LITTLE ROCK — An international monitoring group has given Tyson Foods Inc. an “A” rating in its new corporate responsibility report for a high level of disclosure and transparency.

The Global Reporting Initiative, based in Amsterdam, promotes economic, environmental and social sustainability, and attempts to measure companies’ impact in these areas. The report, issued Feb. 4, is Tyson’s fourth since 2005.

In a previous report issued by the institute, which covered fiscal years 2008 and 2009, Tyson received a “B” rating.

Kevin Igli, a Tyson senior vice president and its chief environmental, health and safety officer, said in developing its sustainability plan, Tyson drew on the experiences of other big U.S. corporations including Procter & Gamble Co., Wal-Mart, McDonald’s Corp. and Weyerhaeuser Co.

The company also sought input internally, he said, adding, “We want the team members to understand what we’re all about.”

The company chose a “four-pillar” approach, Igli said - people, planet, profit and products - and sought feedback from government regulators and nongovernmental organizations that work in the sustainability arena.

Sustainability is often associated with environmental initiatives, but in business it also applies to financial issues. Over the past two years, the company found ways to eliminate 145 million truck-transport miles. And since 2004, the company has reduced its water usage by 11 percent.

Founded in Boston in 1997, Global Reporting Initiative grew from a partnership of two U.S. nonprofit organizations, the Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies and the Tellus Institute, a Boston-based research and policy organization established in 1976.

The organization also has offices in the United States, India, China, Brazil and Australia.

“They are the most recognized entity that exists that deals with guidelines for transparency and expec-tations around what should be in these reports,” said Igli.

Dan Worrell, a professor of corporate responsibility in management at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, said the concept of corporate responsibility has changed over the years.

For example, as the U.S. economy shifted from farming to manufacturing, it initially made sense for companies to employ children who previously had worked on farms, Worrell said.

Over time, he said, that practice became unacceptable.

Today, Worrell said, most people expect companies to pay attention to providing safe products and a safe work environment, as well as taking steps to implement measuresthat reduce their impact on the environment. And many large firms release periodic updates on their environmental impact as well as on other social and economic issues.

“I believe that today, more companies have recognized that they can do well by doing good,” he said. “They can meet stakeholder needs and still have higher profitability.”

Among the achievements Tyson cites in its corporate responsibility report:

Wages for employees at its plants in 2012 averaged $12.27 an hour, or about 69 percent above the federal minimum wage.

The company hired 1,000 veterans and military spouses in 2012, bringing its total to about 3,000.

More than 5,000 employees, both management and support teams, have participated in training at the TysonFoods Leadership College since 2010.

The company has provided healthful recipes on its website that are low in fat and do not include excessive salt.

On the financial side, during the past three years the company has achieved record sales and reinvested $2 billion in the company while paying down its debt by $1.1 billion.

According to Tyson’s report, in 2011 and 2012 it spent more than $1.4 billion with independent chicken growers.

Donnie Smith, Tyson president and chief executive officer, said in the report that the company is accelerating its growth by expanding into more markets outside the United States.

And the company, he said,is producing more valueadded chicken and prepared foods.

John Starkey, president of the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association based in Tucker, Ga., said the push for sustainability in the industry has “been a progression probably over a decade and a half” but got a boost in 2007 at the International Poultry Expo in Atlanta, where it was a featured topic.

Tyson, he said, was a leader in the push for environmental sustainability, animal welfare and employee safety. Over time, he said, the interconnection of those issues became more clear and new initiatives were launched.

“What’s important is, we want to show the values we believe in,” he said.

Business, Pages 65 on 02/10/2013