Climate Change Data

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Environmental Stewardship
• Employee Safety and Engagement
• Governance and Ethics
• Community Impact

Environmental Achievements

• Increased biogas recovery
• Expanded resource recovery capacity through investments in new recycling facilities and technologies
• Introduced fully-electric collection vehicles for beta testing
• Avoided GHG emissions through landfill gas to energy facilities and recycling

Social Achievements

• Launched WeConnect, an internal social networking application
• Implemented enhanced Learning Management System to expand training opportunities
• Expanded employee resource groups
• Launched Waste Connections Scholarship Program
• Expanded Employee Relief Fund
• Increased minimum hourly wage to $15/hour
• Improved medical benefits and extended access to medical benefits
• Increased charitable contributions to support communities

Governance Achievements

• Appointed a Vice President–Engineering and Sustainability
• Adopted a Diversity Policy for the Board of Directors and senior management
• Introduced fifteen-year aspirational sustainability targets
• Maintained a robust Environmental Management System (EMS)

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Lower recycled commodity values
• COVID-19-related operating challenges
• Transportation and disposal of leachate

Mitigation Strategies

• Investing in additional optical sorters and robotics to improve recycling quality and reduce contamination
• Expanding utilization of evaporator technology at landfills
• Installing on-site wastewater facilities
• Pursuing other landfill practices to minimize leachate generation
• Funding research into new leachate disposal methods

Supply Chain Management

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Opportunities

• Expanding resource recovery
• Expanding landfill gas recovery and biogas generation
• Deploying alternative fuel vehicles

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: GRI G4, SASB

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Climate Change
• Environmental Stewardship
• Social Responsibility
• Governance

Environmental Achievements

• Increased biogas recovery by 11% through the end of 2021 (towards a 40% target)
• Increased tons recycled by 19% since 2018 (towards a 50% target)
• Offsetting emissions by 3.4x, resulting in a net negative carbon footprint

Social Achievements

• Not disclosed

Governance Achievements

• Board oversight of climate-related risks and opportunities, including ESG targets as part of senior management compensation

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Acute weather events causing damage to facilities and service interruptions
• Chronic changes in sea level and temperature impacting operations
• Changing consumer habits impacting asset mix
• Supply chain disruptions due to low-carbon economy transition
• New climate-related policies impacting permits and costs
• New technological requirements increasing capital and operational expenses
• Negative perception from ESG investors
• Potential for increased storm damage and vehicle emissions

Mitigation Strategies

• Facilities designed with storm controls, nationwide operational footprint for asset redistribution, stockpiled supplies for cleanup
• Permitting and design considerations limiting exposure to sea-level changes, safe working conditions
• Decentralized operating structure leveraging local knowledge
• Increased inventories and pre-ordered equipment
• Engagement with legislators and regulators, industry group participation, enhanced focus on relationships with regulators and communities, price increases
• Ongoing evaluation of new technologies (AD, RDF, CCUS)
• Demonstrating performance against aspirational targets, enhancing investor messaging
• Proactive steps to protect employees and facilities during storm events, resource supplementation from non-impacted facilities, vehicle replacement and predictive maintenance

Supply Chain Management

Supplier Audits: Not disclosed

Responsible Procurement

• Leveraging local relationships and national accounts, increased inventories of parts

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks

• Acute weather events
• Changes in sea level
• Changes in average temperature
• Storm damage

Transition Risks

• Changing consumer habits
• Supply chain disruptions
• New climate-related policies
• New technological requirements
• Negative perception from ESG investors
• Emissions reductions and enhanced air regulations

Opportunities

• Increased volumes from cleanup efforts
• Relocation of assets to lower-risk areas
• Increased lines of business
• New technology opportunities
• Ability to generate carbon offsets
• Increased demand for RNG projects and renewable energy credits
• Increased recycling and use of recycled materials

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: TCFD

Certifications: Null

Third-party Assurance: Not disclosed

UN Sustainable Development Goals

• Not disclosed

Not disclosed

Sustainable Products & Innovation

• Not disclosed

Awards & Recognition

• Not disclosed

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Climate Change
• Circular Economy
• Employee Engagement
• Community Relations
• Governance

Environmental Achievements

• 41% reduction in emissions intensity since 2019
• Operational offsets exceeded emissions by >4x in 2023
• 13% decline in Scope 1 and 2 emissions from 2019 baseline year
• Increased recycling by 1% versus the prior year (44% increase since 2018 baseline)
• Biogas recovered for beneficial conversion to energy increased 4% in 2023 (15% increase since 2018 baseline)
• 17% increase in leachate processed on-site from prior year
• Capacity to process and remove PFAS from over 90 million gallons of leachate

Social Achievements

• 22% improvement in voluntary turnover in 2023
• 7% improvement in safety (incident rate) in 2023
• 25% increase in trainings offered in 2023
• ~$7M in total charitable donations in 2023
• Over $2.1 million raised at 2024 WCN Golf Classic for Kids

Governance Achievements

• Board of Directors provides oversight of ESG targets
• ESG targets incorporated into management compensation
• 50% Board diversity by gender and ethnicity
• ~40% Board member refreshment in last five years

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Challenges associated with landfill emissions methodology
• Source separation efforts impacting MRF processing costs

Mitigation Strategies

• Exploration of new direct measurement technology for landfill emissions (drone-based systems and satellites)
• Investing in robotics and optical sorting technology to reduce MRF costs and improve safety
• Source separation education through local training and WasteConnect app

Supply Chain Management

Responsible Procurement

• Supplier Code of Conduct

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Opportunities

• Expansion of recycling and renewable natural gas infrastructure

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: GRI, SASB, TCFD, UN SDGs

Third-party Assurance: Third-party assurance provider (details on website)

UN Sustainable Development Goals

• 3
• 4
• 5
• 6
• 7
• 8
• 9
• 10
• 11
• 12
• 13
• 15

Waste Connections’ sustainability efforts align with the listed UN SDGs (details in report).

Awards & Recognition

• Several Comparably awards (details in report)

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Climate Change
• Environmental Sustainability
• Social Responsibility
• Governance

Environmental Achievements

• 13% reduction in absolute Scope 1 emissions from 2019 baseline
• 41% decrease in emissions intensity since 2019
• 15% increase in biogas recovery from 2018 baseline through 2023
• 44% increase in tons recycled since 2018
• Operational offsets exceeding emissions by over 4x in 2023

Social Achievements

• Not disclosed

Governance Achievements

• Board oversight of climate-related risks and opportunities, including ESG targets as part of senior management compensation

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Acute weather events causing damage to facilities and service interruptions
• Chronic changes in sea level and temperature impacting operations
• Changing consumer habits impacting asset mix
• Supply chain disruptions due to low-carbon economy transition
• New climate-related policies impacting permits and capital requirements
• New technological requirements increasing costs
• Negative perception from ESG investors
• Potential for reduced landfill utilization due to new technologies

Mitigation Strategies

• Facilities designed for storm resilience
• Decentralized operations for flexibility
• Increased inventories and pre-ordered equipment
• Engagement with legislators and regulators
• Cost recovery through price increases
• Ongoing evaluation of new technologies
• Demonstrating performance against targets and maintaining strong financials
• Generating carbon offsets through landfill gas use, recycling, and sequestration

Supply Chain Management

Supplier Audits: Not disclosed

Responsible Procurement

• Not disclosed

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks

• Acute weather events
• Sea level rise
• Temperature changes

Transition Risks

• Changing consumer habits
• Supply chain disruptions
• New climate policies
• New technological requirements
• ESG investor concerns

Opportunities

• Increased storm cleanup activities
• Beneficial reuse of waste
• Increased value of environmental attributes
• New technology opportunities
• Increased demand for RNG and recycling

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: TCFD

Certifications: Null

Third-party Assurance: Not disclosed

UN Sustainable Development Goals

• Not disclosed

Not disclosed

Sustainable Products & Innovation

• Renewable natural gas (RNG)
• Recycled materials

Awards & Recognition

• Not disclosed