SmartWay Helps Tyson Foods Drive Out Miles, 

Tackle Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Tyson Foods, Inc. , Springdale, 

Arkansas, is one of the world’s 

largest processors and market- ers of chicken, beef and pork, the 

second-largest food production 

company in the Fortune 500 

and a member of the S&P 500. 

Tyson produces a wide variety 

of protein-based and prepared 

food products, serving custom- ers throughout the United States 

and in more than 100 countries. 

Tyson employs approximately 

115,000 team members at more 

than 400 facilities and offices 

in the United States and around 

the world. Tyson strives to be 

faith-friendly, provide a safe 

work environment and serve as 

stewards of the animals, land and 

environment entrusted to us.

Contact

Brad Pierce

Corporate Transportation 

Manager

479-290-3495 

brad. pierce@tyson.com

SmartWay Partners have helped 

the freight sector reduce 23.6 

million metric tons of carbon 

dioxide (equivalent of removing 3 million cars off the road), 

478,000 tons of nitrogen oxide, 

and 22,000 tons particulate 

matter, while saving 2.3 billion 

gallons of fuel (a savings of $6.5 

billion in fuel costs).

Company Message

“We’re serious about our responsibility to the environment, which is why we 

joined the SmartWay Transport Partnership. The framework it provides has 

enabled us to evaluate, measure and reduce the environmental impact of 

our transportation operations in a more comprehensive and strategic way. 

Specifically, SmartWay has helped us reduce fuel usage and greenhouse gas 

emissions, and improve our operational efficiency.” 

 – Kevin J. Igli, SVP and Chief EHS Officer

Why Tyson Foods joined SmartWay

Tyson Foods has been a long-time supporter of SmartWay’s goals to improve 

transportation sustainability, and joined the partnership almost immediately after EPA launched it in 2004. Upon joining the company’s primary 

goal was to use SmartWay’s tools to accurately measure carbon emissions 

from its transportation activities and make that data available as part of its 

corporate wide carbon inventory.

Tyson Foods is pleased to see the significant progress which has been made 

with SmartWay’s latest carbon accounting tools. SmartWay’s updated tools 

have providedTyson Foods with a good assessment of its freight emissions, 

including emissions from both its private and contracted fleets. Understanding our Transportation footprint is critical for continual improvements 

aimed at protecting the environment for future generations.

SmartWay Focus

Tyson Foods is one of a few companies which participates in SmartWay as both a 

shipper and carrier. As a shipper/carrier Tyson is strongly committed to reducing 

greenhouse gas emissions, other air pollutants, and fuel consumption for both its 

private and contracted fleets. To meet its commitment as a SmartWay partner, Tyson 

has undertaken a broad range of initiatives related to reducing transportation miles, rail 

usage whenever possible, encouraging the use of low-emission engines and single-wide 

tires, use of aerodynamic packages, tare weight reductions, auxiliary power units, and 

setting company goals of only doing business with SmartWay carrier partners.

Approximately 99-percent of Tyson Foods refrigerated shipments are transported by 

approved SmartWay Carriers. 

In addition to our commitment of moving our shipments with SmartWay approved 

carriers Tyson Foods, Inc. has additional programs designed to reduce the company’s 

environmental impact and improve its overall sustainability

U.S. EPA SmartWay | EPA-420-F-12-065 | www.epa.gov/smartway

Company 

Profile
SmartWay Partner Profile: Tyson Foods 

U.S. EPA SmartWay | EPA-420-F-12-065 | www.epa.gov/smartway

Smartway Helps Tyson Foods Drive Out Miles, Tackle Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Eco-Friendly Equipment. All SmartWay Partners are committed to reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions, air pollution 

and fuel usage in their transportation fleets. To fulfill this commitment, Tyson Foods’ Private Fleet includes over 900 

auxiliary power units; employs the use of cab extenders and trailer skirts within their fleet. In addition, the company 

recently purchased 300 SmartWay certified tractors and 300 trailers in 2012. 

Direct Ship to Customer. Tyson Foods continues to partner with its customers to evaluate and implement 

opportunities which alter order patterns and volumes allowing product to be shipped directly to a customer’s dock. During 

the company’s 2011 fiscal year, these efforts saved more than 1.5 million truck miles. 

Heavy Shipment/Ultra-Light Equipment. Tyson Foods and our SmartWay partners have invested in ultra-light 

equipment allowing the company to add product weight to its shipments. In addition to procuring lighter equipment, Tyson 

Foods and its partners strategically identify and add weight to other high volume shipping lanes. As a result of these 

efforts, more than 3.9 million truck miles were saved in the company’s fiscal year 2011.

Sustainable Packaging. Tyson Foods’ Team members developed packaging changes to reduce box size, which 

at the same time allowed the addition of more product weight. These changes led to eliminating not only raw 

materials, but an impressive 2.1 Million truck miles. 

Rail/Intermodal. Tyson Foods has further reduced its truck miles by our use of rail to ship food and other 

by-products to our customers. In the company’s 2011 fiscal year, we shipped products over 18.8 million rail miles 

saving over 74 million truck miles.

Benefits & Results

At Tyson Foods, these initiatives were designed to “Drive Out Miles” while meeting the company’s goals as a SmartWay 

shipper and carrier partner. Tyson Foods credits the support and leadership of the company’s Team Members for the 

success of its many transportation initiatives. Altogether, Tyson Foods estimates that as a result of these efforts over 81 

million over-the-road truck miles were eliminated during the company’s 2011 fiscal year. 

Looking Ahead

For the remainder of 2012 and beyond, Tyson Foods will continue initiatives designed to “Drive Out Miles” while fulfilling our 

goal to only do business with SmartWay carriers. 

“Sustainability is about doing the right thing in all aspects of our business so the company can sustain itself for the longterm,” says Donnie Smith, Tyson Foods President and Chief Executive Officer. “At Tyson, this includes such important areas 

as food safety, environmental protection, animal well-being, ethical business practices and worker health and safety. It also 

involves maintaining a strong bottom line since we must manage our financial resources first in order to pay for our social, 

environmental and product-related efforts.”