Contribution to United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

How Biffa makes an impact

Keeping our people safe and well is our absolute priority. We encourage our employees to adopt good wellbeing practices in and out of work and put in place new policies and programmes to support our people throughout the pandemic, including a real focus on mental health.

Our targets in this area

Lost Time Injury Rate
2025: 25% reduction to Lost Time Injury rate
2030: 50% reduction to Lost Time Injury rate

How Biffa makes an impact

We are providing training to develop the skills needed by waste and sustainability sectors now and in the future and have also invested in a comprehensive portfolio of e-learning modules, allowing all our employees access to relevant and timely learning content. 

Our targets in this area

Staff Training
2025: Increase the number of training interventions per employee by 30%
2030: Double the number of training interventions per employee

How Biffa makes an impact

Through our landfill gas capture, we generate enough low-carbon electricity to power around 117,000 homes from 38 locations across the UK. We’re building two energy from waste plants which will produce enough sustainable energy to power approximately a further 170,000 homes.

Our targets in this area

Energy from Waste facilities

• 2025: Completion of build and commissioning of two new low carbon energy from waste plants
• 2030: Both low carbon energy from waste plants optimised and complying with all environmental permits

Solar Power

• 2025: Develop 50MW of renewable energy capacity through installation of solar farms on our landfill estate subject to feasibility assessments and approvals
• 2030: Develop 100MW of renewable energy capacity through installation of solar farms on our landfill estate subject to feasibility assessments and approvals

How Biffa makes an impact

Sustainable waste management is a key driver for improving environmental, health, social and financial outcomes. We play a vital role in helping the UK to address the climate change emergency and deliver sustainable economic growth.

We are committed to treating our people well, paying them fairly, keeping them safe and providing them with opportunities to develop.

Our targets in this area

Economic Growth

Recycling plastics in the UK

• 2025: All waste plastics which Biffa trades from our sorting and transfer facilities to be recycled within UK.
• 2030: All waste plastics which Biffa trades from our sorting and transfer facilities continue being recycled within UK with other commodities also recycled in UK subject to commercially viable UK end markets and infrastructure availability.

Plastics recycling capacity

• 2025: Triple plastic recycling capability
• 2030: Quadruple plastic recycling capability

Increase recycling collections

• 2025: Expand our low-carbon collection business to collect 25% more business waste for recycling
• 2030: Expand our low-carbon collection business to collect 50% more business waste for recycling

Full & Productive Employment & Decent Work for All

Living wage Foundation

• 2025: Employees to be paid according to Living Foundation rates, where possible. All new Local Authority tenders to encourage and propose Living Wage unless not supported by Local Authority Clients for long term contracts
• 2030: Create a Living Wage workplace and be a member of the Living Wage Foundation

Diversity and Inclusion

• 2025: Increase the diversity of the workforce including a higher percentage of women in senior management roles.
• 2030: Create an inclusive culture by promoting inclusive leadership behaviours with the ambition of creating a representative workforce

Employee Engagement

• 2025: To be a top quartile business for employee engagement. To be externally recognised as an exemplary employer.
• 2030: To consistently be a top quartile business for Employee Engagement

Preventing Modern Slavery

• 2025: Maintain zero tolerance on modern slavery and be an acknowledged market leader in anti-slavery practices within the UK Waste sector
• 2030: Maintain zero tolerance on modern slavery and be an acknowledged market leader in anti-slavery practices within the UK Waste sector

How Biffa makes an impact:

We are making significant investments in our recycling capabilities as well as partnering with established, expert operators, to build the energy from waste infrastructure that the UK needs to manage waste sustainably. 

Our targets in this area:

Plastics recycling capacity

• 2025: Triple plastic recycling capability
• 2030: Quadruple plastic recycling capability

Recycling plastics in the UK

• 2025: All waste plastics which Biffa trades from our sorting and transfer facilities to be recycled within UK
• 2030: All waste plastics which Biffa trades from our sorting and transfer facilities continue being recycled within UK with other commodities also recycled in UK subject to commercially viable UK end markets and infrastructure availability

Increase recycling collections

• 2025: Expand our low-carbon collection business to collect 25% more business waste for recycling
• 2030: Expand our low-carbon collection business to collect 50% more business waste for recycling

Energy from Waste facilities

• 2025: Completion of build and commissioning of two new low carbon energy from waste plants
• 2030: Both low carbon energy from waste plants optimised and complying with all environmental permits

How Biffa makes an impact

Biffa is committed to being an inclusive employer, ensuring fair and equal opportunities for all employees. 

Our targets in this area:

Diversity and Inclusion

• 2025: Increase the diversity of the workforce including a higher percentage of women in senior management roles.
• 2030: Create an inclusive culture by promoting inclusive leadership behaviours with the ambition of creating a representative workforce

Supporting local communities

• 2025: £15 million delivered to local community and UK partnership scheme projects through Biffa Award
• 2030: £25 million delivered to local community and UK partnership scheme projects through Biffa Award

Preventing Modern Slavery

• 2025: Maintain zero tolerance on modern slavery and be an acknowledged market leader in anti-slavery practices within the UK Waste sector
• 2030: Maintain zero tolerance on modern slavery and be an acknowledged market leader in anti-slavery practices within the UK Waste sector

How Biffa makes an impact:

We are contributing to a sustainable future built around a circular economy; educating our customers, government and the wider public to use materials responsibly and reusing as much as possible.

We support cities with good waste management practices and collections which improves the urban environment. This year we launched the UK’s largest fleet of electric refuse collection vehicles.

Our targets in this area:

Increase recycling collections

• 2025: Expand our low-carbon collection business to collect 25% more business waste for recycling
• 2030: Expand our low-carbon collection business to collect 50% more business waste for recycling

Sustainable waste management advisory services

• 2025: Provide all waste service customers with sustainable waste management advisory services including waste reduction and re-use options
• 2030: Retain sustainable waste management advisory services to all waste service customers including waste reduction and re-use options

Plastics recycling capacity

• 2025: Triple plastic recycling capability
• 2030: Quadruple plastic recycling capability

Increase collection route efficiencies

• 2025: Increase collection route efficiency by 10%
• 2030: Increase collection route efficiency by 20%

Transport inert waste to landfill by rail, instead of road

• 2025: 50% of our inputs to landfill by rail
• 2030: Dependant of availability of rail served landfill

Electric vehicles and alternative fuels

• 2025: Introduce 10% non-fossil fuelled collection vehicles, subject to market availability and capability
• 2030: Cease buying fossil-fuelled collection vehicles by 2030 and have no fossil fuelled vehicles by 2040

CO2 emissions reduction

• 2025: 30% reduction in carbon emissions
• 2030: 50% reduction in carbon emissions
• 2050: Net zero emissions

How Biffa makes an impact

Our aim is to pioneer and operate the UK’s leading waste reduction and surplus produce redistribution services. Through our acquisition of Company Shop Group, we are enabling some of the UK’s biggest operators to unlock sustainable value from the 141,000 tonnes of quality surplus food, beverage and household products that are produced in the UK each year.

We are developing recycling solutions which strengthen the UK circular economy, and which have an important role to play in reducing plastic pollution within the UK.

We are tackling climate change by eliminating fossil fuelled vehicles from our fleet by 2040. 

Our targets in this area:

Plastics recycling capacity

• 2025: Triple plastic recycling capability
• 2030: Quadruple plastic recycling capability

Recycling plastics in the UK

• 2025: All waste plastics which Biffa trades from our sorting and transfer facilities to be recycled within UK
• 2030: All waste plastics which Biffa trades from our sorting and transfer facilities continue being recycled within UK with other commodities also recycled in UK subject to commercially viable UK end markets and infrastructure availability.

Electric vehicles and alternative fuels

• 2025: Introduce 10% non-fossil fuelled collection vehicles, subject to market availability and capability
• 2030: Cease buying fossil-fuelled collection vehicles by 2030 and have no fossil fuelled vehicles by 2040

Purchase renewable energy

• 2025: Buy 100% renewable electricity
• 2030: Maintain 100% renewable electricity purchasing

Sustainable waste management advisory services

• 2025: Provide all waste service customers with sustainable waste management advisory services including waste reduction and re-use options.
• 2030: Retain sustainable waste management advisory services to all waste service customers including waste reduction and re-use options

How Biffa makes an impact

Climate change is a global emergency that requires action now. Our services deliver carbon reductions for waste producers. Decarbonisation means growing our services, whilst reducing our carbon footprint and maximising carbon savings wherever we can, for ourselves and our customers. 

Our targets in this area:

CO2 emissions reduction

• 2025: 30% reduction in carbon emissions
• 2030: 50% reduction in carbon emissions
• 2050: Net zero emissions

Increase collection route efficiencies

• 2025: Increase collection route efficiency by 10%
• 2030: Increase collection route efficiency by 20%

Transport inert waste to landfill by rail, instead of road

• 2025: 50% of our inputs to landfill by rail
• 2030: Dependant of availability of rail served landfill

Electric vehicles and alternative fuels

• 2025: Introduce 10% non-fossil fuelled collection vehicles, subject to market availability and capability
• 2030: Cease buying fossil-fuelled collection vehicles by 2030 and have no fossil fuelled vehicles by 2040

Purchase renewable energy

• 2025: Buy 100% renewable electricity
• 2030: Maintain 100% renewable electricity purchasing

Solar Power

• 2025: Develop 50MW of renewable energy capacity through installation of solar farms on our landfill estate subject to feasibility assessments and approvals
• 2030: Develop 100MW of renewable energy capacity through installation of solar farms on our landfill estate subject to feasibility assessments and approvals

How Biffa makes an impact

Public awareness and interest in issues such as ocean plastics and single-use plastics is high, fuelled by a global desire to tackle climate change. We’re doing our bit to prevent ocean acidity and protect all marine life by:

• Providing circular economy infrastructure to enable the UK to recycle more at home, reducing the dependence on export and maintaining better control over how the waste is managed.
• Cutting our emissions by 50% by 2030 and to reach net zero emissions by no later than 2050, in line with Government targets.
• Supporting WasteAid, an independent UK charity, set up by waste management professionals to share practical and low-cost waste management knowledge with communities in developing countries. 

Our targets in this area:

Plastics recycling capacity

• 2025: Triple plastic recycling capability
• 2030: Quadruple plastic recycling capability

Recycling plastics in the UK

• 2025: All waste plastics which Biffa trades from our sorting and transfer facilities to be recycled within UK
• 2030: All waste plastics which Biffa trades from our sorting and transfer facilities continue being recycled within UK with other commodities also recycled in UK subject to commercially viable UK end markets and infrastructure availability

CO2 emissions reduction

• 2025: 30% reduction in carbon emissions
• 2030: 50% reduction in carbon emissions
• 2050: Net zero emissions

How Biffa makes an impact

Awareness of the importance of biodiversity to our planet has increased in recent years with high profile programmes highlighting the devastating effects of climate change to life on land, such as deforestation. Many species that are vital to our ecosystem are now in danger of extinction and there is pressure from the public for this to stop.

At Biffa, our landfill portfolio offers great opportunity to support pollinators and biodiversity. Once our landfills are full, we restore them, creating sites for recreation, nature or livestock.

Our targets in this area:

• 2025: Manage 20% of estate for biodiversity
• 2030: Manage 30% of estate for biodiversity

How Biffa makes an impact

Partnerships drive improvements, in our industry and beyond. We work with others in the UK and internationally to build good waste management infrastructures, support a circular economy and support our communities.

UK

• Biffa Award is a multi-million-pound environment fund managed by Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts (RSWT), which utilises landfill tax credits donated by Biffa. The aim of Biffa Award is to support projects that will be of a lasting environmental benefit, improve quality of life and foster "vibrant communities". 

Developing Countries

• Waste management is often taken for granted in the developed world, however this is not the case in developing countries where 1 in 3 people globally do not have access to a basic waste management service.  Biffa supports WasteAid, an independent UK charity, set up by waste management professionals to share practical and low-cost waste management knowledge with communities in developing countries.

Our targets in this area:

Supporting local communities;

• 2025: £15 million delivered to local community and UK partnership scheme projects through Biffa Award
• 2030: £25 million delivered to local community and UK partnership scheme projects through Biffa Award