Republic Services Details Sustainability Progress in 2022 Report

Republic Services published its latest sustainability report, demonstrating its progress with various climate-based initiatives.

The Phoenix-based company highlighted its 2030 goals in the areas of workplace safety, talent acquisition and retention, climate leadership and communities.

Jon Vander Ark, president and CEO, commented: "Republic Services' long-term sustainability goals are designed to deliver both economic and environmental sustainability while meeting the needs of our customers. We continue to accelerate progress toward our Climate Leadership goals, with strategic initiatives underway to advance circularity, reduce fleet emissions and decarbonize operations."

Among the greatest areas of success was the company's efforts toward reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Republic announced it achieved a 9.3 percent reduction of GHG emissions over the 2017 baseline year, bringing it close to its 10% reduction target by 2025.

Republic also moved forward with its goal of reducing total recordable incident rate (TRIR) by 2030. The company's TRIR came in at 28 percent better than the OSHA industry average, a 19 percent improvement year over year.

Talent retention and acquisition continues to be one of the top priorities for the company. Republic recorded 45 percent diversity at the leadership level. It also allocated $75.8 million towards "certified diverse suppliers," ahead of its goal of $150 million by 2025.

"We’re committed to maintaining our highly inclusive culture and expanding opportunities for an even wider pool of candidates," Vander Ark noted, adding that Republic also removed the college degree requirement from most of its roles.

In a drive toward electrification, Republic announced half of its new truck purchases by 2028 will be EV-powered.

Read the entire report here.