Each year we give Environmental Excellence Awards to projects and initiatives by our facilities that both help the environment and save money. On September 14, 2010, we held our annual Environmental Excellence Awards banquet during our Environmental Training Conference in Omaha, Nebraska. Over 100 representatives of Smithfield Foods, John Morrell, Smithfield Packing Company, Farmland Foods, and Murphy-Brown attended. This year’s theme was “Sustainability in Focus.” Dennis Treacy, our chief sustainability officer, and Bob Toy, director of environmental for Union Pacific, both spoke about the importance of sustainability for today’s companies.
Three President’s Awards and eleven Environmental Excellence Awards were presented for a wide range of projects addressing Processes/Packaging, Resource Conservation, Pollution Prevention, and Environmental Management. Environmental Excellence Awards are given to specific people (or a team of people), and a President’s award is given when the project was the combined effort of too many folks to name. In total, over 137 projects were submitted.
In combination, the projects submitted resulted in a savings as follows:
- 378 million gallons of water
- 138,044 decatherms of natural gas
- 5,014,193 kWhs of electricity
- 34,689 tons of solid waste materials
- 1,575 tons of additional cardboard recycling
- 65,900 gallons of diesel fuel
- 15,000 trees planted
All the above was realized at a capital expenditure of $10.5 million and an annual cost reduction of $9.94 million.
The awards also resulted in donations to many charities, including Ronald McDonald House, National FFA, American Cancer Society, American Red Cross, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, and more.
Carter Hanson of the John Morrell Patrick Cudahy facility in Cudahy, Wisconsin, was selected as this year’s “Zero Hero.” Carter was recognized for his preparedness and ongoing management of the environmental issues that were encountered as part of the fire that took place at the Cudahy facility in July of 2009.
“These kinds of results and cost reductions are the product of a corporate social responsibility program that is embedded throughout the company and supported at all levels,” noted Bill Gill, assistant vice president for environmental affairs. Dennis Treacy agreed, adding that “All those receiving awards and submitting projects are to be congratulated on the efforts and results they bring to the company year after year.”
Please direct any questions or comments regarding the Awards program to Robert ‘Buddy’ Harris (robertharris@smithfieldfoods.com).
