Commercial, Energy Efficiency, GHG Emissions  -  February 26, 2025

GFL Environmental Raises Emissions Target

GFL Environmental recently increased its GHG emissions reduction target to a 30% absolute reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030 from a 2021 base year.

The Vaughan, Ontario-based diversified environmental services company derived its increased target level by aligning with science-aligned pathways for three distinct sources of emissions in its operations: the Global Methane Assessment (GMA), the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi), and the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) pathway to Net Zero, according to a statement.

GFL Environmental also plans to lower direct GHG emissions from its operations, primarily through increased gas capture at its landfills, the use of alternative fuel vehicles in its fleet and the use of renewable electricity at its facilities.

The company published its first climate report aligned with the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). 

GFL Environmental's Sustainability Action Plan provides sustainable solutions to its customers that enable them to increase avoided GHG emissions within their own footprint. These solutions include resource recovery solutions through materials recovery and recycling solutions and the beneficial use of landfill gas as a source of renewable energy.

The company’s investments in new technology include:

• Material recovery facilities that employ advanced sorting technologies and drive diversion from landfill, preserve virgin resources, reduce GHG emissions and contribute to a lower carbon future.
  
  
• Landfill gas to energy facilities that capture biogas and convert the captured gas into electricity or renewable natural gas (RNG) for use by households and commercial establishments or as a source of fuel for vehicles. The Sustainability Action Plan includes a goal to double the beneficial use of biogas by 2030.
  
  
• A growing compressed natural gas (CNG) fleet that uses clean natural gas to power solid waste collection vehicles. The Sustainability Action Plan includes a goal to increase the percentage of CNG trucks in the fleet with at least 50% of its annual replacement of diesel solid waste vehicles with CNG or alternative fuel vehicles. In addition, by 2030, at least 85% of the CNG fleet will be powered by RNG fuel, including RNG produced from the company's landfills.