At Perdue, we recognize that our consumers, customers and communities expect us to protect our shared natural resources.
Perdue is committed to environmental stewardship and shares that commitment with the farm partners who raise our birds. Together, we can continue to provide a safe, abundant and affordable food supply while protecting our natural resources.
As a company, we support compliance with and enforcement of existing regulations and are working cooperatively with the Environmental Protection Agency, state and local agencies and the agricultural community to protect our natural resources.
Perdue is proud of the leadership role we're providing in addressing the full range of environmental challenges related to animal agriculture and food production. We've invested - and continue to invest - millions of dollars in research, new technology, equipment upgrades and awareness and education as part of our ongoing commitment to protecting the environment.
We're continually exploring ways to "reduce, reuse and recycle" across our entire supply chain.
- Perdue was among the first poultry companies with a dedicated Environmental Services Department. Today, Perdue has a Vice President of Environmental Sustainability, a position reporting directly to Chairman Jim Perdue, and an Environmental Steering Committee representing all aspects of our company.
- We have environmental managers responsible for each of our facilities and each facility is implementing an environmental management system to reduce environmental impacts.
- Perdue has been conducting environmental research for more than two decades.
- Perdue was the first poultry company to develop a large-scale alternative use for surplus poultry litter, operating the first-of-its kind facility to convert poultry litter into an organic fertilizer product. That facility, Perdue AgriRecycle, represents an investment of more than $30 million. Perdue AgriRecycle has handled more than a billion pounds of litter since opening in 2001, and is the only program measurably removing excess nutrients from the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
- Our processing plants have some of the newest and most-advanced wastewater treatment facilities, helping us to protect the waterways in our communities.
- We've invested thousands of hours in producer education to assist our farm-family partners manage their independent poultry operations in the most environmentally responsible manner.
- Our Technical Services Department is conducting ongoing research into feed technology as a means of reducing nutrients in poultry manure. We've already achieved phosphorus reductions that far exceed the rest of the industry.
- We have formed partnerships with national and grassroots environmental organizations, including the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay and the Oyster Recovery Partnership, and continue to actively seek out additional partnerships.
These efforts have clearly defined Perdue as the industry leader in environmental stewardship, a position that has been recognized through coverage in National Provisioner and Meat and Poultry, and with Poultry magazine's Jewell Award for Innovation, the first-time the award was given to a company for innovation and leadership in environmental stewardship.
