GARNER, N.C. – March 26, 2012 – Butterball, LLC, the nation's largest turkey producer, has earned Environmental Recognition Awards from the American Meat Institute (AMI) for 10 of its plants and feed mills nationwide. The awards distinguish AMI member companies who exceed required environmental policies by designing and successfully implementing innovative facility upgrades or environmental programs. The awards were presented Wed., March 14 as part of AMI's Conference on Worker Safety, Health, Human Resources and the Environment in Kansas City, Mo.
"The conservation of resources through the reuse, reduction and recycling of materials is a strong focus for us as part of our commitment to environmental stewardship," said Steve Valesko, vice president of engineering at Butterball, LLC. "At Butterball, we proactively work to maintain corporate social responsibility standards, and we strive to reduce environmental impact by implementing innovative technologies and initiatives that help improve operations and overall efficiency."
The American Meat Institute (AMI) is the nation's oldest and largest meat and poultry trade association. Through its awards program, AMI honors companies with successful Environmental Management Systems (EMS) and other innovative environmental initiatives surrounding resource conservation, pollution prevention, upgrades to environmental sustainability, environmental training programs and environmental outreach to the public. Recipients are awarded based on four tiers of achievement, with Tier 4 being the highest. Following is a breakdown of Environmental Recognition Awards received by Butterball facilities in 2012.
Tier 3
- Carthage, Mo.
- Huntsville, Ark.
- Jonesboro, Ark.
- Mt. Olive, N.C.
- Ozark, Ark.
- Alix Feed Mill - Ozark, Ark.
Tier 1
- Green Forest Feed Mill – Green Forest, Ark.
- Mountain Home Feed Mill – Mountain Home, Ark.
- Sherwin Feed Mill – Columbus, Kan.
- Turkey Feed Mill – Turkey, N.C.
As part of the company's Doing Business Right program, Butterball has many conservation initiatives that involve the reduction, reuse or recycling of materials used in its production process through advanced environmental technology. For instance, the Mt. Olive facility's innovative water reuse program reduces water usage by 1,288,000 gallons per week – approximately 14 percent of the facility's annual water usage. Additionally, the Ozark, Ark., facility's Dissolved Air Floatation (DAF) unit, removes most solids before water is sent to the biological part of the system, which improves efficiency and reduces waste, thus decreasing the facility's overall environmental impact.
Doing Business Right is Butterball's three-pronged approach to corporate sustainability that focuses on self-governance, sustainability and social responsibility. The initiative plays a key role in providing internal oversight for integrating values that are important to the company.
About Butterball, LLC:
Butterball, LLC offers consumers opportunities to celebrate traditional holidays and every day meal occasions with the Butterball branded line of products. As the most recognized name in turkey, the brand represents more than 50 years of cherished memories with consumers by providing quality, great tasting products that make meals something to celebrate every day.
As an industry leader in quality and food safety, the company employs numerous processes to ensure the health of flocks and implements recognized prevention measures to exceed food safety standards in its five plants, located in North Carolina, Arkansas and Missouri. In addition, Butterball has surpassed important workplace safety and health benchmarks set forth by OSHA's Voluntary Production Program.
Headquartered in Garner, N.C., Butterball is the largest producer of turkey products in the U.S. – producing 1 billion pounds of turkey each year. The company's retail and foodservice products are distributed throughout the U.S. and in more than 30 countries.
For more information about Butterball, visit Butterball.com or call 1-800-BUTTERBALL (1-800-288-8372) for answers to your turkey preparation questions.