ATLANTA — The North American Meat Institute (NAMI) presented 109 plants with Environmental Recognition and 12 plants with Environmental Achievement awards during its 2015 Environmental Conference for the Meat and Poultry Industry at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta.
The NAMI Environmental Achievement Awards are won by member companies that go beyond environmental compliance by designing and successfully implementing an innovative plant upgrade or environmental program. This year’s first place winners were Smithfield-Farmland, Lincoln, Nebraska, for Environmental Technology, Outreach and Training; Saratoga Food Specialties, Bolingbrook, Illinois for Pollution Prevention; Clemens Food Group, Hatfield, Pennsylvania, for Resource Conservation; and Premium Pet Health, LLC, Denver, Colorado for Social and Economic Sustainability.
The Environmental Recognition awards included 41 plants receiving the highest level Tier Four awards. Fifty were recognized for Tier Three; nine were recognized for Tier Two; and nine plants were recognized for completing Tier One.
The Environmental Recognition Award Program is a four-tier, voluntary environmental management system toolbox, coupled with an awards program that ranges from simple to complex. The program begins in Tier One with a basic package of environmental policy statements and environmental policy compliance criteria, advances through more comprehensive requirements in Tier Two, incorporates a complete EMS model developed in cooperation with the EPA as Tier Three, and culminates with an ISO 14001 EMS as Tier Four.
“Companies across the industry have shown a strong commitment to developing impactful environmental and sustainability programs,” said NAMI President and CEO Barry Carpenter, who presented the awards. “Not only do these steps benefit their communities, they also make good business sense.”
The 2015 Environmental Conference for the Meat and Poultry Industry was held for the first time at the International Production and Processing Expo in Atlanta and addressed key environmental issues facing the industry, including resource conservation, greenhouse gas emissions and waste management.
For a complete list of this year’s Environmental Achievement and Recognition award recipients, click here.