This case focuses on Smithfield Foods’ efforts in North Carolina to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and other hog waste pollution, while facing an increase in community activism, concerns about environmental justice, and an expectation for public companies to be good neighbors. The case is viewed through the perspective of fictional protagonist Maxie Lee, the newly appointed public affairs director of Smithfield Foods in 2021, after two significant events: (1) the company settling years of litigation resolving 26 lawsuits filed by more than 500 residents in eastern North Carolina, and (2) Smithfield entering into an agreement with Dominion Energy, pledging $500 million through 2028 to develop the first industrial-scale biogas project in eastern North Carolina. Both events are directly connected to hog waste lagoons and Smithfield’s concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). Lee is tasked with crafting a five-year strategic public affairs plan for Smithfield’s executive committee within three weeks.
This case presents background on environmental justice in North Carolina, the industrialization of hog farming in the United States, and Smithfield’s sustainability efforts. The case provides insights into how CAFOs operate, background on hog waste lagoons, Smithfield’s efforts to resolve lagoon complaints, and a framework for incorporating environmental justice into making business decisions. In the conclusion of the case there are two key inflection points: Smithfield believes this partnership with Dominion Energy is the most cost-effective solution for managing the greenhouse gas emissions caused by CAFOs, but the communities in eastern North Carolina adjacent to Smithfield’s lagoons believe the company is not effectively addressing the lagoon waste problem.