Republic Services makes progress on 2030 sustainability goals

Republic Services has released its annual Sustainability Report to share progress and achievements toward meeting its 2030 sustainability goals announced last year. 

"Our year-one 2019 achievements demonstrate a sustained ability to connect financial results with environmental and social performance, including addressing various risks and opportunities posed by climate change," said Donald W. Slager, chief executive officer. "I'm particularly proud of the progress we're making in supporting the circular economy, generating renewable energy and helping our communities through the Republic Services Charitable Foundation."

Republic's Our Blue Planet: 2030 Goals align with select United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals addressing critical global macrotrends, and include:

• Zero employee fatalities
• Reduce OSHA Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) to 2.0 or less by 2030
• Achieve and maintain employee engagement scores at or above 88 percent by 2030
• Reduce absolute Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 35 percent by 2030 (2017 baseline year)
• Increase recovery of key materials by 40 percent on a combined basis by 2030 (2017 baseline year)
• Increase biogas sent to beneficial reuse by 50 percent by 2030 (2017 baseline year)
• Positively impact 20 million people by 2030

The report highlights the company's 2019 progress against its long-term goals. During this time, Republic became the first U.S. recycling and solid waste services provider to have its emissions reduction target approved by the Science-Based Targets initiative. Additionally, Republic was named to the North American and World Dow Jones Sustainability Indices for a fourth consecutive year, the CDP Climate A List, Barron's 100 Most Sustainable Companies list, Ethisphere's World's Most Ethical Companies list, and Forbes Best Employers for Women list.

"This broad third-party recognition highlights our leadership in corporate governance as well as environmental, social and financial aspects of sustainability," said Pete Keller, vice president of recycling and sustainability. "We're committed to increased transparency on metrics that matter to our stakeholders as we pursue our 2030 goals."