Casella Waste Systems Publishes Its 2020 Sustainability Report; Announces 2030 Sustainability Goals

RUTLAND, Vt., Dec. 15, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: CWST) published its 2020 Sustainability Report today, outlining the company’s progress toward its sustainability vision, and sharing a roadmap for the next ten years. A pioneer in sustainable waste and recycling innovation, Casella established the first recycling facility in Vermont in 1977, was a charter member of the EPA Climate Leaders program, and this report is the company’s fifth biennial report on its sustainability activities.

“We have spent most of our 45-year history building a business around sustainability through the work we do, the infrastructure we build, and the expertise we bring to challenges like recycling and resource management,” said John Casella, Chairman and CEO. “We have set our sights on creating a sustainable business culture – from our people to our operations – and creating more sustainable value, especially for our customers but for all our stakeholders as well.”

With this report, the company announces ten sustainability goals for the year 2030. The goals were selected through a materiality assessment process aimed at identifying the company’s most significant impacts on and opportunities to improve society, natural resources, and the environment.

While some goals focus on lessening negative impacts (e.g., reducing Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions), many of the goals focus on amplifying beneficial impacts (e.g., increasing tons recycled to 2 million tons per year, and doubling the company’s renewable energy production).

One goal aims to grow the company’s Net Climate Benefit Factor, a measure of the climate benefit of its recycling, energy, and sequestration activities divided by its scope 1 and 2 emissions. The company, using USEPA factors, calculates that it currently reduces or prevents 2.9 tons of emissions for every ton it emits, and aims to grow this factor to 5x by 2030.

“This Report represents real progress, not only in the sophistication of our sustainability reporting, but in telling the story of how ingrained and important these efforts are to our present and future success as a company,” Casella said. “Our industry is evolving and our company is proud to be one of the leaders of this evolution.”

As the only waste and recycling company among the founding members of the EPA Climate Leaders program, Casella reduced its carbon footprint by 45% from 2005 to 2010. The company’s climate achievements were recognized in 2012 by the EPA, the Association of Climate Change Officers, the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, and the Climate Registry with a Climate Leadership Award for Excellence in GHG management. Casella’s first sustainability report was issued in 2009.

In response to growing stakeholder interest in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) disclosures, the company also this year issued a Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) report, filed a CDP Climate report, and launched an ESG hub on its website.

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About Casella Waste Systems, Inc.

Casella Waste Systems, Inc., headquartered in Rutland, Vermont, provides solid waste management services consisting of collection, transfer, disposal, and recycling services in the northeastern United States. For further information, investors should contact Ned Coletta, chief financial officer at (802) 772-2239, and media should contact Joseph Fusco, vice president at (802) 772-2247, or visit the company’s website at .

Safe Harbor Statement

Certain matters discussed in this press release, including, but not limited to, the statements regarding the Company’s intentions, beliefs or current expectations concerning the additional disposal capacity at the NCES landfill and the Company’s ability to meet the disposal and resource management needs of its customers and New Hampshire, are "forward-looking statements" intended to qualify for the safe harbors from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can generally be identified as such by the context of the statements, including words such as “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “plan,” “may,” “would,” “intend,” “estimate,” "will," “guidance” and other similar expressions, whether in the negative or affirmative. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about the industry and markets in which the Company operates and management’s beliefs and assumptions. The Company cannot guarantee that it actually will achieve the plans, intentions, expectations or guidance disclosed in the forward-looking statements made. Such forward-looking statements, and all phases of the Company’s operations, involve a number of risks and uncertainties, any one or more of which could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in its forward-looking statements.

Such risks and uncertainties include or relate to, among other things, the following: it is challenging to predict the duration and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic and its negative effect on the economy, our operations and financial results; policies adopted by China and other countries will further restrict imports of recyclable materials into those countries and have a further material impact on the Company’s financial results; adverse weather conditions may negatively impact the Company's revenues and its operating margin; the Company may be unable to increase volumes at its landfills or improve its route profitability; the economics of recycling programs may cause municipalities to reconsider the viability of continuing these programs; the Company's need to service its indebtedness may limit its ability to invest in its business; landfill operations and permit status may be affected by factors outside the Company's control; the Company may be required to incur capital expenditures in excess of its estimates; the Company's insurance coverage and self-insurance reserves may be inadequate to cover all of its significant risk exposures; and fluctuations in energy pricing or the commodity pricing of its recyclables may make it more difficult for the Company to predict its results of operations or meet its estimates. There are a number of other important risks and uncertainties that could cause the Company’s actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements. These additional risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, those detailed in Item 1A, “Risk Factors” in the Company's Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019, and in other filings that the Company may make with the Securities and Exchange Commission in the future. The Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

Investors:

Ned Coletta

Chief Financial Officer

(802) 772-2239

Media:

Joseph Fusco

Vice President

(802) 772-2247