Waste Management releases sustainability report

Waste Management (WM), Houston, released its 2020 Sustainability Report on Oct. 13. The report highlights the company’s progress towards its 2025 and 2038 sustainability goals, key performance indicators, recycling advancements and recent awards.

The 2020 Sustainability Report, which is available as an interactive website and PDF, details progress on important issues and annual updates. Complementing the report, a new Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Resource Hub provides access to data related to performance, policies and initiatives. Relevant updates and an archive of past reports are available within the ESG Resource Hub.

“The world is rapidly changing, and to sustain and succeed, we must remain agile and adaptable,” WM President and CEO Jim Fish says. “Our 2020 Sustainability Report is a testament to how we address challenges and opportunities related to the environment, social issues and governance. The report outlines progress in 2019 and speaks to the shifts we made to power through turbulent months, mitigate climate change, keep people first, and work together with our communities.”

WM’s 2020 Sustainability Report highlights center around five of the company’s principles:

WM’s people-first culture
According to the company, WM’s Commitments and Values are guiding principles to highlight what matters most: people, customers, environment and a dedication to safety.

Recycling
WM invested a total of more than $200 million in recycling infrastructure across 2018 and 2019 and processed a record 15.5 million tons of material for beneficial use in 2019.

Solving waste together
WM helps customers manage waste in environmentally responsible and valuable ways, the company says. Solutions include increasing use of post-consumer resin in products. In collaboration with Cascade Cart Solutions, WM is testing what it calls “the industry’s first EcoCarts.”

Providing long-term value
When landfills reach capacity, they don’t reach the end of their useful life. WM converts some closed landfill land into beneficial assets, including recreational spaces, wildlife habitats and solar energy development projects, where eight sites collectively generate 60 megawatts of power. 

Mitigating climate change and reducing emissions
WM tackles climate change through reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from landfills, fleet and electricity use, and through recycling services. Over the past decade, WM has reduced its carbon intensity as measured by emissions per ton of waste disposed.

WM says it is striving to reduce fleet GHG emissions per mile driven, working toward a science-based target to cut fleet emissions by 45 percent by 2038 against a 2010 baseline. By the end of 2019, for every 1,000 miles driven, WM had reduced its GHG emissions by 32 percent, and total GHG emissions by 36 percent for its collection and support fleet.

The report’s interactive microsite invites visitors to see how WM collects, processes and manages waste.