Operational Waste Production

The Impaakt Team

8 min Read Time | March 21st 2023

Key Takeaways

When rating the value of a company’s impact, consider the absolute impact described. This is the direct impact caused by the unsustainably managed waste generated by a company’s operations. How negative do you consider impacts related to waste disposed of unsustainably, like landfilling, and incineration without energy recovery to be?

When rating the scale of a company’s impact, evaluate the amount of waste disposed of unsustainably, the types of waste (hazardous and non-hazardous) generated and the impact waste has on the environment as well as how likely/easily it is to be reversed.

Remember to keep the score in perspective. Companies manufacture and make available a wide range of necessary products and generate waste as a byproduct of their manufacturing activities. In this sense, the company’s operational waste should be rated as a cost of the company’s core product contributions to society.

How does industrial operational waste harm the environment?

The world generates an estimated 23 billion tonnes of waste yearly, with the majority coming from industrial, mining, construction, and agricultural activities. Improper waste management degrades soil, contaminates water sources, pollutes air, and exacerbates global warming, ultimately contributing to biodiversity loss. The extent to which waste contributes to environmental degradation varies greatly depending on its toxicity. While inert waste does not decompose or chemically interact with the environment, hazardous waste and bio-contaminated organic waste can severely impact habitats if not managed correctly. It is essential to understand that waste poses a multi-dimensional problem with varied implications. The impact of a company’s operational waste generation will depend on the quantity of waste generated and not managed properly, the type of waste generated, its disposal methods, and how likely it is to persist before degrading. Proper waste disposal, recycling, and repurposing can significantly curb its impact on the environment.
👉Note: Impact topics are a set of social and environmental impacts identified by the Impaakt Team to provide an additional layer of complex insight into measuring current impact. They range from general themes like Greenhouse Gas emissions and Job Creation to industry-specific topics such as Gentrification and Water Pollution. Check our Frameworks section for more information.

Sources: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

Frameworks

How do we incorporate the topic of Operational Waste Production into multiple categories within our frameworks?

SDG Choice

Sdg 12

SDG 12 aims to ensure sustainable production and consumption practices. Managing and reporting waste production relates to this goal.

Impact Category choice

Impact category

Products: the impact is generated while using the company’s products/services (Eg: Biofuels, Chemicals, Metals & Mining, etc.).

Investment Leaders Group (ILG) theme:

IGL theme

Operational Waste Production best relates to the theme of Resource Security (The preservation of natural resources through efficient and circular use).

SDG Choice

Sdg 12

SDG 12 aims to ensure sustainable production and consumption practices. Managing and reporting waste production relates to this goal.

Impact Category choice

Impact category

Products: the impact is generated while using the company’s products/services (Eg: Biofuels, Chemicals, Metals & Mining, etc.).

Investment Leaders Group (ILG) theme:

IGL theme

Operational Waste Production best relates to the theme of Resource Security (The preservation of natural resources through efficient and circular use).

Get familiar with the 5 steps to get started as an Impaakt rater

Before building skills for a specific topic, make sure to read our Knowledge Center: Rating for Impaakt. This resource outlines the 5 steps necessary to get started as a rater and provides key information about our metrics. By going through this guide, you will ensure that you are well-informed to provide accurate ratings on any given topic.

How to rate the topic

Value


Value is the absolute impact the topic has on the planet or society. To assess the value you need to think about how positive or negative you consider the topic and the impact described.

The value is linked to the topic treated and not to the company’s specific impact. Thus, the value should hold some consistency across industries.

When deciding your rating on the value, ask yourself:
How negative do you consider impacts related to operational waste production, like soil and water pollution, to be?
Note: Due to the nature of this topic, it should be rated negative or strongly negative.


Scale


The scale is related to the company’s impact. It consists of three dimensions: Breadth, Depth, and Persistence.

Breadth

The breadth captures the range or extent of the company’s impact and it is related to the quantitative part of the analysis. For this topic, the breadth is multi-dimensional and can be addressed from different angles considering what is disclosed in the analysis.
When deciding the breadth, answer the following questions:
  • How vast is the company’s impact?
  • How much unsustainably managed waste was generated by the company?
  • How much of the waste was hazardous and non-hazardous?

Depth

Depth is related to the complexity and profundity of the impact described (i.e., it's related to the extent of the impact).
When deciding the depth, answer the following questions:
  • How profound is the impact?
  • How severe is the impact caused by the company’s waste?
  • What type of waste is the company improperly managing and how is this waste affecting ecosystems?

Persistence

Persistence evaluates the impact of the company over time (i.e., is linked to the duration of the impact described)
When deciding the persistence, answer the following questions:
  • How long-lasting is the impact described?
  • How long will the landfilled waste take to decompose?
  • How has the company managed its waste over time?
  • Have the amounts of waste that are unsustainably disposed of by the company increased over the years?
  • How long will it take for the altered ecosystem to recover?

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