Smithfieldprod

Smithfield Prod employees are donating

Around Winter Holidays, Smithfield Prod employees collected clothes and shoes for people in need from Timisoara. Timisoara 89 Foundation was our partner in this action, helping us distribute the 70 packages with needed products, to the beneficiaries of the foundation service.

Over the last years Smithfield Prod started enjoying the pleasure of being a more active citizen within the community it operates in.Currently, our CSR Strategy is part of our Business Strategy at Smithfield Prod. We had the pleasure to support cultural events organized by our village neighbors; on daily basis we support the  organizations taking care of people in need, by offering them meat products;  we launched our own projects or partnered in environmental projects and support youngster's education.

Support to Education

Smithfield Prod believes in Education and supports ongoing education, whenever the opportunity arises, by offerring professional training for food industry or agriculture students.

On behalf of our Quality Control Department there is a permanent collaboration with the local education establishments: Veterinary Medicine Faculty, Food Products Technology Faculty, to ensure through practical programs, the future specialists' training. Also, within departments there is enough space for ongoing training for the organization's personnel (remote education, PhD) as well.

Back to school

Timisoara, 15 st of September - today is the day when school starts and when Smithfield Prod has its first Back to School! action

Today, Smithfield Prod volunteers distributed today school bags with office supplies to all Utvin Kindergarten pupils ... and we received back some nice songs and poetry! Afterwards, we spent some nice time at Freidorf Heighschool, talking with students, and we took this opportunity to present our Company, our values and to show, live, that Comtim brand is a responsible brand towards the local community, and not only. Here, at the heighschool our support was the most needed, as the beneficiaries are coming out of families with high social risk. We decided to continue the program by providing some school bags and office supplies to children beneficiaries of Timisoara /89 Foundation services , also coming out from families with high social risk.

"Back to School" is an educational project of Smithfield Farms, at its third edition, aimed at supporting student coming out from local communities where the company has activities

Cultural Events

Smithfield Prod supports the cultural treasure of the local community, where it has its operations.

Last November Smithfield Prod was one of the sponsors of <<Festivalul Sorocarilor>> where 200 folk music singers and dancers from Banat Region and Hungary met and performed traditional dances and songs.

This year, we continue supporting local traditions by sponsoring festivals such as <Ruga Sanmihaiu Roman> and <Lada cu Zestre>.

Care for Environment

Smithfield Prod is committed to minimizing our environmental impact and to be an industry leader as well in regard to environment protection. We have the IPPC permit (Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control) and we are in progress of implementing an environment management system with the purpose of obtaining an ISO 14001 in 2009. By meeting the IPPC demands we succeeded in having complete control over the following environmental aspects: monitoring emissions, immisons, wastewater and waste. Smithfield Prod continues minimizing waste, reducing pollution and increasing recycled content in our packaging. At Smithfield Prod we reach the national recycling objectives of the packages sent out on the market. We recycle 100 % of the generated paper and cartons. Smithfield Prod implemented a series of IT policies aimed at reducing environmental footprint of the IT equipments used. In procurement and asset management decisions are taken keeping in mind environmental factors (power consumption, Energy Star ratings), trying to replace unefficient equipments as much as possible .

"Millions of people, Millions of trees" project

Smithfield Prod started in 2008 to implement the PRAIS foundation project, "Millions of people, Millions of trees", a project run in partnership with the Environmental Ministry and the National Environmental Guard. We planted then 456 bushes and trees in the area nearby the slaughterhouse and in Utvin village. This project was made possible with the voluntary support of Smithfield Prod employees and with the active participation of the pupils in Utvin School and that of pre-school children in Utvin Kindergarten. The 200 school and pre-school children in Utvin, the direct beneficiaries of this project, through this project, had the opportunity to learn more on environmental protection and had the chance to practice environmental protection.

"Special Recycling Fund"

In December 2008, the company management took the decision of creating a Special Recycling Fund, out of resources derived from recycled paper, carton and plastics, recycling which will be directed towards tree planting activities each year.
Upon the initiative of Smithfield Prod employees, this fund shall be completed with the quantity of recycled paper brought in by each employee. In April, this idea is to be materialised through planting trees purchased out of this fund.

"Coltul verde" Smithfield Prod offers to its employees the opportunity to recycle more items, besides paper and plastic, the DEEE (WEEE engl), from their own households as well. The acronym refers to Waste of Electric and Electronic Equipments, including energy - saving bulbs and fluorescent tubes (the so-called "neons").
All types of WEEE can further on be dropped off at a special collection point, at Smithfield Prod, on the corridor in front of HR. We consider this initiative as extremely important for everybody to understand the importance of recycling these wastes, particularly harmful to the environment and to practice it. More at www.coltulverde.ro 

"Utvin School Park"

Smithfield Prod planned to give a present to Utvin pupils, and on the 1st of June, Children's Day, we dedicated them the first park in Utvin.
The works for this park started in November 2008, by planting the first trees, on a desert land near the school.
In May 2009 Smithfield Prod volunteers spent some sunny days setting up the park outdoor furniture, drew the alleys, and planned some more bushes, trees, based on a park concept drawn by a former school student.

Social Projects

Smithfield Prod and Social Service for Elder People has organized, Thursday, 15th December at Smithfield Prod headquarters, a Christmas fair, with hand made objects, for fundraising purposes, for the benefit of the elder people.

At this fair were invited to participate all those who want to support this initiative.

 "Helping Hungry Homes Program / Hrana pentru suflete" - Launched in February 2009, "Hrana pentru suflete" is a charitable program intended to offer meat products to people in need in Timisoara, program inspired by Helping Hungry Homes program, lauched in the US by Smithfield Foods.

Through this program Smithfield Prod works with local organizations to assist disadvantaged people such as elder people, people with disabilities or people with low income, to offer them Comtim products. So far, the beneficiaries of this program have been: Social Canteen Timisoara, Day Center Constantin and Elena, the Social Communitarian Assistance Direction for Child Protection, <Filadelfia> Christian Association, <Iisus Hope of Romania> Evangelistic Association, <Healing Hands> Association, <Mother and Child> House, <Rudolf Walter> Foundation, <Mana> Association, <Timisoara ‘89> Foundation, <Pentru Voi> Foundation, <Parter Jordan> Night Shelter, Shelter for Abused women <House Marie a Apostolilor> of Caritas Federation, <Deborah> House
3 months after the launching of the program we have distributed more then 3 300 kg of products and estimate having more than 2000 people in need benefiting from our support. The list of possible beneficiaries is still open.

Herbert Grun, Executive Secretary within Federatia Caritas a Diecezei Timisoara: "Federatia Caritas a Diecezi Timisoara provides daily food for 450 people in need and your support was once again more than welcome. Your products improved the quality of the meals that we offer. On behalf of our beneficiaries (children, elder people, homeless, abused women, aso) we would like not only to thank you, but also to express our admiration for your intention to help, which is so rare nowadays."
Laurentiu Timis, director executive of Asociatia Evanghelistica si de Caritate "Isus speranta Romaniei": "Our association thanks you for your suport and for your open mind and sensitivity towards our needs. Your donations are really needed within one of our main projects - Day Center and Center for Rehabilitation and Social Protection of Minors but also for "Mana Project" where 25 people receive a hot meal per day."

Fund-raising Campaign for the benefit of the Art Therapy Foundation

Smithfield Prod was pleased to host from May 29th to June 1st, a fund-raising campaign to support art therapy activities within "Dr. Eliza Ionescu" Center for Art Therapy. On this occastion, the Center for Art Therapy organized at our headquarters, several stands, with sales, with hand-made objects from clay, greeting cards, unique accessories, coloring books with stories such as "The Goat with three kids" and "The Red-Riding hood", drawings made by the artists and the children in the service of the art-therapy center. This event aims at raising funds for a better conduct of the activities of the Center for Art Therapy "Dr. Eliza Ionescu" and the recovery services provided by this Center. The beneficiaries of this center are the 80 children and teenagers with delays in development, autism, emotional disorders, victims of abuse and ill-treatment or social disorder.
"Painting, modeling, theatre, dance, music, art are loved by children, developing their ability to open all channels of communication. Through art therapy, children express their inner impulses, their most profound needs", said Ms. Mirela Navligu, project coordinator.

"Casa Cristian project"

Habitat for Humanity and "Pentru Voi" Foundation started last year the construction of a protected house for 5 people with severe intellectual disabilities, in our neighborhood. In line with Smithfield Prod's social responsibility commitment - to support our neighborhood community - we got involved into this project and encouraged all Smithfield Prod employees to volunteer for the construction of this house. On March 19th, works on the construction site were supported by 38 Smithfield Prod volunteers, including Morten Jensen, our CEO, accompanied by top management team from Quality Control department, Production department, Environmental department, Logistics department, purchasing department.

"Smithfield Prod day on the construction site is a proof of the involvement of the business environment in Timisoara into solving out social issues of the community. We would like to thank our neighbors for their involvement and hope to be our partner in our future projects as well" said Zoltan Szoverdfi Szep, project coordinator, "Pentru Voi Foundation."

 Green Week@Smithfield Prod

Saturday, March 27 2010, Smithfield Prod celebrated "Earth Hour" turning off all the lights which do not have direct impact on our operations, from the administrative building.

Week March 29 - April 2 2010 was the Green Week at Smithfield Prod. Green Week@Smithfield Prod was intended as a mixture of action and information campaign on environmental protection and it was based on the volunteer participation of Smithfield Prod's employees and of the 5th and 7th grade children of Utvin School. The Green Week program started on Monday, March 29 by the spring-cleaning between Utvin and Smithfield Prod, collecting thus 120 bags of140l of pets, paper and miscellaneous.

Tuesday's target was planting 200 linden-trees within Smithfield Prod's precincts. Thursday and Friday were dedicated to information campaigns: some of company's environmental protection achievements were disclosed both in terms of CSR/environment projects and operations.

Your world? Clean!

In may 2010, Smithfield Prod implemented a new social responsibility program "Your world? Clean!" with focus on environmental education, targeted on children of Smithfield Prod employees

This educational program has offered to our employees' children and to their entire family useful information on the benefits of environmental protection, selective waste collection and recycling. We included into the program a contest of decorative objects made out of recycled materials and a contest of essays on environmental issues.The best projects were awarded.