Casella Waste publishes sustainability report

Casella Waste Systems Inc., Rutland, Vermont, published its 2020 Sustainability Report on Dec. 15. The report outlines the company’s progress toward its sustainability goals and shares a road map for the next 10 years.

“We have spent most of our 45-year history building a business around sustainability through the work we do, the infrastructure we build, and the expertise we bring to challenges like recycling and resource management,” John Casella, chairman and CEO of Casella Waste, says. “We have set our sights on creating a sustainable business culture—from our people to our operations—and creating more sustainable value, especially for our customers, but for all our stakeholders as well.”

Within the report, the company announced 10 sustainability goals for 2030. The goals were selected through a materiality assessment process aimed at identifying the company’s most significant impacts on—and opportunities to improve—society, natural resources and the environment.

While some goals focus on lessening negative impacts (e.g., reducing Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions), many of the goals focus on amplifying beneficial impacts (e.g., increasing tons recycled to 2 million tons per year and doubling the company’s renewable energy production).

Another goal aims to grow the company’s net climate benefit factor, a measure of the climate benefit of its recycling, energy and sequestration activities divided by its Scope 1 and 2 emissions. The company, using EPA factors, calculates that it currently reduces or prevents 2.9 tons of emissions for every ton it emits, and aims to grow this factor 5 times by 2030.

“This report represents real progress, not only in the sophistication of our sustainability reporting, but in telling the story of how ingrained and important these efforts are to our present and future success as a company,” Casella says. “Our industry is evolving, and our company is proud to be one of the leaders of this evolution.”