Mitigating Climate Change Energy

Waste Management aggressively seeks solutions to improve energy efficiency in facilities we operate by implementing a range of technologies and best practices that reduce environmental impacts, improve operational efficiencies and achieve cost savings.

These efforts start with the construction of our facilities, which are often built to meet the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED standards. For construction projects where we do not seek formal certification, we still align closely with LEED standards. Below are examples of ways we improve existing locations; build Waste Management facilities to be safe, healthy and efficient; and seek out sustainable options when we move locations.

• Waste Management’s new 13-acre driver and technician training center in Glendale, Arizona, includes a driver training course, maintenance shop and classrooms, with solar panels on the roof to reduce our carbon footprint.
• The Eastern Canada Market Area office was relocated to a more space-efficient and central location, which makes for a more pleasant work experience. Shorter distance between the city, the airport and the office means reduced greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 1 and Scope 3) from employee travel.
• Recent improvements to upgrade fueling stations in Ohio, Delaware and Colorado included repurposed truss sections upfitted with high-pressure fueling tubing, block heaters and energy-saving LED lighting to reduce our carbon footprint (Scope 1 and 2 emissions).
• The close of 2020 will bring our headquarters team under one roof in one of Houston’s most sustainable buildings. Bank of America Tower is a LEED® Platinum-certified high-performance building and is EPA ENERGY STAR®-certified.

Renewable Electricity

Waste Management is both a supplier and a user of renewable energy, increasingly using sources such as wind, solar, waste heat and landfill gas to power and heat our facilities. In 2019, we consumed 603,682 MWh of total electricity, a small but increasing percentage of which was renewable, across 1,756 Waste Management sites. Our 2025 goal calls for the facilities we operate to use 100% renewable electricity.

We look for capacity to generate renewable electricity throughout the organization. For example, in 2019, we hosted 100 MWh of wind power at our landfills, and we will host up to 58 megawatts of landfill-based solar farms by the end of 2020. We continue to look for opportunities to host solar electricity in support of U.S. EPA’s RE-Powering America’s Land initiative, which encourages renewable energy development on current and formerly contaminated lands, landfills and mine sites when it is aligned with the community’s vision for the site.