In 2022, an estimated $2.5 trillion was invested in ESG fund assets. The popularity of ESG-backed investments has surged as more companies implement ESG standards. Investors have also sought ways to combine personal values with financial portfolios to make a difference for society and the environment.
As companies aim to be more responsible, an often overlooked category is their operational waste and recycling. With modern technology, waste management is an operational area ripe for improvement when it comes to sustainability actions that make financial sense.
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the intersection of waste management and esg investing
The efficiency of your waste management program can dramatically impact your ESG score. Businesses with greater attention to landfill diversion often score higher. New technologies are emerging that prove with greater certainty that materials end up in recycling facilities or at end destinations where they’re in demand. Taking control of the waste management portfolio for your company can yield dividends.
READ MORE: The Green Goals Behind ESG Investing
One area of a business waste management program that can be examined in greater detail involves analyzing fill levels of containers. Expanding near real-time monitoring sensors and AI programs can allow users to see fill levels at the time of service. Comparing that mark against a right-sized waste program offers one way to know if containers are appropriately sized for your needs. It also provides a way to tell if vendors are adhering to service schedules or if adjustments need to be made based on the volume of waste. Unnecessary service can impact the carbon footprint of your business. This information shows investors that your business values thrift, efficiency, and operations that improve air quality.
Collecting and managing data about the operational waste and recycling of a business is becoming more reliable, scalable, and increasingly essential across industries. For manufacturing facilities, this information allows leaders to make more informed decisions regarding production schedules and purchasing raw materials. Hospitality businesses can use this data to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Healthier tenants and more sustainable buildings are possible in commercial real estate when this information is present. Centralizing this technology today allows businesses to collect, analyze, and utilize operational waste and recycling data across multiple locations.
Another manner in which an efficient waste management program can positively impact ESG scoring involves landfill diversion and circularity. Working to improve the resource efficiency of your business helps eliminate waste right from the start. An accurate accounting of the materials that flow in, the points at which waste is generated, and the volumes that must be hauled away, also known as a waste audit, can uncover areas where things can be repurposed, reused, or recycled. After these options are exhausted, the volume of waste left should be minimal. That is the endgame of circular solutions: keeping materials in circulation to preserve their value yields little waste. Circularity reduces the costs for your waste portfolio, and has been shown to increase an ESG score.
Your business cannot track what it doesn’t measure. Arming yourself with the best knowledge possible about your waste and recycling program can prepare your business for possible increased emissions reporting. Knowing how your waste is transported, how full containers are before service, and how much you’re diverting from the landfill can set the stage to find more sustainable solutions that can yield cost savings. The SEC expects to issue new Scope 3 emissions reporting requirements sometime in 2023.
What does the proposed SEC emissions reporting rules mean for your company? CLICK HERE to find out more.
Knowing the inner workings of your waste portfolio can mean your company is ready to hit the ground running. Spotlighting your waste streams and how they’re dealt with will only continue increasing in importance.
roadrunner's solutions for your business
RoadRunner knows the importance of a right-sized, efficient, and complete waste management portfolio. Your business does not have to do the heavy lifting to implement these changes. RoadRunner is your waste management expert.
Our dedicated teams streamline your waste operations. RoadRunner’s powerful technology finds and unlocks cost savings. And our unparalleled hauling network can help cut carbon emissions for your operations.
Let RoadRunner put a lens to your waste management program. Let us help your business achieve its goals today.
