16 Mar 2020 07:00
16 March 2020
"Resourceful, Responsible"
Biffa sets out long-term strategy to drive sustainability agenda for UK waste management
· Group's strategy will help unlock an estimated £1.25bn of investment over the next 10 years in UK green economy infrastructure, improving UK recycling and recovery capability
· Ambitious target to reduce emissions by a further 50% by 2030
· Commitments are part of a new ten-year sustainability strategy aligned to the Group's previously outlined investment plans
Biffa plc (LSE:BIFF) ('the Group'), the leading UK sustainable waste management company, has today published its long-term sustainability strategy 'Resourceful, Responsible.'
The strategy, which builds on the Group's long track-record of making a positive contribution to the environment and communities it operates in, outlines Biffa's ambition to drive the sustainability agenda within the UK waste management space for the next ten years. It is underpinned by an ambitious but deliverable plan, which is aligned to Biffa's strategic framework and fully supported by the Group's previously outlined investment plans.
'Resourceful, Responsible' will see Biffa leverage its position as the leading UK sustainable waste management company, further improving its capability to support its customers' recycling efforts by helping to unlock an estimated £1.25bn of much-needed investment in UK green economy infrastructure by 2030. This will be achieved principally through expanding the Group's low carbon collection business, quadrupling the Group's plastic recycling capability and developing Energy from Waste Infrastructure, which the UK needs to manage its own non-recyclable waste more sustainably.
Biffa has also pledged to continue building on the significant progress that it has made in recent years to decarbonise its services, which have already seen the Group reduce its CO2 emissions by 65% since 2002. The Group is targeting a further 50% reduction in emissions by 2030, through increased recycling and diversion from landfill and by improving collection route densities. Medium-term plans also include the phasing out of fossil-fuelled collection vehicles as new electric collection vehicle technology comes on-stream and the installation of solar farms on the Group's estate of closed and restored landfill sites.
Michael Topham, Chief Executive, Biffa plc commented: "'Resourceful, Responsible' fully supports our strategic growth plans and long-term vision, defining the important role Biffa can play in delivering more sustainable solutions to help combat the UK's waste challenge.
"I am very proud of the great progress that we, and the wider industry, have made in recent years to grow recycling levels and drive significant reduction in CO2 emissions, but we recognise there is much more to do.
"'Resourceful, Responsible' is an ambitious but deliverable strategy which is based on proven technologies and is supported by our previously outlined investment plans.
"We look forward to reporting on our progress in the coming years as we deliver this plan and the exciting investment opportunities that it presents to our business."
A full copy of 'Resourceful, Responsible', Biffa's Sustainability Strategy, along with supplementary information can be downloaded from the company's website at: https://www.biffa.co.uk/sustainability
Enquiries
Houston
Kate Hoare/Anushka Mathew / Ben Robinson E: biffa@houston.co.ukT: 0203 701 7660
About Biffa
Biffa is the UK's leading sustainable waste management business. We have over 8,000 employees working across more than 200 sites to change the way people think about waste. We operate across the waste management value chain, including the collection, treatment, processing and disposal of waste, as well as the production and sale of recovered commodities such as energy, paper, glass, metals and plastic. We are first choice for customers, with our national customer base including local authorities, large corporates and SMEs, and purchasers of end-product commodities and energy. We are structured into two divisions: Collections and Resources & Energy. In FY19, the Group's total revenue was £1,091.2m and its Underlying EBITDA was £150.7m. Biffa has been listed on the London Stock Exchange since October 2016 under the ticker "BIFF" and is a constituent of the FTSE 250.
For more information please visit www.biffa.co.uk