Casella releases 2024 Sustainability Report

Rutland, Vermont-based Casella Waste Systems Inc. has published its 2024 Sustainability Report, outlining what it calls significant progress in climate leadership. The company says it reached a climate leadership milestone in 2023: For every ton of greenhouse gas emitted through its operations, it helped prevent more than five tons of greenhouse gas emissions elsewhere in the economy through recycling, renewable energy and carbon sequestration services.  

The report outlines the company’s progress toward five key sustainability metrics and highlights significant achievements in several areas since its last report was issued in 2022. According to the report, Casella has reached a rate of 1.4 million tons of materials recycled each year, with a goal to reach 2 million tons per year of solid waste materials recycled by 2030.  

“With this year’s report, we are pleased to highlight several areas of achievement, and exceedingly proud that our commitment to our team continues to shine through in several areas of reporting,” says Casella Chairman and CEO John W. Casella. “The investments we have made in our people, infrastructure and logistics have had a positive impact on the sustainability and strength of our business while also benefitting our customers and the communities we serve.”

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In 2024, Casella earned a spot on USA Today’s “America’s Climate Leaders” list for the second consecutive year. In 2023, the company completed a full retrofit of its Boston, Massachusetts, material recovery facility with state-of-the-art equipment and technology designed to increase capacity, enhance safety, improve product quality and provide best-in-class operations for its customers.

“We estimate that for every ton of greenhouse gas we emit through our operations, we help prevent more than five tons of greenhouse gas emissions elsewhere in the economy through our recycling, renewable energy and carbon sequestration services,” Casella says. “This reflects our focus on simultaneously reducing our emissions and growing our emission-reducing services. We expect progress will continue as we work to advance renewable natural gas infrastructure and make further upgrades to our recycling infrastructure.”

Casella says its team has grown by more than 32 percent since 2022, with a total number of employees approaching 5,000, while safety performance has improved—total recordable incident rate dropped nearly 20 percent since 2019. The company reports a key contributor to improving safety performance has been its success in filling vacancies and maintaining near-full staffing levels, buoyed by the more than 300 drivers and technicians who have successfully trained at Casella’s CDL training center.

Casella also reported that it has achieved its community giving goal ahead of its 2030 timeline, contributing more than $2.2 million in charitable donations, local sponsorships and in-kind services. In addition, the company established the Casella Foundation in 2024 to support qualified nonprofit charitable organizations demonstrating community impact in environmental and natural resourced conservation.

Its next community engagement goal, the company says, will be employee volunteering hours.

“We believe that investing in the communities where we operate, beyond the services we provide, is paramount to building and nurturing sustainable communities for the long term,” Casella says. “Through continued contributions and volunteer services, we are able to play a vital role in creating and sharing value throughout our operations.”

The report can be viewed at www.casella.com/sustainability.