HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE: WM) today released its 2012 sustainability report. The report is called “Embracing the Zero Waste Challenge,” and documents the company’s progress toward increasingly transforming waste into valuable resources.
“Five years ago, we announced four aggressive sustainability goals to improve our impact on the environment and our business,” said CEO and President, David Steiner. “I hope you will enjoy reading about the progress we are making toward our sustainability goals, which reflect the success of our long-term business strategy.”
In addition to celebrating America Recycles Day on Thursday, Nov. 15, the company announced today that Waste Management:
- Is nearly two-thirds of the way to meeting its 2020 sustainability goal of tripling the amount of recyclable material it manages annually.
- Extracted almost 12.9 million tons of recyclables from the waste stream — 61 percent more than its 2007 baseline.
- Produces enough waste-based energy to power nearly 1.2 million homes, which is 60 percent of its 2 million homes goal.
- A decade ahead of time, has met its 2020 goal of creating 100 certified Wildlife Habitat sites and protecting 25,000 acres at its sites.
- Has already exceeded its 2020 goal to reduce CO2 emissions from its fleet by 15 percent. The company has achieved a 20-percent reduction and expects to make further progress. WM operates more than 1,600 natural gas collection vehicles — the largest heavy-duty natural gas fleet in the country — and that fleet continues to grow.
The report reflects the company’s business strategy to know more about its customers and how to service them better than anyone, extract more value from the materials it manages, and innovate and optimize its business.
WM’s complete sustainability report can be viewed at http://www.wm.com/wm/environmental/srr.asp. Details about the company’s progress in providing recycling services as North America’s largest recycler of post-consumer waste can be found on Pages 3-5 of the report.
ABOUT WASTE MANAGEMENT
Waste Management, Inc., based in Houston, Texas, is the leading provider of comprehensive waste management services in North America. Through its subsidiaries, the company provides collection, transfer, recycling and resource recovery, and disposal services. It is also one of the largest residential recyclers and a leading developer, operator and owner of waste-to-energy and landfill gas-to-energy facilities in the United States. The company’s customers include residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers throughout North America. To learn more information about Waste Management visit www.wm.com.