GFL progressing on climate disclosures.
Objective: Kick off collaborative engagement as part of Climate Engagement Canada (CEC) initiative, ensure company understanding of CEC objectives.
Waste management company GFL Environmental is maturing nicely with its climate-related disclosures, given the company has only been public since 2020. They have produced a second iteration of their sustainability report, and have said they intend to publish their first report aligned to the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) in 2024. We met with them in January as part of a CEC investor collaboration, though NEI had been engaging the company on its own prior to the group meeting, and on the same topics of net-zero commitments and transition plans.
Headquartered in Toronto, GFL provides diversified environmental services across North America in the areas of solid waste management, liquid waste management, and soil remediation. Their “sustainability action plan” includes commitments such as increasing resource recovery and recycling solutions, the capture and use of landfill gas, use of low-carbon fuels in their vehicles, and investing in innovation. What we liked about what we heard in our meeting is that GFL has a clear strategic intention not just to reduce emissions, but to capitalize on the energy transition for the long-term success of their business.
The company is and has been very receptive to our conversations about net-zero strategy, targets, and disclosure. They told us that TCFD is a focus for them, and that they are currently taking steps to prepare for their first report next year. They also said they are revisiting their climate scenario analysis. Overall, we are impressed by GFL’s commitments and progress given their short time as a public company.
Next steps: Organize next touchpoint with the aim of agreeing on priority actions in accordance with CEC guidance, and to review the company’s targets and scenario analysis for alignment with a net-zero pathway.
