Four Smithfield Foods subsidiaries recently received one of Virginia’s highest environmental honors. The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality recognized Gwaltney, Smithfield Packing, Williamsburg Foods and Smithfield Ham & Products as Exemplary Environmental Enterprise (E3) facilities.

The Exemplary Environmental Enterprise (E3) designation is awarded to facilities that demonstrate a commitment to environmental stewardship by developing and implementing an Environmental Management System (EMS), committing to pollution prevention, and maintains a record of sustained compliance.

Virginia Department of Environmental Quality’s Environmental Enterprise (E-2) designation was awarded to Gwaltney – Portsmouth and the Smithfield Truck Shop. A new category has recently been added, Extraordinary Environmental Enterprise (E-4) but the application criteria has yet to be announced.

For those who are not familiar, Environmental Management Systems provide for systematic management of environmental and health safety matters and can result in both business and environmental benefits. For example, an EMS may help improve environmental performance, enhance compliance, prevent pollution and conserve resources, reduce/mitigate risks, increase efficiency/reduced costs, enhance employee morale, enhanced recruitment of new employees, and improved employee awareness of environmental issues and responsibilities. An EMS is a continual cycle of planning, implementing, reviewing and improving the processes and actions that a business like Smithfield Foods undertakes to meet environmental goals. Most EMS’s are built on a "Plan, Do, Check, Act" model. There will be a recognition ceremony for these great companies in May 2005.

Congratulations to all award winners!

Recently, Smithfield’s Wilson and Kinston facilities joined the Tar Heel facility in being named as Environmental Partners in the North Carolina Environmental Stewardship Initiative. There are three levels of participation in the Stewardship Initiative: Environmental Partner, Rising Steward and Environmental Steward.

An Environmental Partner organization must not be under any environmental criminal indictment or conviction, demonstrate a commitment to compliance, develop, implement and maintain an EMS, based on ISO 14001 or an equivalent, and agree to annually report on progress towards a facility’s environmental performance goals, reductions in emissions, discharges of releases, solid and hazardous waste disposal, use of energy and water and any reportable non-compliance events. Environmental Partners are eligible for technical assistance, specialized training, networking opportunities, access to Environmental Stewardship mentors, and recognition of program participation, coverage by U.S. EPA and DENR self-reporting policies and single point of contact within DENR.

Congratulations to these facilities on their achievements.