Perdue Farms sustainability partnership with Penn State University
It has become a founding member of Penn State Smeal Center for the Business of Sustainability.
The partnership has been driven by an estimated growth in the world’s population as well as growing consumer demand for healthy protein.
“At Perdue, we believe in responsible food and agriculture and have been at the forefront of many industry initiatives to address environmental, social and health concerns related to the poultry industry,” said Steve Levitsky, Perdue Farms vice president of sustainability.
“As we celebrate our 100th year in business, we are honored to become a founding member of the Penn State Smeal Center for the Business of Sustainability to further our commitment to environmental stewardship,” added Levitsky. “This mutually beneficial partnership will allow us to work closely with the university and have access to their world-class research that can help to inform some of our environmental innovations to create a more sustainable future.”
In its role as a founding member, Perdue Farms will have access to sustainability focused research and education services that can help it uncover social and environmental opportunities.
Director of the Center Erik Foley said: “We are excited to add a company with the history and reputation of Perdue Farms to our growing list of founding members. Perdue has long been an industry leader in responsible food and agriculture, and its commitment to consider the environment in every business decision is a stance we heartily embrace.”
The goal of the Smeal Center for the Business of Sustainability is to cultivate the best practices and leaders that enable corporations to implement multi-dimensional, scalable business.
As part of this initiative, Smeal faculty will conduct research, integrate leading-edge concepts into undergraduate and graduate curriculum, host events aimed at bringing together managers, executives, faculty and students, and partner with investors, business managers, NGOs, and governments to host business plan competitions focused on market-based sustainable development solutions.
Perdue Farms joins other business leaders as founding members including Verizon and IBM. Foley said the Smeal Center for the Business of Sustainability hopes to eventually recruit 20 companies as founding members.
GlobalMeatNews will be hosting a webinar on sustainability within the meat industry on 3 March 2020. For commercial opportunities associated with this webinar, contact Aline Henderson. To register for the webinar, click here.
