Smithfield Foods is sponsoring the 2024 National Conservation Foundation-Envirothon Competition, an international environmental and natural resource problem-solving competition that builds leadership experience for high school students, with $89,000 in funding.

"Empowering youth through educational programs and competitions like NCF-Envirothon is key to solving the planet's most pressing environmental challenges such as the need to create clean, renewable energy," said Stewart Leeth, chief sustainability officer for Smithfield Foods. "Sustainability has been a long-term priority for Smithfield, and we're proud to support Envirothon to inspire students to take action in their local communities."

Smithfield provided $30,000 to be awarded as scholarships to the top three teams in the national competition, as well as an additional $59,000 to support 51 state competitions held across the country earlier this year.

"The NCF-Envirothon and student teams from across the world competing this year are grateful for Smithfield's continued support of the National Conservation Foundation and our programs," said Jeremy Peters, NCF executive director. "Smithfield's sponsorship helps support the 50,000 high school students globally who participate each year and makes it possible to provide opportunities like NCF-Envirothon at the global level and in many of our partner states."

The 2024 NCF-Envirothon competition topic is renewable energy for a sustainable future, highlighting the ongoing work to build a vibrant renewable energy industry. Students learn about different sources of renewable energy, challenges facing the transition from traditional fossil fuels to renewables, environmental, economic and social impacts of energy consumption and how individuals can affect change in their communities.

Smithfield is a partner in two renewable natural gas joint ventures: one with Dominion Energy, known as Align RNG, and a second with Roeslein Alternative Energy and TPG Rise, known as Monarch Bioenergy. These projects transform methane from hog manure into carbon-negative renewable natural gas on farms.

The company's Grayson, Kentucky, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Tar Heel, North Carolina, food-processing facilities also produce biogas from wastewater that is used on-site as a replacement for natural gas or refined to create RNG that is injected into a local natural gas pipeline.

For more information about Smithfield's sustainability efforts and its 2023 sustainability impact report, please visit the website.