Currently, the world generates some two billion tons of waste annually, and by 2050 it’s estimated that there could be more plastic in the oceans by weight, than fish. The linear take, make and dispose economic model which has led to so much waste, has dominated for the past century, but this is no longer sustainable.
Moving to a more ‘circular economy’ means, for example, waste from production and consumption becomes a resource to be recycled and reused. As well as reducing waste this approach can provide both environmental and economic benefits.
We invest in companies helping to create a more circular economy and dealing with the ever-growing accumulation of waste that we as a society are producing.
Here's an example of one of the companies we have invested in to help with the waste reduction challenge.
Republic Services, Inc. is an industry leader in U.S. recycling and non-hazardous solid waste disposal. Dedicated to doing their part to preserve the environment by creating a cleaner, safer and healthier world where people thrive – not just for today, but for generations to come.
Republic services provide solutions to growing waste levels from population growth and promote sustainable waste collection practices. There initiatives include powering their trucks partly by natural gas. By doing this Republic have conserved 26 million gallons of diesel every year. Republic also run projects which create energy from the gases produced by landfill sites - around 250,000 houses can be powered by this energy.
Last year Republic Services recycled enough to fill more than 48 football fields. This incredible drive designed to stop waste and pollution, keep products and materials in use, and regenerate natural systems, makes Republic Service a leading force in sustainability. To keep them on track they have signed up to some ambitious Blue Plant Goals to achieve by 2030. These include reducing greenhouse gas emissions from their landfill sites, fleet and buildings by 35%. The Blue Planet goals closely align to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that reflect the urgent environmental, political and economic challenges facing our world. Republic's goals support four of the SDGs where they believe their scale and efforts can make the most difference.
To find out more about how Republic Services is helping to save the planet visit their website.
The value and income from a fund’s assets will go down as well as up. This will cause the value of your investment to fall as well as rise and you may get back less than you originally invested.
*Information sourced from company literature