Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM), the world’s largest restaurant company and parent of KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Long John Silver’s and A&W Restaurants, has received the “Innovative Program Award” from the Employee Services Management (ESM) Association’s Awards of Excellence Program for its 2008 Earth Week program that reinforced the importance of sustainability and the environment.

ESM Association, a national nonprofit for employee services providers, evaluated their members’ 2008 programs and made its selection based on several criteria including program innovation, creativity, employee feedback and results. Yum! Brands’ Earth Week Program was selected because of the program’s innovation and creativity.

“We are very proud of ESM Association’s recognition and it fuels our commitment to continuously provide innovative and best-in-class services to the employees at our Restaurant Support Centers in Louisville, Dallas and Irvine,” said Rusty Hagemann, Senior Director, Corporate Services, Yum! Brands.

The Company created Earth Week in 2008 to highlight its sustainability practices and educate employees about actions they can take in business and personally to reduce their environmental impact. Earth Week was launched simultaneously at the Company’s Restaurant Support Centers in Louisville, Dallas and Irvine. The program included daily information emails promoting awareness of the Company’s environmental actions along with a trivia contest and a Corporate Services website detailing Yum!’s green initiatives and green tips for work and home.

Earth Week also included a unified recycling system, including under-desk recycling bins for employees. Educational opportunities like “Lunch and Learn” sessions and a green teleconference were hosted to educate employees about sustainable actions taken in the Company’s Restaurant Support Centers and restaurants around the country.

For the past several years, Yum! Brands has been recognized by ESM Association for innovative employee programs and as “Employer of the Year” in 2008. Yum!’s strategy for providing employee services includes recreation and recognition programs, event planning, childcare services, convenience services and travel offerings.