés in 26 states, including Yahoo!, Cisco Systems and Oracle Corporation. www.bamco.com

About Seafood Watch
The Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch program empowers seafood consumers and businesses to make choices for healthy oceans. In doing so, the program works to transform seafood markets in ways that create incentives for sustainable fishing and aquaculture practices. www.seafoodwatch.org

Contacts:
For Bon Appétit Management Company:
Haven Bourque, Straus Communications, (415) 777-1170, x. 303 haven@StrausCom.com

Bon Appetit Management Company

Bon Appetit Management Company

Bon Appetit Management Co. is an onsite restaurant company offering full food service management to corporations, universities and specialty venues. Bon Appetit is committed to sourcing local, sustainable food supplies for all cafes throughout the country. A pioneer in environmentally sound sourcing policies, Bon Appetit has developed programs with Environmental Defense, the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch, and other leading conservation organizations. Based in Palo Alto, CA. Bon Appetit has more than 400 cafes in 30 states, including Oracle Corporation, American University and the Getty Center.

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