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Smithfield President and Chief Operating Officer C. Larry Pope at the ISO Certification announcement in Washington, D.C.

Richard J.M. Poulson at the ISO Certification announcement in Washington, D.C.

Dennis H. Treacy, Smithfield's vice president for environmental, community, and government affairs at the ISO Certification announcement in Washington, D.C.

Smithfield Foods, Inc. officially announced April 27, 2005 that all of its facilities in the United States implemented environmental management systems certified under ISO 14001, the international standard for Environmental Management Systems established by the International Organization for Standardization in Geneva, Switzerland. ISO has over 100 countries participating in the development of the standards.

Currently Smithfield's 420 company-owned farms throughout the United States in addition to the company's 52 pork processing facilities are certified. "This is the culmination of a lot of hard work by hundreds of people in our organization, and I'm just so proud of them,” Smithfield President and Chief Operating Officer C. Larry Pope said at the announcement in Washington, D.C. “It is extremely important as we go forward that we continue to do the right thing every day."

This recent announcement marks quite a turnaround for the company. Dennis H. Treacy, Smithfield's vice president for environmental, community, and government affairs and former director of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, attributes this success to a new Smithfield. "It was basically a complete culture shift at Smithfield on environmental matters because we had grown from a small company in the southeastern corner of Virginia to the number one hog producer and pork processor in the world, and we made the decision to be the leader in environmental stewardship as well," Treacy said.

Smithfield’s commitment to environmental improvement has produced tangible results. In fact, Smithfield's farms were ISO-certified in 2002. Subsequently, violations dropped 75 percent. The pork processing plants followed. Now, with the help of EMS experts like Robert “Buddy” Harris, Smithfield is saving hundreds of thousands and possibly millions of dollars. Savings are attributable to reduced fines and increased efficiency in processing.

"Smithfield is extremely committed to the process because we've seen the fruits of success from the farms," Treacy said. "It's remarkable. Not only are we managing our facilities in a tight and responsible manner, but the enthusiasm of the employees is something to behold. They're so excited about this, it's like someone has unlocked a door for them to step through."

Others in the environmental arena agree with Treacy. Roberta Savage, president of America's Clean Water Foundation, agreed Smithfield has made dramatic progress on the environmental front. "It's undeniable…They made a conscious decision to change, they did it, and now they're the leader in the animal/agricultural industry," Savage said.