MORRISTOWN, N.J., Dec. 18, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Covanta (NYSE:
CVA), a world leader in sustainable waste and energy solutions,
today announced the release of its latest Sustainability Report,
which provides a detailed look at the company's substantial
progress in sustainability and outlines a set of new initiatives
and goals.
"At Covanta, our business is sustainability," said Covanta
President and CEO Stephen J. Jones.
"Every day we work to protect tomorrow through practical solutions
that address significant societal challenges and have a positive
impact on our environment. However, we believe there is more that
we can do. Our sustainability goals drive us to innovate, grow and
challenge our team to reach new heights as we seek to ensure no
waste is ever wasted."
The latest report is the company's fourth since 2010 and tracks
the progress of Covanta's key sustainability focus areas, including
Materials Management, Environmental, Community Relations, Safety
and Health, and Workforce Engagement. Highlights from the report
include:
- Reduced safety incidents by 31 percent year-over-year
and recognized for excellence with 33 of Covanta facilities
designated as U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Voluntary Protection Program Star sites
- Diverted 20.6 million tons of waste from landfills –
enough to fill a six-lane highway with garbage trucks, bumper to
bumper, from Los Angeles to
New York City
- Reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 18.5
million metric tons – equivalent to pulling nearly 4 million
cars off the road
- Recycled 933,000 tons of metal, industrial wastewater and
other resources – enough to build six Golden Gate Bridges and
fill 129 Olympic swimming pools
- Expanded development pipeline in the UK to four advanced
projects, totaling 1.5 million metric tons of annual
capacity
- Commenced construction on the first Total Ash Processing
System, which will mine ash for valuable materials, including
metals and aggregate, and reduce residual waste sent to landfills
by up to 65 percent
- Destroyed or diverted over 2 million pounds of hazardous
and/or hard to dispose materials, including derelict fishing
gear and marine debris, products containing mercury, and unused
pharmaceuticals
- Committed to CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion,
the largest CEO-driven business commitment to advance diversity and
inclusion within the workplace
"In all that we do, we look to address the three pillars of
sustainability: people, planet and prosperity," said Paul Gilman, Ph.D., Covanta's chief
sustainability officer. "It is the driving force behind our
business, but it is not limited to managing waste and generating
renewable energy. Instead, our view of sustainability extends to
providing our employees with a diverse and safe workplace, being a
good neighbor in the communities where we operate and driving our
environmental impacts down to zero. We've made tremendous progress,
but we recognize there is more that we can do. As we have surpassed
several of our targets, we've added new commitments in this year's
report to continue our progress. Our new goals are ambitious but
achievable, and we are looking forward the work that lies ahead to
achieve them."
New goal performance indicators include:
- Set a science-based greenhouse gas reduction target:
Develop a plan by 2022 to help prevent the most significant impacts
of global climate change
- Reduce environmental impacts: Implement five projects by
2023 to further reduce emissions, focused in Environmental Justice
communities
- Foster a diverse and inclusive workforce: Continue to
increase the share of diverse gender and race/ethnicity
representation at all levels of the organization, and more
specifically in leadership positions
- Use leading indicators to improve safety: Develop and
implement behavioral safety observation process to capture and
report data by 2020
The complete report, prepared in accordance with the latest
Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines, is available at
http://covanta-csr.com.
About Covanta
Covanta is a world leader in providing sustainable waste and
energy solutions. Annually, Covanta's modern Energy-from-Waste
facilities safely convert approximately 21 million tons of waste
from municipalities and businesses into clean, renewable
electricity to power one million homes and recycle 500,000 tons of
metal. Through a vast network of treatment and recycling
facilities, Covanta also provides comprehensive industrial material
management services to companies seeking solutions to some of
today's most complex environmental challenges. For more
information, visit www.covanta.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release may constitute
"forward-looking" statements as defined in Section 27A of the
Securities Act of 1933 (the "Securities Act"), Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act"), the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "PSLRA") or in
releases made by the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"),
all as may be amended from time to time. Such forward-looking
statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other
important factors that could cause the actual results, performance
or achievements of Covanta Holding Corporation, its subsidiaries
and joint ventures or industry results, to differ materially from
any future results, performance or achievements expressed or
implied by such forward-looking statements. Statements that are not
historical facts are forward-looking statements. For additional
information see the Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements in the Company's 10-K, previously filed with the
SEC.
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SOURCE Covanta Holding Corporation