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Waste Management collaborates with other business leaders to ensure climate action stays top-of-agenda

Waste Management collaborates with other business leaders to ensure climate action stays top-of-agenda

Waste Management is one of more than 150 leading New Zealand businesses joining forces to collaborate on a collective vision for a sustainable, zero carbon New Zealand.

The Sustainable Business Council (SBC) and the Climate Leaders Coalition (CLC) have launched new strategies with a shared vision bringing more opportunities for them to partner on key climate action initiatives.

The strategies are online here:

Waste Management is part of both the SBC and CLC, and is one of 18 organisations that has signed-up to the CLC 2019 Statement to pursue efforts to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees. This is in addition to the original 2017 Statement to keep warming below 2 degrees.

Waste Management Managing Director Tom Nickels says climate change is the biggest environmental challenge facing the world and the Waste Management team is very aware of the responsibility we have to provide sustainable waste and recycling solutions to New Zealanders.

“This year we outlined all the ways we are working towards ensuring New Zealand is protected for future generations in our first Sustainability Report, including very real steps towards reducing our carbon footprint through the Toitū carbonreduce programme.”

Most of Waste Management’s greenhouse gas emissions come from the waste collected from communities and disposed at landfills. To counter this, 95% of landfill gas is captured and converted to electricity, powering the equivalent of 23,000 homes in 2019. Waste Management’s Redvale Landfill & Energy Park, for example, is Auckland’s largest renewable energy generator. Without proper management in a modern, engineered landfill, decomposing waste would release greenhouse gas directly into the atmosphere.

“We are also focusing on reducing diesel emissions. We were the first to introduce 100% plug-in electric trucks into a waste collection fleet in New Zealand and have opened a purpose-built facility to assemble more EV trucks in New Zealand,” Mr Nickels says.

Waste Management reports quarterly on the progress being made towards its environmental and other sustainability goals. View the most recent report HERE.