Source: Dani Friedland, MEATINGPLACE, 10/25/11

Some big names in meat processing appear on Newsweek’s 2011 Green Rankings list, which assesses the environmental performance of the 500 largest publicly traded companies in the United States.

HJ Heinz, whose portfolio includes frozen entrees, came in at 229 (down from 84 last year), followed by Kraft at 253 (down from 235), Sara Lee at 261, ConAgra at 386 (down from 249), Smithfield at 417 (up from 485), Hormel at 429 (up from 442) and Tyson Foods at 485 (down slightly from 481).

"It's obvious to me that the hard work and dedication of our employees was the main reason why our company scored a significant improvement in Newsweek's assessment of 'green' companies," said C. Larry Pope, president and chief executive officer at Smithfield Foods, in a statement. "But that said, we're certainly not satisfied. Our mission is to be the most socially responsible food producer that we can be, and we strive for continual improvement.”

Retail giant Walmart ranked 52nd, down one from its 2010 ranking. The complete list is available here.
Although companies could neither opt in nor out of consideration, they did have an opportunity to submit relevant data.

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