Environmental Policy

At Smithfield¹ , effective environmental management is critical to the success of our business and to the achievement of our long-term sustainability goals. Our Environmental Policy and Water Policy serve as the foundation for our efforts to minimize our impact on natural resources throughout our value chain. 

Our environmental management system helps us manage our environmental actions in a comprehensive, systematic, planned and documented manner and is aligned with the International Organization for Standardization, ISO, 14001 Standard. Smithfield was the first in our industry to have all farms and facilities certified to ISO 14001. Recent acquisitions will be certified in a timely manner.

ISO 14001 is considered the international gold standard for environmental management. To obtain certification, an organization must meet a rigorous and comprehensive set of requirements and criteria developed by more than 2,000 experts from around the world. It also requires independent audits by third parties.

Environmental Policy Statement

It is the corporate policy of Smithfield Foods, Inc. and its subsidiaries to conduct business in a manner consistent with continual improvement in regard to protecting the environment.

• Smithfield Foods, Inc. is committed to protecting the environment through pollution prevention and continual improvement of our environmental practices, with recognition of process-related risk and opportunities associated with the needs and expectations of interested parties. We consider our activities, products and services, which may have significant environmental aspects in the scope of the EMS.
• Smithfield Foods, Inc. seeks to demonstrate its responsible corporate citizenship by complying with relevant environmental legislation and regulations and with other requirements to which we subscribe. We will create, implement and periodically review appropriate environmental objectives and targets to improve sustainable development.
• Under our leadership, protection of the environment is the responsibility of all Smithfield Foods, Inc. employees within the scope of the EMS.
• Smithfield Foods, Inc. communicates this policy to persons within the scope of the EMS and makes it available to the public through its website and provides printed copies upon request.

Download the Environmental Policy PDF 

¹ All references to “Smithfield,” “we,” “us,” and “our” are terms of convenience used to refer collectively to Smithfield Foods and all of its subsidiaries. Similarly, the terms “division” and “business unit” may be used to refer to one or more subsidiaries, which are independent operating companies.