WM is reinventing what’s possible to enable a more sustainable world.
Leveraging our infrastructure, innovation, and expertise, we’re setting a bold sustainability vision for the future: one where material is repurposed, energy is renewable, and communities are thriving.
Our business keeps communities safe and makes the circular economy possible. For several years, WM has been working toward a sustainable tomorrow with goals for greenhouse gas emissions reduction, diversity and inclusion, community engagement and recycling. In 2022, we raised our ambitions in every area. Explore the topics below to learn about the many ways we’re growing sustainably.
$2.215B*
planned investments over the next four years to grow our
recycling and renewable energy businesses
We have adopted a new sustainability growth strategy with five focus areas:
We are committed to making it easier to reduce waste, decrease emissions and use more recycled materials. To do this, we are growing our sustainability-related businesses by expanding customer offerings and incorporating new ones, including consultive program services; specialty remediation; organics collection and processing; and management of textiles, electric vehicle batteries and other products.
*as of February 1st, 2023
We have committed to a science-based target, which is a
42%
reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2032
WM has a long history of examining our own—and our customers’—emissions footprint. Today, our focus on climate action is stronger than ever. In 2022, we committed to a new greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction target based on guidance from the Science Based Target Initiative (SBTi) and submitted to SBTi for approval. The baseline year for this goal is 2021.
Reaching this goal will require big ideas, bold action and leadership. We’re already taking action by making meaningful investments in landfill gas capture, fugitive emissions measurement, converting our fleet to run on renewable natural gas (RNG), working with major domestic and international vehicle original equipment manufacturers to test and pilot electric vehicles, along with solutions to help customers minimize their own carbon footprints.
Increase WM’s recovery of materials by
60%
to 25 million tons by 2030, including
an interim milestone of a
25%
increase by 2025
As businesses transition to recyclable materials in their products and more people choose to recycle and compost, volumes of these waste streams will increase. WM will be ready. We are proud to announce our new recovery goal, which we expect to achieve by expanding and upgrading our network of recycling and organics facilities. As we work toward this target, we plan to invest in new solutions, such as recycling of electric vehicle batteries.
2% for social good
WM aims to positively impact 10 million people in our communities through targeted social impact programs by 2030, using the equivalent of 2% of our net income each year
As a major employer, landowner and member of communities across North America, there are many ways that WM makes a positive social impact. And as a thriving business, we leverage our success to fund programs that make a difference in people’s lives. We are reorienting the focus of our social impact program around sustainability education, environmental conservation, community vitality, environmental justice, supplier diversity, and skills and workforce development. We plan to double our annual social impact investments over the coming years to reach more people and create greater change.
25%
representation of
women by 2030
30%
racial and ethnic
minorities at the manager
level and above by 2030
For several years, WM has worked to achieve representation of minorities that is greater than or equal to the availability of minority talent in the marketplace, as well as to lead our industry in representation of women. Our new, aspirational targets will challenge us to become much more diverse than our industry peers and work toward broader workforce diversity benchmarks, as well as to improve our culture of inclusion and belonging at WM for employees from other marginalized groups. WM expects to meet these targets by focusing on talent acquisition, retaining great talent and promoting team members. We have created insight dashboards that allow us to track progress at all levels of the organization.
Reduce Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) by
3%
annually, targeting
2.0
by 2030; and focused prevention of serious injuries.
Our rate of injuries per employee hours worked has continued to fall for almost 20 years, with WM consistently outperforming our industry. We continue to take active steps to further prevent injuries through our injury and illness management program, hazardous energy control program and other initiatives tied to seasonal risks.
What happens to the organic waste that goes to landfills?
It releases gas as it breaks down, and, at a growing number of WM sites, that gas is then captured and turned into renewable electricity to power homes and buildings, as well as renewable natural gas (RNG) to power vehicles, including our own fleet of compressed natural gas (CNG) trucks. This renewable energy is an important way we can mitigate the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions impact for both our landfills and hauling operations, and is also a business opportunity for WM.
That’s why we’re going all in on expanding new gas-to-energy capacity at our own landfills, and partnering with others at their facilities, such as wastewater treatment facilities and digestors. WM has dozens of RNG facilities that are operational or in the development pipeline across North America. By filling trucks with renewable fuel, those stations replace nearly 146,000 gallons of diesel every day. It’s all part of a renewable energy revolution happening in our backyard.
$825M
planned investment in landfill RNG network 2022–2025
100%
of WM alternative fuel fleet expected to be fueled by RNG by 2025
57%
fueled by RNG in 2021
Explore this topic in our Disclosure Report
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway can accommodate about 350,000 spectators on race day.
An event of that size can have a significant impact in terms of emissions, water and waste—unless organizers take proactive steps to shrink the crowd’s footprint.
The Speedway worked with the WM Sports and Entertainment Division, a group within WM that offers a nationwide network of environmental professionals to help advance organizations along the path toward sustainability. We helped the racetrack benchmark its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions data and made recommendations on how to increase waste diversion, conserve water and engage fans. For example, for many sporting events, the largest source of event-related GHG emissions is spectator travel. Based on the results of the GHG inventory developed by WM, the Speedway encouraged visitors to cycle to the Indianapolis 500. All electricity used at the venue on race weekend was carbon-neutral through the purchase of Green-e® Certified Renewable Electricity. As a result, the Indianapolis 500 achieved the first Council for Responsible Sport event certification in motorsports in 2021. The venue is one of the earliest adopters of the Council for Responsible Sport’s new responsible sport standards.
WM is also proud to support New York Road Runners (NYRR) with its Council for Responsible Sport organization certification. As hosts of the TCS New York City Marathon and weekly races, NYRR activities attract hundreds of thousands of runners. Together, NYRR and WM worked to develop the organization’s first environmental evaluation and create a five-year sustainability plan to minimize the impacts events at such a scale generate. This included analyzing NYRR’s GHG emissions, supporting with supplier and vendor engagement, developing robust procurement policies, and preparing for the first UN Sport for Climate Action submission, a global call to action for the sports community.
Explore this topic in our Disclosure Report
The world is catching on to the value of recycling.
A growing number of consumer packaged goods companies are setting aggressive goals for recycled content in their packaging. And states, including California, New Jersey, Maine and Washington, are beginning to mandate the use of postconsumer resins—in some cases exceeding the amount of resin currently available in the market. In short, recyclable materials are more in demand than ever.
WM is investing to help meet this demand, planning to invest $800 million in our recycling infrastructure from 2022 to 2026 to capture more recycled materials.
Much of this investment is being directed toward state-of-the-art technologies that help automate recycling, such as:
These technologies have been installed at both new materials recovery facilities (MRFs) and as upgrades to existing MRFs. Our new Chicago facility served as the pilot location for these technologies and was named the National Waste and Recycling Association (NWRA) 2021 Recycling Facility of the Year.
Our investments have helped WM unlock a significant supply of recyclables, and we’ll continue to improve and expand our infrastructure to meet the growing demand for recycled materials and to support a circular economy.
Explore this topic in our Disclosure Report
Investing in a sustainable future for WM means more than just developing new technology and infrastructure.
It also means investing in our most important asset: our people.
Your TomorrowSM, an education benefit created in partnership with Guild Education, pays 100% of expenses for employees* for more than 135+ business, technology, science and mathematics bachelor’s degrees, certificates, and other programs to help them accomplish their career goals. The program also provides access to over 40 master’s degree programs with tuition coverage of $12,000 per year. Classes are held online with flexible start dates, and learners can get support throughout their journeys from education coaches, including Spanish-speaking coaches.
What makes this program truly special is that it covers employees’ dependents as well, including spouses and dependents ages 18 to 26. WM is the first company to extend this type of benefit to family members. Tuition is fully covered for dozens of certificate and degree programs, with these students responsible only for books and other fees. The program is currently available to U.S.-based team members, and we are reviewing offerings for employees in Canada and India.
800 employees and
150 family members working toward degrees since program introduced in 2021
From the trash in your bin, to gas generated and captured at a landfill, to the fuel that powers our waste collection trucks, landfill waste-to-energy is a circular process. Here’s how it works:
Explore this topic in our Disclosure Report
Renewable natural gas (RNG) doesn’t come only from our landfills. Since 2019, we have also been strategically working with wastewater treatment facilities, dairy and hog operations, and other sources to capture RNG from these operations.
Converting manure to RNG is a win-win. First, it reduces methane emissions from animal agriculture by breaking down and capturing biogas that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere. It also reduces emissions from trucks on the road by allowing vehicles to shift away from diesel and fuel with RNG instead. Dairy RNG delivers a significantly lower carbon intensity (CI) than diesel or even landfill RNG, meaning that fewer emissions are associated with its production and consumption than with other fuel types.
-170 to -426
grams carbon dioxide equivalent per megajoule (gCO2e/MJ) CI of the dairy RNG projects that WM procures
54 gCO2e/MJ
CI of landfill RNG used for fuel in California
WM has been working with IOGEN®, Resilient Infrastructure Group and Threemile Canyon Farms in Boardman, Oregon, and with Amp Americas in Jerome and Hansen, Idaho, to use ultra-low-carbon RNG produced from dairy RNG projects in our compressed natural gas (CNG) fleet. These projects allow us to lower the CI of fuel used in states like California to meet the state’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard. By investing in a range of lower-emissions technologies and helping them scale, WM is setting the stage for a transition away from fossil fuels across our industry.
Explore this topic in our Disclosure Report
Over the last decade, we have reduced fleet emissions by 42%, largely by transitioning to natural gas vehicles (NGVs).
Our services continue to enable our customers to avoid more than three times the emissions we generate in our direct operations.
Today, our focus on climate is stronger than ever. We are working toward a science-based target, with a baseline of 2021, to achieve by 2032.
A significant portion of our emissions profile comes from methane emitted at our landfills. We are currently exploring more accurate ways to measure and monitor landfill methane, which will help to inform our emissions reduction activities.
We will also increase our production of renewable energy by capturing methane before it’s released into the atmosphere. When captured, methane can be converted to either renewable electricity or renewable natural gas. In addition, we are working toward achieving 100% renewable electricity at the facilities we operate by 2025.
Setting a science-based target is an action WM is proud to take, and aligns with our long-term environmental and sustainability goals. Taking the extra step to validate our climate target with SBTi also increases transparency and accountability. As we improve our practices and adopt new technology to further reduce our emissions, we look forward to sharing our progress.
As the largest environmental solutions provider in North America, WM plays a role in almost every step of the circular economy value chain.
Here are a few ways we work to keep the circular economy moving forward.
Explore this topic in our Disclosure Report
You might think of “recycling” as what happens when you put a can or a piece of cardboard in your curbside bin.
But this is just the first step in a complex process—one that is complete only when materials are converted into new products that can be used again. Here’s a look at what happens beyond the bin.
Mixed recyclables are collected curbside by a WM truck.
Trucks travel to an MRF, where recyclables are unloaded onto a tip floor.
Material is unloaded, inspected and stored until it's ready to be transferred to a conveyor.
Sortation equipment separates cups, cans, containers and bottles from paper. An eddy current sorts aluminum into a metals-only stream.
Sorted materials are baled and shipped to customers, where they are used as feedstock for new products.
“Waste” is a relative concept.
What is useless to one person could be valuable to someone else. At a business level, an unwanted byproduct of one process can be a feedstock for another.
WM’s role is to find these unexpected connections—capturing materials that are typically considered useless and matching them with end markets. Here are a few materials that we are diverting from landfills and repurposing in innovative ways.
Food that is no longer suitable for consumption can become a source of renewable energy. Through CORe®, WM’s proprietary organics recycling process, food waste from residential, commercial and industrial sources is collected and blended into an engineered slurry. The slurry is injected into treatment facility digesters in existing wastewater treatment infrastructure, thereby increasing biogas production. This gas can then be used as a renewable power source, enabling municipal customers to produce heat and power from their own food waste.
Fly ash is a byproduct of the coal combustion process. When mixed with water, it can be used as a cement replacement in the production of concrete. WM’s Carbon Blockers®; fly ash treatment system has been installed at coal-fired power plants to convert ash into cement. This solution not only prevents potentially harmful ash from going to landfills—it also helps avoid the emissions associated with cement manufacturing.
Today, the majority of used textiles, like clothing, is sent to landfills. Few convenient options exist for consumers to recycle the textiles they no longer need. WM is exploring ways to encourage the growth of end markets for postconsumer textiles, as well as to adapt our existing collection and processing capabilities to the needs of textile recycling.
Many types of paper and plastic packaging, like food packaging, shopping bags, coffee cups, bubble wrap, and other shipping materials, cannot be recycled in conventional recycling facilities. Continuus is a new company that takes these materials and shreds, dries, and compresses them into Everboard, a high-performing roofing material.
As we seek to contribute to a sustainable and circular economy, we are constantly inspired by nature’s example.
The natural process of decomposition breaks down organic matter, which eventually helps support new plant growth. Trees and other plants provide habitat for animals and spaces for people to relax, play and learn.
There is much we can learn from natural systems, which is why WM tries to invite nature into as many of our sites as possible. For more than 30 years, we have worked with the Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC) to enhance and protect thousands of acres of land for wildlife.
Here are a few ways we protected wild spaces—and created learning opportunities for people—in 2021:
Explore this topic in our Disclosure Report
In the earliest days of the pandemic, Michael Taber lost his job.
Then his wife lost her job too. Before long, the family found themselves homeless and living in a shelter in Fort Worth, Texas. “My case manager there turned me on to a temp agency called UpSpire™,” Taber says. “They told me about an opportunity with WM.”
If you can stick it out, it really is worth it.”
Taber joined WM through the Innovative Employment Pathways (IEP) program, a workforce recruitment strategy that offers employment opportunities at WM to people facing barriers to employment. These barriers could include homelessness, former incarceration, disabilities or other challenges. Together with leading organizations specializing in job readiness programs, we are casting a wider net to reach these nontraditional applicants.
Individuals selected to participate in the program receive job readiness training for one to two weeks before they begin working for WM. They also receive job retention support from our partners for up to 12 months, which helps set them up for success in their new roles.
In Fort Worth alone, IEP has helped move 52 people out of homelessness. Taber, now a commercial driver at WM’s Ft. Worth Hauling facility, credits IEP with turning his life around. “I’ve gone from staying in a shelter to being in a house with enough room for our kids. I’m not paycheck to paycheck. I have retirement and a future to look forward to.”
Explore this topic in our Disclosure Report
Damage to the environment, in the form of pollution, poor air and water quality, and climate change, affects everyone.
But it does not affect everyone equally. The EPA defines “environmental justice” as the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin or income with respect to the development, implementation and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations and policies.
The environmental justice movement works to draw attention to and address these disparities. For more than a decade, WM has been assessing the environmental justice impact on the communities where we have facilities, plotting income and minority population data surrounding each. We also engage with community members living near our operations to understand needs and help address the impacts of our operations.
WM’s landfill gas-to-RNG operations in Atascocita are helping support this goal. The operation has helped us grow our fleet of RNG vehicles, which can reduce NOx emissions by as much as 97%, reduce diesel particulate matter by as much as 94% and reduce CO2 equivalent (CO2e) emissions by as much as 80% when they replace diesel vehicles, leading to improvements in air quality.
Our growing network of RNG facilities at our landfills will benefit communities across North America. The planned investment in our RNG network is expected to increase production of landfill gas by 600% over the next four years, generating enough renewable energy to supply the equivalent of 1 million North American homes. We have planned for one of our new sites to be located in Springdale, Arkansas, the majority of whose citizens are BIPOC or earn low-to-moderate incomes—ensuring that these environmental benefits are realized in the communities that need them most.
Explore this topic in our Disclosure Report
WM has set a goal to increase annual spend with diverse suppliers by 10% through 2038.
WM is a Gold-level member of Women in Trucking, an organization that encourages women to explore careers in transportation and works to address the barriers that women in this industry face.
We are ever-vigilant to the changing needs of our customers, our communities and the environment, and to technology advances that allow us to not only respond to those needs, but to be proactive and lead in providing sustainable solutions.”
- Lisa Disbrow, Director of Government and Public Affairs, Heartland Area
As a member of Women in Trucking’s Board of Directors, I’m proud to be part of an effort aimed at encouraging employment, promoting accomplishments and minimizing obstacles faced by women in the trucking industry.”
- Kelly Rooney, Vice President, People Organization
I love the work, the company, the people and doing my part to help my neighbors and community. And I also hope my presence helps pave the way for more women to follow.”
- Taylor Krause, Residential recycling driver
Frontline employees are an essential part of WM’s business.
They are the drivers on early-morning collection routes, the sorters in our MRFs and the workers in our transfer stations. These demanding roles make up the most diverse segment of our workforce—but also the one that experiences the highest rate of turnover.
To address this, we need strong leaders to support team members working on the front lines. That’s why WM launched the Frontline Leadership Development program to ensure our frontline managers and supervisors are well-equipped to lead their teams with excellence and continue to make WM a great place to work.
The 26-week immersive learning experience engages participants in a few unique ways. Participants are matched with coaches through the BetterUp digital coaching platform, a third-party service through which participants can communicate with coaches on demand. In addition to the program’s curriculum, we grouped leaders into cohorts so they could learn from one another throughout the journey.
583 leaders
in the first cohort of graduates
Nearly 700 leaders
registered for Round 2
From the self-awareness exercises, I was able to take a closer look at myself to understand what drives me as a leader. This helped me understand what skills I can pull from on a daily basis in order to lead a top-notch team.”
- Rafael Hernandez Avellan, MRF Manager, Greater Mid-Atlantic
I enjoyed the training and topics covered so much that now I’m actually taking advantage of WM’s Your Tomorrow Program to go back to school for a degree in leadership and organization studies at Denver University. Not only have I learned tips and techniques to be a better leader, I’ve discovered a passion for the subject that I cannot wait to explore further.”
- Jennifer Bailey, RSC Supervisor, WMRA
The program has showed me how to be a better listener and a stronger leader. I hope WM continues to use this program to develop leaders for many years to come.”
- Dustin Braden, Senior Route Manager, Mid-South
Our workforce is more than 48,000 people strong, spread across the U.S., Canada and India.
We want to provide ways for every one of them to connect and find community. That’s why WM launched its first employee resource groups, also known as Impact Groups, in 2021 to enable and empower our teammates to grow, learn, engage and advocate.
Unified—Attract, retain, celebrate and develop team members of all cultures.
Prism—Provide a welcoming space for LGBTQ+ employees and allies.
Women’s Empowerment Network (WEN)—Create a workplace that empowers, encourages and supports women.
Later in 2022 we plan to launch more groups with additional interest areas. Impact groups are employee-led, with over 60 business champions and co-chairs planning events tied to four strategic pillars: Professional Development, Advocacy and Awareness, External Partnerships and Frontline Engagement.
For example, the Northern California-Nevada chapter of WEN organized webinars and panel discussions on leadership, mental health awareness, and Asian American and Pacific Islander heritage. The group also shares resources that women can use to advance their careers, earn educational credit and learn new skills. The corporate chapter of Unified held a snack social in celebration of Asian American/Pacific Islander heritage. The event featured a speech from our Chief People Officer, a membership drive and an invitation to get involved in future events.
2,022
WM employee members of Impact Groups
Next time you see a WM collection truck traveling through your neighborhood, take a closer look.
We’re upgrading our fleet with new technologies that make our trucks safer than ever—for drivers and other people on the roads.
Through WM Smart TruckSM technology, cameras mounted on collection trucks take photos of contamination in bins, which are used to provide feedback to customers. Beyond addressing contamination, this technology reduces the number of times drivers must leave the cabs of their vehicles.
The more visible our trucks are on the roads, the safer we are. To help reduce rear-end collisions, we are upgrading to new brake lights that flash repeatedly to catch the attention of other drivers.
DriveCam® is a video recorder that is automatically activated by sudden movements, allowing managers to see drivers’ behavior and, if necessary, coach them on safer driving techniques.
Safety data tell us that our highest incident rate comes on residential rear-end-load collection routes. We are in the process of transitioning from rear-loading to side-loading trucks, which removes collection employees from the back of trucks where they could be at higher risk.
ADAS includes features like collision mitigation, active braking technology and vehicle telematics that communicate any needed repairs to our shops. Beyond the safety benefits, these enhancements lead to greater driver satisfaction and retention.
Explore this topic in our Disclosure Report
WM drivers face risks and uncertainties on the roads.
Keeping them safe is our highest priority. Two years ago, we opened a new centralized training center for drivers and technicians in Glendale, Arizona, complementing an existing facility in Fort Myers, Florida. The Arizona Training Center includes a 30,000-square-foot maintenance shop, a 10-acre driver training course, classrooms, computer labs and technician workstations to simulate typical experiences at WM facilities. We planned for selected newly hired drivers and technicians from across the country to travel to these centers for two-week, immersive onboarding programs designed to enhance their capabilities.
Then the pandemic hit, and the facilities temporarily closed. Training went virtual. Two years on, we have learned that there is no substitute for in-person instruction for these roles, and we were pleased to start welcoming learners back to these facilities in 2021.
Beyond the reopening of our training centers, we are improving safety by providing support to team members in key safety-related roles, such as route managers, to help them be more effective. We are also offering a monthly professional development series on safety topics including Occupational Safety and Health Administration injuries, DriveCamSM coaching and risk behaviors to avoid when behind the wheel.
Explore this topic in our Disclosure Report
WM is proud to be a safety leader in the waste industry.
Now, we are looking beyond our industry and making strides to improve our performance relative to a broader set of peers.
782
nominations for 2021 WM Driver, Operator, Technician of the Year Awards
12
employees recognized
See how we are performing against our key indicators of safety.
We operate innovative recycling and waste solutions that fuel the continuous reuse of materials.
We leverage advanced technologies to turn waste into energy that powers communities and reduces emissions.
We collaborate to strengthen the resiliency of the diverse places where we live and work.
