Earth Day 2019: A Letter to Employees
Dear Smithfield Family,
Each year across the globe, billions celebrate Earth Day to promote environmental awareness and respect for the natural environment. Earth Day also helps us recognize that each of us affects the environment every single day and has an opportunity to make a difference.
I am immensely proud of our efforts at Smithfield Foods — past, present, and future aimed at reducing our own environmental impact and doing our part to address important environmental issues.
For more than a decade, we have invested in sustainability by setting bold goals and hard targets, which are aimed at making more food while using fewer resources. We have made great strides, including significant reductions in water use, waste, and energy use. In February, we announced that we achieved an important target, set in 2013, to optimize fertilizer use by successfully engaging 80% of our grain supply chain in more sustainable farming practices. These efforts not only reduced environmental impacts but also reduced farmers’ production costs. This achievement will help us reach our even more ambitious goal to reduce our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 25% by 2025. We are also implementing projects across hog farms in North Carolina, Missouri, Utah, and Virginia to transform manure into renewable natural gas, which will help us meet our target.
As I reflect on the past year, I am proud of the headway we have made. Next month, our sustainability program will take center stage as we share our progress, challenges, and successes in our 2018 Sustainability Report. In addition to the facts and figures, this report illustrates how caring for our environment — along with our animals, the quality and safety of the food we make, our people, and communities — is our responsibility and part of our culture.
It is how we live our promise to produce “Good food. Responsibly.®” It makes us a better company. And it makes us a better steward of Earth. Smithfield will continue to remain steadfast on its commitment to sustainability.
Sincerely,
Stewart Leeth
Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and Chief Sustainability Officer
Smithfield Foods, Inc.
Each year across the globe, billions celebrate Earth Day to promote environmental awareness and respect for the natural environment. Earth Day also helps us recognize that each of us affects the environment every single day and has an opportunity to make a difference.
I am immensely proud of our efforts at Smithfield Foods — past, present, and future aimed at reducing our own environmental impact and doing our part to address important environmental issues.
For more than a decade, we have invested in sustainability by setting bold goals and hard targets, which are aimed at making more food while using fewer resources. We have made great strides, including significant reductions in water use, waste, and energy use. In February, we announced that we achieved an important target, set in 2013, to optimize fertilizer use by successfully engaging 80% of our grain supply chain in more sustainable farming practices. These efforts not only reduced environmental impacts but also reduced farmers’ production costs. This achievement will help us reach our even more ambitious goal to reduce our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 25% by 2025. We are also implementing projects across hog farms in North Carolina, Missouri, Utah, and Virginia to transform manure into renewable natural gas, which will help us meet our target.
As I reflect on the past year, I am proud of the headway we have made. Next month, our sustainability program will take center stage as we share our progress, challenges, and successes in our 2018 Sustainability Report. In addition to the facts and figures, this report illustrates how caring for our environment — along with our animals, the quality and safety of the food we make, our people, and communities — is our responsibility and part of our culture.
It is how we live our promise to produce “Good food. Responsibly.®” It makes us a better company. And it makes us a better steward of Earth. Smithfield will continue to remain steadfast on its commitment to sustainability.
Sincerely,
Stewart Leeth
Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and Chief Sustainability Officer
Smithfield Foods, Inc.