The IT team received a corporate Environmental Award this year for a very practical Green IT Initiative.  Smithfield’s Corporate IT team has identified seven basic areas that can be leveraged to lower energy consumption, reduce the carbon footprint and save costs with minimal investment. These include:

1. PC Power Management (setting and managing our power usage policies through Active Directory in order to reduce our consumption of these devices significantly);
2. Printing (setting a practice for duplex printing to cut total paper usage up to 40%);
3. Data Center Operations; and
4. Procurement of Energy Star Efficient equipment.

In addition to directly lowering our business expenses, these measures will reduce our carbon footprint and help us adhere to higher environmental standards. Congratulations to CIO Mansour Zadeh and his team!

For more information on the Green IT Initiative and areas where energy consumption can be reduced, visit http://www.smithfieldfoods.com/responsibility/news.aspx.

This fall, Smithfield Foods won two prestigious awards acknowledging the company’s accomplishments as a corporate citizen.

On September 30, McDonald's granted Smithfield Foods the first-ever Sustainability Award during a summit in Oak Brook, Ill. The McDonald's award recognizes suppliers that best exemplify the vision, principles and values of sustainable supply.

Nominees were judged on their ability to develop a sustainable supply chain including practices ensuring the health and welfare of employees and the humane treatment of animals, and programs that conserve and protect the environment.

"We are absolutely honored to be recognized by McDonald's for our company's sustainability achievements," said C. Larry Pope, president and CEO of Smithfield Foods. "The credit has to go to our employees, who exemplify every day our deeply held belief that it's not enough to simply make good food-we must make it in a responsible manner."

Susan Forsell, a vice president at McDonald's USA said, "Smithfield Foods deserves to be recognized for their innovative approaches to protect the environment, to ensure the safety of their employees, the wellbeing of animals, the quality of products, and to promoting education in the communities they serve."

A month later, Smithfield Foods won the 2008 Virginia Torchbearer Award, which recognizes companies that have a positive impact on the economy. Smithfield Foods was acknowledged for its activities in local and national charities, and as an innovator whose products, services and management practices have contributed toward Virginia’s progress and prosperity in recent years.

In addition, Smithfield Foods VP for Corporate and Environmental Affairs Dennis Treacy chairs a task force on sustainability at the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM). The team seeks to advance sustainability efforts that will positively impact the manufacturing industry, and support contributions to environmental responsibility.