Casella Waste Systems, Inc. published its 2024 Sustainability Report, outlining its progress toward five key sustainability metrics, while highlighting significant achievements in several areas since its last report was issued in 2022. 鈥淲ith this year鈥檚 report, we are pleased to highlight several areas of achievement, and exceedingly proud that our commitment to our team continues to shine through in several areas of reporting,鈥� said聽Casella Chairman聽and Chief Executive Officer,聽John W. Casella. 鈥淭he investments we have made in our people, infrastructure, and logistics have had a positive impact on the sustainability and strength of our business, while also benefiting our customers and the communities we serve.鈥�
The Casella team has grown by more than 32% since 2022 and is approaching 5,000 total employees. Even with its growth, the company reported continued improvement in its safety performance, with its total recordable incident rate (TRIR) dropping nearly 20% in 2023. A key contributor to improving safety performance has been the company鈥檚 success in filling vacancies and maintaining near-full staffing levels, buoyed by the more than 300 drivers and technicians who have successfully trained at the company鈥檚 Kenneth A. Hier Sr. CDL Training Center with a focus on safety, service, and commitment to excellence.
To ensure that the company鈥檚 commitment to safety is felt from the front line to the back office, Casella enhanced its annual incentive compensation plans so all bonus plans include a goal to improve safety and reduce turnover year over year. 鈥淪afety is critically important to our success, and it is imperative that everyone shares in the commitment to achieving this goal,鈥� Casella said.
Another milestone in the report was the announcement of the successful achievement of Casella鈥檚 community giving goal, well ahead of the 2030 timeline, as the company contributed more than $2.2 million in charitable donations, local sponsorships, and in-kind services. With the achievement comes the establishment of the Casella Foundation to support qualified non-profit charitable organizations demonstrating community impact in environmental and natural resource conservation, and the company鈥檚 announcement of a focus on employee volunteering for its next community engagement goal.
鈥淲e believe that investing in the communities where we operate, beyond the services we provide, is paramount to building and nurturing sustainable communities for the long term,鈥� Casella said. 鈥淭hrough continued contributions and volunteer services we are able to play a vital role in creating and sharing value throughout our operations.鈥�
鈥淲e estimate that for every ton of greenhouse gas we emitted through our operations, we helped prevent more than five tons of greenhouse gas emissions elsewhere in the economy through our recycling, renewable energy, and carbon sequestration services,鈥� Casella said. 鈥淭his accomplishment reflects our focus on simultaneously reducing our emissions and growing our emission-reducing services. We expect progress will continue as we work to advance renewable natural gas infrastructure and make further upgrades to recycling infrastructure.鈥�
Continued investments in infrastructure, innovation, and education have the company positioned to achieve its materials management goal of recycling more than 2 million tons in 2030. The demand for recycled content continues to grow as manufacturers seek to meet their respective recycled content and circularity goals, and Casella is positioned to meet those demands.
鈥淪ince 2019, we have increased amount of material we recycle by more than 36%, representing nearly 400,000 tons recyclables being put to a higher and better use,鈥� Casella said. 鈥淚n 2023, we completed a full retrofit of our largest recycling facility, while adding new facilities in New York and Pennsylvania through acquisition. Further investments in the critical infrastructure required to help achieve our materials management goals are scheduled to occur in Connecticut and Pennsylvania, positioning us to see tonnage growth in 2024 and beyond.鈥�