At Smithfield, we are constantly striving to improve environmental performance and we aim for leadership in our industry. We closely monitor environmental outputs and work to reduce our footprint. This section illustrates our environmental stewardship efforts, including our recent performance in water and energy usage, climate change, biodiversity, waste generation and pollution prevention, recycling, and compliance with local, state, federal, and international regulations.
Our Environmental Goals
- Eliminate notices of violation (NOVs)
- Reduce natural resource demand
- 100% compliance, 100% of the time
Our Environmental Targets
- Water: 10% reduction over fiscal 2008 by fiscal 2016
- Energy: 10% reduction over fiscal 2008 by fiscal 2016
- Solid Waste: 10% reduction over fiscal 2008) by fiscal 2016
All targets are normalized.
From hog farming to the disposal of used packaging, our actions have a range of impacts on the environment. At Smithfield and each of our independent operating companies (IOCs), we continually look for ways to make our farms, processing plants, and production facilities more resource efficient. We aim to minimize the environmental impacts of meat production and processing with socially responsible and cost-effective methods. Improvements in water and energy usage, solid waste management, and processing plant efficiencies all help us to meet our sustainability targets.
Our policies, management systems, and programs create a culture of accountability and support our commitment to improved environmental performance. They also help us anticipate and meet the expectations of customers, consumers, regulatory bodies, host communities, and other key stakeholders. We share best practices within our industry through trade associations and throughout our global network. We also extend our outreach efforts to our supply chain, including our contract producers.
