Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry Selects Agri Beef Company for 2007 Environmental Exellence Award.

July 3, 2007

The Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry (IACI) presented Agri Beef Company with the 2007 Environmental Excellence Award during IACI’s 33rd Annual Conference.

First presented in 1997, the IACI Environmental Excellence Award provides recognition to businesses which, through innovative environmental leadership and accomplishment, have achieved outstanding results in environmental protection and enhancement. All businesses operating in Idaho are eligible for the award including non-IACI members.

Agri Beef Company is an independent, family-owned business headquartered in Boise with operations in Idaho, Washington, Kansas, California. Agri Beef Co.’s innovation and leadership in environmental excellence, technology, and stewardship are among the most admirable and consistently demonstrated in Idaho. As Agri Beef Co. expanded, it successfully integrated and transformated these new operations into Agri Beef Co.’s culture of environmental stewardship and its innovative best business and environmental practices and systems.

Presenting the award in front of Idaho’s business leaders, elected officials and over 30 legislators attending the IACI conference, IACI Chairman Jim Schmit commended Agri Beef because they are “focused on environmentally responsible business practices. Their commitment to the environment began years before there even was an Environmental Protection Agency or a Department of Environmental Quality.”

Schmit noted that “Agri Beef’s awards and commendations are numerous, but perhaps their most significant and commendable attainment is the ISO 14001 certification from the International Organization for Standardization which is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies.”

“This is a very prestigious certification and is very difficult to attain. It is also completely voluntary, which is why many companies do not even try to meet the high ISO standards. Yet, Agri Beef Co. not only undertook that challenge, but, in 2003 became one of the first cattle companies in the world to attain the certification. This is certainly commendable for any company but especially significant for cattle operation headquartered in Idaho,” said Schmit.

The company was selected by an independent committee chaired by Jack Lyman, Executive Director of the Idaho Mining Association who was a non-voting member of the selection committee. Other selection committee members were Orville Green, Administrator of the Waste Remediation Program in Idaho’s Department of Environmental Quality; State Sen. Kate Kelley, (D-Boise), member of the Senate Agricultural Affairs Committee and the Senate Health and Welfare Committee; State Rep. Mark Snodgrass (R-Meridian), member of the House Environment, Energy & Technology Committee; Robbin Finch, Water Quality Manager for the City of Boise; and Ray Houston, Budget and Policy Analyst for Natural Resource Agencies for Idaho’s Legislative Services Office.

Also nominated for the 2007 award were: Amalgamated Sugar, Idaho Sand and Gravel/Idaho Concrete, and St. Lukes Hospital. Noted Schmit, “This year, our selection committee had the daunting task of selecting the best of the best. We had four excellent companies nominated, and their accomplishments in the environmental area are commendable. “ The criteria for the IACI Environmental Excellence Award include environmental practices, investment in pollution control, recovery from waste streams, conservation, sustainability and other environmental achievements. Mark Dunham, Vice President of IACI said the purpose of the award is to “provide recognition of businesses who, through innovative environmental leadership and accomplishment, have achieved outstanding results in environmental protections and enhancement.”

Past recipients of the IACI Environmental Excellence Award include: Twin Falls Canal Company; Micron Technology; Zilog; Rycair, Inc.; Albertson’s; Basic American Foods (Shelley Plant), Melaleuca, Monsanto and Hewlett Packard, and the Flying M Ranch of Ashton.