Core Business Impact (Treating Waste)

The Impaakt Team

8 min Read Time | March 21st 2023

Key Takeaways

When rating the value of a company’s impact, consider the absolute impact described. This is the direct impact caused by the companies through the provision of products/services in assisting individuals and organizations to effectively manage their waste.

How positive do you consider impacts related to proper management, disposal, recycling, and repurposing of waste that can significantly curb the negative impact on human health and the environment to be?

When rating the severity of a company’s impact, evaluate the amount of waste effectively managed by the company, the geographical reach, the type of waste handled, and the methods opted for disposal.

How are companies' impacting on the world through treating waste?

The world generates an estimated 23 billion tonnes of waste yearly, with the majority coming from industrial, mining, construction, and agricultural activities. Improper waste management degrades soil, contaminates water sources, pollutes air, and exacerbates global warming, ultimately contributing to biodiversity loss. The extent to which waste contributes to environmental degradation varies greatly depending on its toxicity. While inert waste does not decompose or chemically interact with the environment, hazardous waste and bio-contaminated organic waste can severely impact habitats if not managed correctly.
Waste management is the collection, transport, processing, recycling, or disposal and monitoring of different waste materials. Proper waste disposal, recycling, and repurposing can significantly curb its impact on the environment. Waste management companies aid individuals and organizations to effectively manage their waste, thereby preserving natural resources, minimizing adverse health impacts arising from improper waste disposal, and saving costs.

Assessing Companies' Impact on Food Waste
At Impaakt, we delve into the impact of CBI (Treating Waste) within the Waste Management Industry.
👉Note: Impact topics are a set of social and environmental impacts identified by the Impaakt Team to provide an additional layer of complex insight into measuring current impact. They range from general themes like Greenhouse Gas emissions and Job Creation to industry-specific topics such as Gentrification and Water Pollution. Check our Frameworks section for more information.


Sources: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11

Frameworks

How do we incorporate the topic of CBI (Treating Waste) into multiple categories within our frameworks?

SDG Choice

Sdg 12

SDG 12 aims to ensure sustainable production and consumption practices. The management and reporting of operational waste relate to this goal.

Impact Category choice

Impact category

Products: the core business topic addresses the primary and direct benefit the company offers to society through its products and/or services. The impact is generated while using the company’s products & services

Investment Leaders Group (ILG) theme:

IGL theme

Basic Needs: The provision of basic/critical services to live in a clean and healthy environment

SDG Choice

Sdg 12

SDG 12 aims to ensure sustainable production and consumption practices. The management and reporting of operational waste relate to this goal.

Impact Category choice

Impact category

Products: the core business topic addresses the primary and direct benefit the company offers to society through its products and/or services. The impact is generated while using the company’s products & services

Investment Leaders Group (ILG) theme:

IGL theme

Basic Needs: The provision of basic/critical services to live in a clean and healthy environment

Get familiar with the 5 steps to get started as an Impaakt rater

Before building skills for a specific topic, make sure to read our Knowledge Center: Rating for Impaakt. This resource outlines the 5 steps necessary to get started as a rater and provides key information about our metrics. By going through this guide, you will ensure that you are well-informed to provide accurate ratings on any given topic.

How to rate the topic

Value


Value is the absolute impact the topic has on the planet or society. To assess the value you need to think about how positive or negative you consider the topic and the impact described.

The value is linked to the topic treated and not to the company’s specific impact. Thus, the value should hold some consistency across industries.

When deciding your rating on the value, ask yourself:
How positive do you consider impacts related to proper management, disposal, recycling, and repurposing of waste that can significantly curb the negative impact on human health and the environment to be?
Note: Due to the nature of this topic, it should be rated positive or strongly positive.


Severity


Every company directly serves society and the environment through its core business activities. Thus, a company’s biggest positive impact lies in its core business. Other positive or negative impacts arise as externalities. Keep this in mind when assessing the severity.
The severity is related to the company’s impact. It consists of three dimensions: Scale, Scope, and Irremediability.

Scale

Scale is related to the complexity and depth of the impact described (i.e., it's related to the extent of the impact).
When deciding the scale, answer the following questions:
  • How profound is the impact?
  • How is the company managing waste?
  • What key service is it providing? How unique or essential are the company’s services and products?
  • What type of waste is the company managing and how is this waste affecting ecosystems?

Scope

The scope captures the range or extent of the company’s impact and it is related to the quantitative part of the analysis. For this topic, the scope is multi-dimensional and can be addressed from different angles considering what is disclosed in the analysis.
When deciding the scope, answer the following questions:
  • How vast is the company’s impact?
  • How much waste was managed by the company?
  • How many customers does it have?/How many people benefit from the company’s products/services?
  • What is the geographical reach of the company?

Irremediability

Irremediability evaluates the impact of the company over time (i.e., is linked to the duration of the impact described)
When deciding the irremediability, answer the following questions:
  • How long-lasting is the impact described?
  • How permanent are the company’s waste management services?
  • Has the company been increasing the amount of waste managed over the years?

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