Environmental Stewardship

Protecting Our Environment

Covanta takes its role as an environmental steward and global citizen very seriously. Protecting our natural resources for future generations is a fundamental principal of Covanta's mission.

In terms of our core business, Covanta offers renewable energy and environmentally friendly waste disposal solutions that:

• Offset greenhouse gases and combat global warming
• Reduce the amount of waste landfilled, thereby protecting open space 
• Protect the environment by employing state-of-the-art equipment and systems
• Maximize recycling and the reuse of resources (water, metals and ash)

We have adopted an Environmental Policy that consists of five principals:

1. Protection - We will conduct our business in an environmentally sound manner that is protective of human health and the environment.
2. Compliance - We will manage our work to ensure compliance with all applicable environmental regulations and requirements.
3. Conservation - We will minimize impact to the environment by encouraging pollution prevention at the source, waste minimization, facilitating use of recycling opportunities and responsible disposal of any production by-products.
4. Qualification - We will ensure that all employees have the necessary information, resources, and training to make informed environmental decisions.
5. Commitment - Covanta is committed to be an industry leader in environmental protection by achieving superior awareness and performance through a process of continuous improvement.

Energy-from-Waste is the most responsible means of solid waste disposal.  It reduces the volume of waste, which must ultimately be disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner, generates valuable renewable energy, and results in a net reduction of greenhouse gas emissions when compared to conventional landfilling practices. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Energy-from-Waste facilities generate power "with less environmental impact than almost any other source of electricity."

Nearly all of Covanta's facilities are "renewable,” using municipal solid waste, landfill gas, wood and hydro power to generate electricity, while reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. Covanta processes approximately 20 million tons of municipal solid waste each year conserving over 25,000,000 cubic yards of landfill space and generating 9,000,000-megawatt hours of electricity, the equivalent of burning 3.5 million tons of coal. All of Covanta's Energy-from-Waste projects feature state-of-the-art air pollution controls.

Covanta's efforts in pursuing environmental excellence have been widely recognized, as evidenced by the partial list below:

• Covanta Energy received the Energy Innovator Award from the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
• Covanta U.S. facilities have consistently been recognized by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers for excellence in plant operations.
• Covanta Alexandria admitted to the Virginia Environmental Excellence Program.
• Covanta Honolulu received the KOA Community Environmental Achievement Award
• Covanta Kent received the Michigan Clean Corporate Citizen designation
• Covanta Lake received the Council for Sustainable Florida's "Sustainable Florida Promising Practices for Outstanding Achievement" award
• Covanta Mid-Connecticut received a U.S. EPA New England Environmental Merit Award
• Covanta Montgomery received the SWANA Waste-to-Energy Excellence Award
• Covanta SECONN received an EPA Environmental Merit Award

As an adjunct to our core business, we regularly participate in a variety of activities, examples of which include sponsoring specialized environmental clean-up programs, supporting vocational training programs, arranging for the provision of supplemental health care services in developing countries and responding to devastation resulting from natural disasters. Covanta strives to be a good neighbor and serve the communities in which we are located and in furtherance of that objective, we encourage each of our facilities to take an active role in their local communities and to contribute to charitable and civic activities.