Charah Solutions issues 2021 ESG report

Charah Solutions Inc., a Louisville, Kentucky-based provider of environmental and byproducts recycling services to the power generation industry, has announced the publication of its 2021 annual environmental, social and governance (ESG) report. The company says the report shows it substantially met or exceeded its one-year ESG goals. 

“[We] are well on our way to meeting our three-year and five-year goals thanks to the hard work and dedication of our employees at our sites across the country who demonstrate daily our firm commitment to ESG responsibility,” says Scott Sewell, president and CEO of Charah. 

As part of Charah Solution’s ESG reporting, short-term and long-term goals were established in four areas: environmental; data acquisition and reporting capabilities; diversity and inclusion; and safety.  

Among its 2021 achievements, the company points to sustainably redeveloping 4,456 acres at its Gibbons Creek Steam Station environmental risk transfer (ERT) project, and returning 62.8 acres at its B.C. Cobb ERT project to natural wetlands. This exceeded Charah’s one-year goal that 90 percent of land owned will be remediated and returned to its natural habitat or sustainably redeveloped. 

The company says it also improved the number and quality of site inspections and audits performed by staff in 2021, marking an all-time high with more than 10,654 inspections and 663,686 observations. It also had no Notices of Violation or Notices of Deficiency in 2021. 

Charah says in 2021 it developed methods to track actual electrical energy usage by site to refine Scope 2 Emission estimates, fuel usage by site to refine and validate fuel consumption calculations with field data, and waste disposal, including domestic waste, recycling and industrial waste. 

It also increased the diversity of its board of directors from 14 percent in 2020 to 22 percent in 2021. The board now includes one minority female and one minority male. The company instituted an apprenticeship program designed to provide opportunities for new diverse hires to train and acquire the skills needed for trade/craft careers at its sites around the country. 

Charah instituted scholarship programs at five national and regional organizations to support diversity and inclusion goals. This included the Charah Solutions Women in Construction Award for construction trades students implemented by National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) Founders Scholarship Foundation as well as heavy equipment operator Diversity Scholarships at heavy equipment training schools in multiple regions across the country.