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.
Always Working
For A Sustainable
Tomorrow® 2022 Sustainability Report
We are growing sustainably
$1.625B
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:
- Sustainability program partner
- Modern landfill, renewable energy
- Recycling infrastructure
- Integrated organics
- Circular logistics
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.
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We are reducing our climate impact
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.
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We are expanding our circularity solutions
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.
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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.
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We are elevating our people
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.
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We are raising the bar on safety
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.