Smithfield Foods received an A in the Pacific Sustainability Index for its social and environmental reporting. The rating places our company in the top 4 in the Consumer Food, Food Production, and Beverages sector lists.

The findings were published in the 2009 Consumer Food, Food Production & Beverages Industry Report of the Roberts Environmental Center Claremont McKenna College. Students and faculty at McKenna have been studying for several years voluntary sustainability and social responsibility reports of Global 500 and Fortune 500 Consumer Food companies.

In the 2009 report, Smithfield had higher scores than any other company for social intent (which includes topics about the company’s financials, employees, safety reporting, social management organization, social vision and commitment, stakeholders, social policy and certifications, social aspects and impacts, choice of social performance indicators and those used by the industry, social initiatives and mitigations, and social goals and targets.)

The report notes that our “company was the first of its kind to achieve ISO 14001 certification at all U.S. hog production and pork/beef processing facilities and notes that its European branches are now doing the same. Smithfield reports both qualitative and quantitative data for a number of factors, including greenhouse gas emissions, waste generation, electricity consumption, and water use. […] Smithfield is also transparent in reporting both environmental and safety notices of violation and fines.”

Smithfield Foods was also ranked in the top 100 Best Corporate Citizens of 2009 by the Corporate Responsibility Officer Magazine (CRO), a well-known membership media platform for Corporate Responsibility practitioners, professional service providers and non-profit influencers that serve them.