Climate Change Data

Casella Waste Systems, Inc.

Climate Impact & Sustainability Data (2009, 2013, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023)

Reporting Period: 2009

Environmental Metrics

Total Carbon Emissions:1,110,143 tCO2e/year
Total Energy Consumption:32,651 MWh/year

ESG Focus Areas

  • Sustainability expertise growth
  • Environmental protection
  • People and community building
  • Customer relationship development

Environmental Achievements

  • Reduced overall greenhouse gas footprint by 43% between 2005 and 2009 (to 1,110,143 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents)
  • 55% increase in energy sales in 2009 due to increased production at landfill gas-to-energy plants
  • Opened a renovated Zero-Sort recycling center in Charlestown, Massachusetts

Social Achievements

  • Launched Learning Paths, a web-based training portal with over 157 training videos
  • Awarded over $890,000 in safety bonuses in 2009
  • Employee retention rate averaged 83.7% in 2009

Governance Achievements

  • Completed fifth annual voluntary EPA Climate Leaders inventory report
  • Hawk Ridge Composting Facility received the National Biosolids Partnership’s Environmental Management System (EMS) certification

Climate Goals & Targets

Long-term Goals:
  • Reduce scope 1 and 2 emissions to 80% below 2005 levels by 2050
  • By 2020, every disposal facility will include some form of energy recovery
Medium-term Goals:
  • Reduce total electricity and natural gas consumption to 5% below 2009 levels by 2012
  • Reduce fleet diesel fuel consumption to 10% below 2009 levels by 2013
  • Develop and implement a landfill gas direct-use project and an engine heat recovery project by 2015
  • Increase annual employee United Way donations to $15,000 by 2012
  • Increase commercial customer retention to 7.85 years by 2012
  • Increase residential customer retention to 8 years by 2012
Short-term Goals:
  • Reduce total emissions by 5% below 2009 levels by 2012
  • Increase 401(k) participation rate to 45% by 2012
  • Increase employee stock purchase plan participation rate to 10% by 2012
  • Increase employee retention rate to 86% by 2012
  • Reduce reportable petroleum releases to 25% below 2009 levels by 2011
  • Increase commercial customer recycling participation to 50% by 2012

Environmental Challenges

  • Maintaining compliance with ever-changing environmental regulations
  • Reducing preventable automotive accidents (increased from 273 to 312 in 2009)
  • Decreased charitable contributions due to lower earnings
Mitigation Strategies
  • Improving environmental training program
  • Improving safety training programs and integrating safety content into Learning Paths
  • Intending to return to higher levels of monetary giving as earnings rebound

Supply Chain Management

Responsible Procurement
  • Preference for recycled and recyclable products

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Opportunities
  • Landfill gas-to-energy projects
  • Energy efficiency projects

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: GRI G3 Guidelines

Sustainable Products & Innovation

  • Earthlife brand composts, mulches, and soil amendments
  • Cellulose insulation made from recycled fiber (through a joint venture)

Awards & Recognition

  • 2008 Industry Partner of the Year (EPA Landfill Methane Outreach Program)
  • Vermont Law School’s Green Business Innovators Award

Reporting Period: 2013

Environmental Metrics

Carbon Intensity:Shows year-over-year reduction in GHG emissions per ton of waste received

ESG Focus Areas

  • Resource Renewal
  • Recycling
  • Waste Reduction
  • Renewable Energy
  • Community Engagement
  • Employee Safety and Wellbeing

Environmental Achievements

  • Reduced company-wide carbon footprint by over 50% compared to 2005 baseline; cut emissions by another 175,000 metric tons in 2013. Closure of waste-to-energy incineration facility eliminated roughly 100,000 Mg CO2e per year.
  • Company-wide average landfill gas capture efficiency of 84.5% in 2013.
  • Generated over 229,000 Megawatt-hours of renewable electricity in 2013.
  • Recycled over 500,000 tons of recyclable materials and over 400,000 tons of organic materials in 2013.

Social Achievements

  • Made $217,000 in charitable contributions in 2013.
  • Three divisions achieved 100% accident and injury free in 2013.
  • Improved Workers' Compensation Modifier Rate.
  • Partnered with Goodwill Industries of Northern New England to support reuse and recycling initiatives.

Governance Achievements

  • Continued participation in EPA Climate Leaders program.
  • Received a Climate Leadership Award for Excellence in GHG Management in 2012.

Climate Goals & Targets

Short-term Goals:
  • Reduce diesel consumption by 10%
  • Reduce electricity consumption by 5%
  • Recycle 1 million tons per year of recyclables and organics

Environmental Challenges

  • Global trends in population and economic development placing pressure on natural resource supply chains.
  • Shifting mix of materials in the disposal stream.
  • Questionable economic and environmental viability of Waste-to-Energy incineration.
  • New state-level regulations.
  • Customer demand for more comprehensive resource management solutions.
  • Volatile commodity markets impacting recycling profitability.
  • Residue in recycling streams due to improper sorting.
Mitigation Strategies
  • Customer-centric approach to resource solutions.
  • Modernizing fleet and using alternative fuels (CNG, biodiesel).
  • Investing in new Zero-Sort Recycling facilities and upgrading existing ones.
  • Developing strategies for collecting and diverting food scraps.
  • Implementing Low Emission Landfill initiative to optimize gas capture.
  • Educating customers on proper sorting and recycling practices.
  • Developing closed-loop recycling programs with customers.

Supply Chain Management

Responsible Procurement
  • Preference for recycled and recyclable products

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Opportunities
  • Landfill gas-to-energy projects
  • Anaerobic digestion

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: GRI G4 ‘Core’ guidelines (partially)

Sustainable Products & Innovation

  • earthlife® soil amendments

Awards & Recognition

  • Climate Leadership Award for Excellence in GHG Management (2012)

Reporting Period: 2017

Environmental Metrics

Total Carbon Emissions:597,431 tCO2e/year
Scope 1 Emissions:519,807 tCO2e/year
Scope 2 Emissions:7,211 tCO2e/year
Total Energy Consumption:83,346 MWh/year (produced)
Water Consumption:107.8 million gallons of landfill leachate/year
Waste Generated:3,959,540 tons/year (disposed)
Carbon Intensity:116 kgCO2e/ton of waste and recyclables received in 2017

ESG Focus Areas

  • Waste Management
  • Recycling
  • Renewable Energy
  • Employee Health and Safety
  • Community Engagement
  • Environmental Compliance

Environmental Achievements

  • Reduced greenhouse gas emission rate from 245 to 131 kilograms per ton disposed (46% reduction between 2010 and 2017)
  • Recycled over 1 million tons per year of organics and recyclables
  • Reduced GHG emissions by over 50% since 2005

Social Achievements

  • Enhanced programs to develop employees
  • Made charitable contributions totaling $70,384
  • Donated thousands of hours of service
  • Hosted hundreds of community events and tours

Governance Achievements

  • Adherence to GRI Standards: Core option
  • Maintained hundreds of permits and certifications
  • Implemented corrective actions to prevent reoccurrence of environmental compliance incidents

Climate Goals & Targets

Long-term Goals:
  • Operate industry-leading landfills
  • Achieve resource renewal vision
Medium-term Goals:
  • Sustainably grow recycling and organics businesses
  • Improve the efficiency of collection routes
  • Continue to improve net energy production
Short-term Goals:
  • Eliminate customer confusion and achieve 100% accuracy in sorting (0% inbound contamination)
  • Establish multiple markets for each commodity, including domestic options
  • Earn the support and understanding of elected officials
  • Increase the proportion of packaging that has high recycling value
  • Get 100% of customer base onto a shared risk/reward pricing program

Environmental Challenges

  • Global recycling crisis: high contamination levels, low commodity markets, limited markets for recycled materials
  • Plummeting global commodity prices
  • Skyrocketing contamination in recycling streams
  • Changes in the composition of the recycling stream
  • Need for systemic change in markets, policy, technology, culture, and infrastructure to drive solutions for hard-to-recycle materials
Mitigation Strategies
  • Customer education: mailers, signage, web content, social media campaigns, recycling ambassador program
  • Cultivating new markets for recycled commodities
  • Engaging with industry groups and elected officials for policy support
  • Engaging product and packaging designers to design for recyclability
  • Formula-based pricing with customers to share risk and reward
  • Development and deployment of Aggregation & Recovery Collaboratives (ARC™) for hard-to-recycle materials

Supply Chain Management

Responsible Procurement
  • Preference for recycled and recyclable products

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Opportunities
  • Landfill gas to energy
  • Renewable energy development at facilities

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: GRI Standards: Core option

Sustainable Products & Innovation

  • earthlife® soil products
  • Fiberbed® animal bedding

Reporting Period: 2019

Environmental Metrics

Total Carbon Emissions:622,615 mtCO2e
Scope 1 Emissions:Not disclosed
Scope 2 Emissions:Not disclosed
Scope 3 Emissions:Not disclosed
Renewable Energy Share:Not disclosed
Total Energy Consumption:203,626 MWh
Water Consumption:Not disclosed
Waste Generated:Not disclosed
Carbon Intensity:Not disclosed

ESG Focus Areas

  • Environmental Stewardship
  • Economic Viability
  • Social Benefit

Environmental Achievements

  • Recovered over 650,000 tons of materials (cardboard, paper, plastic, glass, metal)
  • Produced 5x more energy than consumed
  • Generated over 200,000 Megawatt-hours of renewable energy annually with partners
  • 100% of residential plastics recycling volume processed and sold in the U.S.

Social Achievements

  • Record attendance at landfill open houses
  • Continued modernization of fleet with cleaner, more fuel-efficient trucks
  • Provided safe, reliable, and environmentally-sound waste and recycling collection services to over 150,000 businesses, institutions, and municipalities

Governance Achievements

  • Not disclosed

Climate Goals & Targets

Long-term Goals:
  • Not disclosed
Medium-term Goals:
  • Not disclosed
Short-term Goals:
  • Not disclosed

Environmental Challenges

  • Recycling commodity markets continue to struggle
Mitigation Strategies
  • Recycle Better challenge for customers
  • Hundreds of vendor partners to find sustainable solutions for high-value plastics

Supply Chain Management

Supplier Audits: Not disclosed

Responsible Procurement
  • Not disclosed

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks
  • Not disclosed
Transition Risks
  • Not disclosed
Opportunities
  • Not disclosed

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: Null

Certifications: Null

Third-party Assurance: Not disclosed

UN Sustainable Development Goals

  • Not disclosed

Not disclosed

Sustainable Products & Innovation

  • Not disclosed

Awards & Recognition

  • Not disclosed

Reporting Period: 2020

Environmental Metrics

Total Carbon Emissions:715,229 tCO2e/year (2019)
Scope 1 Emissions:710,667 tCO2e/year (2019)
Scope 2 Emissions:4,562 tCO2e/year (2019)
Scope 3 Emissions:Not disclosed
Renewable Energy Share:Not disclosed
Total Energy Consumption:214,985 MWh/year (2019) produced; 21,753 MWh/year (2019) consumed
Water Consumption:115.0 million gallons of leachate (2019)
Waste Generated:Not disclosed
Carbon Intensity:Not disclosed

ESG Focus Areas

  • Essential Workers
  • Materials Management
  • Sustainable Operations
  • Climate Leadership
  • Community Engagement

Environmental Achievements

  • Reduced carbon footprint by 33% below 2010 levels by 2019
  • Recovered over a million tons of material from the waste stream in 2019
  • Captured enough landfill biogas to power over 28,000 homes in 2019

Social Achievements

  • Reduced Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) to 2.5 in 2020 from 6.18 in 2019
  • Supported 45 drivers in securing their commercial driver's license (CDL) in 2019
  • Donated nearly 140,000 N-95 masks and 1,000 pairs of Karhu sneakers and Balega socks to healthcare workers

Governance Achievements

  • Maintained strong environmental compliance, reducing the number of sanctions from 15 in 2019 to 8 in 2020

Climate Goals & Targets

Long-term Goals:
  • Not disclosed
Medium-term Goals:
  • Reduce, reuse, or recycle over 2 million tons of solid waste materials per year by 2030
  • Double renewable energy production to 1,454,000 MMBTU by 2030
  • Improve fuel efficiency by 20% below 2019 baseline by 2030
  • Reduce GHG emissions to 40% below 2010 levels by 2030
  • Increase community giving to $2,000,000 annually by 2030
  • Increase Net Climate Benefit Factor to 5.0x by 2030
Short-term Goals:
  • Reduce TRIR to 4.0 or less by 2030
  • Reduce employee turnover to 25% or less by 2030

Environmental Challenges

  • Increased residential waste and recycling streams due to the COVID-19 pandemic
  • Economic slowdown impacting demand for some commodities
  • Climate factors impacting field operations at transfer station and disposal facilities
Mitigation Strategies
  • Established a Priority Response Team to maintain steady residential productivity
  • Adapted nimbly to customers' evolving needs
  • Maintained priority response plans and natural disaster guidance in facility operating manuals

Supply Chain Management

Supplier Audits: Not disclosed

Responsible Procurement
  • Not disclosed

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks
  • Severe storms
Transition Risks
  • Not disclosed
Opportunities
  • Growth of waste and recycling services in a low-carbon circular economy

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: GRI Standards: Core option

Certifications: Null

Third-party Assurance: Not disclosed

UN Sustainable Development Goals

  • Not disclosed

Not disclosed

Sustainable Products & Innovation

  • earthlife compost products

Awards & Recognition

  • 2012 EPA Climate Leadership Award for Excellence in GHG Management
  • AACA’s Employer of the Year Award (2020)
  • Spirit of Goodwill Award (2019)
  • Partnership for Innovation Award (2020)

Reporting Period: 2021

Environmental Metrics

Total Carbon Emissions:551,180 tCO2e/year (Scope 1 & 2)
Scope 1 Emissions:546,100 tCO2e/year
Scope 2 Emissions:5,080 tCO2e/year
Scope 3 Emissions:Not disclosed
Renewable Energy Share:Not disclosed
Total Energy Consumption:225,700 MWh/year (produced from landfill gas)
Water Consumption:123.1 million gallons of landfill leachate directed to wastewater treatment plants in 2021
Waste Generated:Not disclosed
Carbon Intensity:Not disclosed

ESG Focus Areas

  • Essential Workers
  • Materials Management
  • Sustainable Operations
  • Climate Leadership
  • Community Engagement

Environmental Achievements

  • Reduced Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 37% below 2010 baseline in 2021.
  • Recovered 1.213 million tons of recyclables and organics from the disposal stream in 2021.
  • Produced over 225,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity from landfill gas in 2021.

Social Achievements

  • Reduced Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) from 6.2 in 2019 to 5.4 in 2021.
  • Launched redesigned driver training program.
  • Implemented initiatives to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I).

Governance Achievements

  • Established a multi-year Fiscal 2024 Plan integrating ESG considerations.
  • Improved tracking of community giving and increased coordination between volunteering and giving efforts.

Climate Goals & Targets

Long-term Goals:
  • Not disclosed
Medium-term Goals:
  • Reduce GHG emissions by 40% below 2010 baseline by 2030.
  • Grow Resource Solutions business to recycle 2 million tons of solid waste by 2030.
  • Improve fuel efficiency by 20% below 2019 baseline by 2030.
  • Increase community giving to $2 million/year by 2030.
  • Contribute 24,000 volunteer hours per year by 2030.
Short-term Goals:
  • Not disclosed

Environmental Challenges

  • Increased employee turnover in 2021 due to broader market factors.
  • Supply chain challenges delaying alternative fuel vehicle pilots.
  • Regional challenges (infrastructure gaps, steep terrain, winter weather) limiting alternative vehicle expansion.
Mitigation Strategies
  • Implementing Gallup pulse surveys to better gauge and manage employee engagement.
  • Installing electric charging equipment and planning to take delivery of electric trucks.
  • Focusing on routing efficiency and fleet automation to reduce emissions.

Supply Chain Management

Supplier Audits: Not disclosed

Responsible Procurement
  • Not disclosed

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks
  • Not disclosed
Transition Risks
  • Not disclosed
Opportunities
  • Not disclosed

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: GRI Standards: Core option

Certifications: Null

Third-party Assurance: Independently verified GHG inventory for 2021 (limited assurance)

UN Sustainable Development Goals

  • Not disclosed

Not disclosed

Sustainable Products & Innovation

  • earthlife® agricultural, horticultural, and landscaping products

Awards & Recognition

  • 2022 World Finance Sustainability Award

Reporting Period: 2022

Environmental Metrics

Total Carbon Emissions:596,071 tCO2e
Scope 1 Emissions:590,516 tCO2e
Scope 2 Emissions:5,555 tCO2e
Scope 3 Emissions:Not disclosed
Renewable Energy Share:Not disclosed
Total Energy Consumption:Not disclosed
Water Consumption:Not disclosed
Waste Generated:Not disclosed
Carbon Intensity:Not disclosed

ESG Focus Areas

  • Essential Workers Health & Safety
  • Materials Management (Resource Solutions)
  • Sustainable Operations (Fuel Efficiency)
  • Climate Leadership (GHG Emissions)
  • Community Engagement (Community Giving)

Environmental Achievements

  • Completed a full retrofit of the Boston MRF with state-of-the-art equipment and technology to increase capacity, enhance safety, and improve product quality.
  • Invested in two fully-electric refuse collection vehicles in Rutland, VT, with potential to save 7,500 gallons of diesel fuel and prevent over 78 metric tons of GHG emissions per truck annually.
  • Scope 1 and 2 emissions were 32% below the 2010 baseline in 2022.
  • Continued progress on innovation pilots, including closed-loop recycling of medical devices and renewable natural gas (RNG) production at landfills.

Social Achievements

  • Community giving increased to $1.4 million in 2022.
  • Over 16,000 hours of employee volunteering in 2022.
  • Strong focus on training and improving safety performance, integrating acquired operations and new personnel into safety culture and programs.

Governance Achievements

  • Not disclosed

Climate Goals & Targets

Long-term Goals:
  • Not disclosed
Medium-term Goals:
  • 40% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 2030
  • $2.0 million annual community giving by 2030
  • 0.396 GJ of fuel consumed per ton of waste and recycling collected by 2030
Short-term Goals:
  • Not disclosed

Environmental Challenges

  • Some year-to-year fluctuation in sustainability metrics due to business growth and evolution of service offerings.
  • Increased total greenhouse gas emissions in 2022 due to the timing of landfill gas collection and capping projects.
Mitigation Strategies
  • Continued investment in landfill capping and gas collection systems.
  • Leveraging newer technologies such as remote methane monitoring and RNG production technology.
  • Focus on route optimization and fleet automation to improve fuel efficiency.

Supply Chain Management

Supplier Audits: Not disclosed

Responsible Procurement
  • Not disclosed

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks
  • Not disclosed
Transition Risks
  • Not disclosed
Opportunities
  • Not disclosed

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: Null

Certifications: Null

Third-party Assurance: A qualified third party (limited assurance)

UN Sustainable Development Goals

  • Not disclosed

Not disclosed

Sustainable Products & Innovation

  • Not disclosed

Awards & Recognition

  • Not disclosed

Reporting Period: 2023

Environmental Metrics

Total Carbon Emissions:598,478 tCO2e/year (2023)
Scope 1 Emissions:591,890 tCO2e/year (2023)
Scope 2 Emissions:6,588 tCO2e/year (2023)
Scope 3 Emissions:Not disclosed
Renewable Energy Share:Not disclosed
Total Energy Consumption:Not disclosed
Water Consumption:Not disclosed
Waste Generated:Not disclosed
Carbon Intensity:Not disclosed

ESG Focus Areas

  • Essential Workers
  • Materials Management
  • Sustainable Operations
  • Climate Leadership
  • Community Engagement

Environmental Achievements

  • Reduced Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 32% from 2010 to 2022 (restated baseline to 2022).
  • Achieved a Net Climate Benefit factor of 5.6x in 2023 (for every ton of GHG emitted, services prevented 5.6 tons elsewhere).
  • Completed a full retrofit of Boston, Massachusetts material recovery facility to increase capacity, enhance safety, and improve product quality.
  • Recycled nearly 1.4 million tons of materials in 2023.

Social Achievements

  • Reduced Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) by nearly 20% from 6.2 in 2019 to 5.0 in 2023.
  • Contributed $2.197 million to local communities through in-kind services, sponsorships, and cash contributions in 2023.
  • Launched the Casella Foundation to sustain giving initiatives.
  • Improved employee turnover rate.

Governance Achievements

  • Integrated safety and employee turnover performance into annual incentive compensation plans.

Climate Goals & Targets

Long-term Goals:
  • Not disclosed
Medium-term Goals:
  • Recycle more than 2 million tons of solid waste materials per year by 2030.
  • Reduce fuel consumption by 20% below 2019 baseline by 2030.
  • Reduce GHG emissions to 12% below 2022 baseline by 2030.
  • Achieve 21,000 hours of annual employee volunteering by 2030.
Short-term Goals:
  • Reduce TRIR to 4.0 by 2030.

Environmental Challenges

  • Contamination in the recycling stream.
  • Some municipalities discontinuing recycling programs.
  • PFAS and other chemical contaminants in organics preventing beneficial use.
Mitigation Strategies
  • Investing in infrastructure, innovation (robotics, AI), and education to improve recycling quality.
  • Developing innovative on-site processing systems for food waste.
  • Testing emerging PFAS treatment technologies.

Supply Chain Management

Supplier Audits: Not disclosed

Responsible Procurement
  • Code of Vendor Conduct

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks
  • Extreme weather, flooding
Transition Risks
  • Regulatory changes, market shifts
Opportunities
  • Development of energy-efficient products and services, growth in renewable natural gas.

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: GRI Standards, SASB, CDP

Certifications: Null

Third-party Assurance: Independent external review and verification (limited assurance) for Scope 1 & 2 emissions, TRIR, and recycling tonnage.

UN Sustainable Development Goals

  • Not disclosed

Not disclosed

Sustainable Products & Innovation

  • Not disclosed

Awards & Recognition

  • World Finance Magazine 2022 Sustainability Award
  • BD 2023 Sustainability Supplier of the Year
  • Arc GLOW 2023 Business Partner of the Year
  • University of Vermont Grossman School of Business 2023 Vermont Legacy Enterprise Award
  • Western New York Sustainable Business Roundtable 2023 Gold Level Award
  • TIME 2024 America’s Best Midsize Company