Waste Management NZ Limited is marking the first anniversary of The Climate Leaders Coalition by reaffirming its commitment to curb global warming.
The company, New Zealand’s leading resource recovery, recycling and waste management provider, is signing a new pledge announced today by the Climate Leaders Coalition.
The revised pledge commits to the Paris Agreement target of keeping warming below 2°C, while pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C. This aligns with the Government’s ambitions in the Zero Carbon Bill.
Waste Management Managing Director Tom Nickels says the company has long recognised the part it plays in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and acting sustainably, and was an early signatory to the Climate Leaders Coalition (CLC) last year.
“Over the years we have made significant investment in sustainability initiatives and will continue to do so. The CLC pledge aligns with the work we are already doing and shows how serious we are reducing our emissions for future generations.”
Waste Management’s efforts to reduce GHG emissions include:
- Being the first waste company to achieve independent CEMARS® certification (Certified Emissions Measurement and Reduction Scheme): measuring its business-wide carbon footprint and setting a benchmark for reducing GHGs that are publicly reported on
- Capturing and converting 95% of landfill gas to electricity, powering the equivalent of over 24,000 homes
- Being the first waste company to introduce 100% electric trucks. There are currently 9 EV trucks and the aim is to have 20 by the end of 2019, as well as 100 electric cars and light vehicles
- Opening New Zealand’s largest tyre recycling plant, where around 30,000 tonnes of end-of-life tyres are shredded for conversion into fuel, reducing emissions at cement plants previously burning GHG-intensive fuels such as coal.
Further details of Waste Management’s sustainability initiatives are available in its sustainability strategy For Future Generations.