SUSTAINABILITY REPORT SUSTAINABILITY REPORT
SUSTAINABILITY REPORT
  • Sustainability Blueprint
    • Our Vision for Sustainable Waste Management
    • Progress on Goals
    • Leadership & Governance
    • Our Policies
    • Listening to and Learning from Our Stakeholders
    • Materiality Analysis
  • Materials Management
    • Waste to Energy
    • Metals and Ash Recycling
    • Covanta Environmental Solutions
    • Supporting the Circular Economy
    • Zero Waste to Landfill
  • Environmental Sustainability
    • Addressing Climate Change
    • Air Emissions
    • Optimizing Water Use
    • Investing in Green Infrastructure
  • Community Connection
    • Solid Waste and Environmental Justice
    • Our Approach
    • What We Do
  • Safety and Health
    • Safety Focus in the Workplace
    • Delivering on Safety Performance
  • Workforce Engagement
    • Building a Great Place to Work
    • Investing in Training and Development
    • Promoting Diversity and Inclusion
  • About This Report
    • Awards
    • About Covanta
    • Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
  • Performance Tables
  • GRI Index
  • SASB Index
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Performance Tables

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  • SASB Index
  • Performance Tables
  • GRI Index
Economic Performance1
(data for Covanta Holding Corp., including all global operations, in millions, except per share amounts, USD)2 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016
Financial Performance2, 3
Operating Revenue
Waste and service revenue 1,412 1,393 1,327 1,231 1,187
Energy revenue 357 329 343 334 370
Recycled metals revenue 81 86 95 82 61
Other operating revenue 54 62  103 105 81
Total operating revenue 1,904 1,870 1,868 1,752 1,699
operating expense
Total operating expense 1,835 1,780 1,805 1,651 1,590
income tax
Income tax expense (benefit) (18) (7) (29) (191) 22
net income
Net (loss) income attributable to Covanta Holding (28) 10 152 57 (4)
Cash Flow
Cash flow provided by operating activities 254 226 238 242 264
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Adjusted EBITDA 424 428 457 408 410
Free Cash Flow 95 140 100 132 176
dividends
Annualized Cash Dividends per Share $0.5 $1.00 $1.00 $1.00  $1.00
Community Investment
Total donations 1.7 1.9 1.8 2.0 1.9

1  For the years ended December 31.
2  For complete information, please refer to Covanta’s Form 10-K filings.
3  Data provided for Covanta Holding Corporation, including all global operations, in millions, USD, except per share amounts.

 

Workforce Performance1
2020 2019 2018 2017 2016
Employee breakdown
Salaried 1,256 1,228 1,230 1,193 1,157
Hourly2 2,694 2,653 2,683 2,526 2,425
Total employees 3,950 3,881 3,911 3,719 3,582
region
North America 3,857 3,803 3,834 3,649 3,537
United States 3,690 3,638 3,676 3,520 3,454
Canada 167 165 158 129 83
Europe 80 65 62 56 30
Asia 13 13 15 14 15
gender and racial diversity3
Women as a percentage of the total workforce 12% 11.0% 11.0% 11.0% 10.0%
People of color as a percentage of total workforce 31% 28.0% 28.0% 26.0% 26.0%
2020 Collective Bargaining Status
Employees covered by collective bargaining agreements 332 298 298
Percent of North American workforce covered by collective bargaining agreements 8.6% 7.8% 7.8%

1 For the years ended December 31.
2 Hourly employees include technicians, sales workers, administrative support, craft workers, operatives, laborers, and helpers.
3 Women are represented as a percentage of the entire workforce. People of Color are represented as a percentage of US workforce, where race/ethnicity information is known.

2020 Employee Turnover
Salaried Hourly2 Total Turnover
 Average Service (years) Total Turnover Rate (%)
 Average service (years)
 # of Voluntary Separations
 # of Involuntary Separations Total # of Separations
Gender
Female 35 35 70 4.7 14.8% 6 50 20 70
Male 131 367 498 6.4 14.3% 6.4 345 153 498
Age
Under 30 years old 9 114 123 0.9 26.9% 2 102 21 123
30-50 years old 68 192 260 4.0 15.0% 4 192 68 260
Over 50 years old 89 96 185 12.8 12.3% 13 101 84 185
Region
United States 161 372 533 6.3 14.4% 7 365 168 533
Non-United States 5 32 37 2.3 14.2% 7 32 5 37
Total 166 402 568 568 16.0% 6 395 173 568

1 For the years ended December 31.
2 Hourly employees include technicians, sales workers, administrative support, craft workers, operatives, laborers, and helpers.

2020 New Employee Hires
Total Salaried Hourly2
Gender
Female 68 31 37
Male 436 99 337
Age
Under 30 years old 147 19 128
30-50 years old 253 65 188
Over 50 years old 102 45 57
Region
United States 442 110 332
Non-United States 40 13 27

1 For the years ended December 31.
2 Hourly employees include technicians, sales workers, administrative support, craft workers, operatives, laborers, and helpers.

Diversity Performance1

 

2020 Racial and Ethnic Composition of U.S. Workforce2
Total American Indian Black White Hispanic Asian Pacific Islander Two or more races Not Specified
Executives 58 0 213 52 1 2 0 1 –
Directors 217 0 10 192 4 9 0 2 –
Managers 264 1 12 208 21 19 0 3 –
Professionals 586 3 48 445 39 36 5 10 –
Technical, sales and administrative 380 1 46 286 29 12 2 4 –
Laborers 2,185 14 319 1,366 291 77 68 50 –
Total 3,690 19 437 2,549 385
 155
 75
 70
 0

 

2020 Age Composition of Global Workforce
Total Under 30 years old 30-50 years old Over 50 years old
Executives 58 – 13 45
Directors 217 1 73 143
Managers 264 11 131 122
Professionals 586 54 257 275
Technical, sales and administrative 380 40 173 167
Laborers 2,185 341 1,090 754
Total 3,690 472 3,478 1,506

 

2020 Gender Composition of U.S. Workforce
employee category
Executives 58 10 48
Directors 217 32 185
Managers 264 75 189
Professionals 586 116 470
Technical, sales and administrative 380 158 222
Laborers 2,185 20 2,165
Total 3,690 411 3,279
employMENT TYPE    
Part-time 33
17
17
Full-time 3,917
455
3,462

 

2020 Gender Composition of Global Workforce
Region
North America 3,857 458 3,399
 United States 3,690 411 3,279
 Canada 167 47 120
Europe 80 8 72
Asia 13 6 7
Total 3,950 472 3,478

 

2020 Governance Body Diversity
Gender and Racial Diversity
Percent women 27%
Percent people of color 9%
Percent independent 82%
Age
Under 30 years old –
30-50 years old –
Over 50 years old 11
Total 36%

1 For the years ended December 31.

 

Safety and Health Performance1
2020 2019 2018 2017 2016
employees
Employee Days Away/Restricted/Transfer Rate (DART) 0.53 0.44 0.61 0.77 0.81
Employee Total Case Incident Rate (TCIR) 1,0.73 0.80 0.81 1.06 1.00
Employee fatality rate – – – – –
Number of sites in OSHA VPP program 31 32 33 35 37
contractors
Contractor DART 0.71 1.08 1.19 0.90 0.89
Contractor TCIR 1.13 1.63 1.80 1.40 1.48
Contractor fatality rate 1.58 – – – –

1 For the years ended December 31.
2 Safety and Health data is for U.S. and Canada only.
3 Contractor safety performance rates reflect the overall safety performance of the contractors employed by Covanta, not their specific performance on Covanta’s sites.

2020 Employee Safety, Health and Environmental (SHE) Training
WTE facility personnel
Environmental training hours (average) 12.0
Safety and health training hours (average) 22.0
corporate supply chain personnel
Combined safety, health and environmental training hours (average) 16.0
covanta environmental solutions personnel
Combined safety, health and environmental training hours (average) 5.5
Environmental training hours (average) 4.5

1 For the years ended December 31.

 

      

Environmental Performance1
Air Emissions1
Federal Standard 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016
Lead (μg/ dscm) 400 8.1 9.8 11.0 11.5 12.1
Cadmium (μg/ dscm) 35 0.8 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2
Mercury (μg/ dscm) 50 2.5 2.0 2.3 1.9 2.7
Total dioxins and furans (ng/ dscm) 30 1.6 2.0 2.2 2.0 3.4
Particulate matter (mg/ dscm) 25 2.0 2.2 2.8 2.4 2.8
Hydrogen chloride (ppm) 29 6.9 6.2 7.0 7.0 6.8
Carbon monoxide (ppm) 100 32.0 30.2 32.0 30.3 29.1
Sulfur oxides (ppm) 29 8.8 8.1 7.5 7.0 7.5
Nitrogen oxides (ppm) 205 127.0 127.9 132.1 134.3 136.4

1 For the years ended December 31.
2  Reported on an operational control basis.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions (thousand tons CO2e, equity share basis)
2020 2019 2018 2017 2016
Total Scope 1, 2 and 3 GHG emissions 4,660 4,688 4,732 4,260 4,677
 Scope 12 4,382 4,398 4,454 4,004 4,405
 Scope 2 12 24 22 25 34
 Scope 33 265 266 256 231 238
Biogenic CO2 6,371 6,388 6,428 5,781 5,928
GHG emission intensity (t CO2e/$ revenue) 0.0024 0.0024 0.0025 0.0023 0.0026
GHG emissions covered under an emissions-limiting regulation (%) 3.8% 3.5% 3.9% 4.0% 3.8%
Net efw lifecycle ghg benefit (thousand tons CO2e reduced, net basis)
2020 2019 2018 2017 2016
 Equity-share basis 10,800 10,900 11,100 10,000 10,600
 Operational Control Basis4 18,800 18,800 18,200 16,800 17,100

1 For the years ended December 31.
2 Scope 1 recalculated with 20-year Methane GWP (86) as defined in the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report.
3 Scope 3 boundary expanded in 2020 to include emissions from capital goods (UK construction), upstream fuel, upstream transport of MSW, downstream transport of ash, and employee commuting.
4 Reported on an operational control + equity interest basis, excluding China.

monetary fines and compliance frequency
2020 2019 2018 2017 2016
fines
WTE continuous emission monitor (CEM) fines 13,660 27,005 80,976 123,268 95,423
WTE stack test fines – 10,080 – – 25,600
Other environmental fines, including biomass and other facilities 117,125 180,150 86,350 423,228 1,000
compliance
WTE stack test compliance rate 100% 99.90% 100% 100% 99.90%
WTE CEM compliance rate 99.99% 99.97% 99.95% 99.96% 99.95%

1 For the years ended December 31.
2 Reported on an operational control basis.

 

Operations Performance1
2020 2019 2018 2017 2016
Facilities (owned, equity investments in, and / or operated)
Number of WTE operations 46 44 45 43 43
  Total electrical generation capacity (MW) 1,791 1,791 1,714 1,574 1,557
  Total capacity (TPD) 68,250 65,172 63,294 58,938 58,249
Number of material processing facilities 20 20 20 19 15
Number of transfer stations 13 14 16 17 17
Number of landfills 4 4 4 4 4
Number of electronic waste recycling facilities 1 1 1 1 1
Waste Processed
Total waste processed 21,898 22,203 21,124 19,493 19,905
Sustainable Waste Management 21,588 21,908 20,862 19,218 19,733
  Covanta Waste to Energy 21,184 21,430 20,418 18,816 19,455
  Other Waste to Energy 10 15 14 9 2
  Waste recycled2 1,064 1,104 1,020 886 789
  Metals recycled 560 528 498 464 512
  E-waste recycled3 6 7 7 8 8
  Other Recycling (including Aggregate) 498 569 517 414 269
Landfilled Waste4 298 283 254 264 169
Waste incinerated, no energy recovery 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.1 –
Other Waste Managed 11 13 8 11 3
Total hazardous waste combusted
 – – – – –
Other Waste Indicators
Municipal waste processed 20,430 20,482 19,446 17,890 18,475
Commercial and industrial waste processed 1,334 1,612 1,564 1,478 1,358
Landfilled WTE residue5 5,342 5,440 5,140 4,792 4,991
Energy Generation
Net electricity exported to the grid (million MW hours) 9.9 10.0 9.4 8.6 8.8
Steam exported (billion lbs.) 9.2 9 10 9 9
Total energy, million MWh electrical equivalent 10.7 10.7 10.3 9.4 9.4
RECs, value recognized ($M) 26.2 17 12 13 12
energy use (GJ)
Total energy consumption6 218,232,115 219,576,798 208,672,377 192,526,939 198,851,863
  Waste 213,627,277 215,533,846 204,070,531 188,367,784 194,415,340
  Fossil fuel 4,292,161 3,638,182 4,173,569 3,751,184 3,824,134
  Biogenic fuel – – 22,031 18,446 16,842
Fossil fuel (% of total energy input) 2.0% 1.7% 2.0% 1.9% 1.9%
Fleet fuel consumption7 132,836 168,550 135,349 149,735 –
  Natural gas as fleet fuel (%) 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
  Renewable fuel as fleet fuel (%) 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%

1  For the years ended December 31. Unless otherwise noted, reported on an operational control + equity interest basis, excluding China.
2  Recycled Metals and ash aggregate are included in both the Covanta Waste to Energy and Waste Recycled subtotals.
3  Reflects total e-waste received for processing.
4 Landfilled waste from CES and Transfer Station operations. Does not include WTE residues, reported seperately.
5 Residue includes WTE ash and landfilled wastes from RDF / shred-and-burn processing. Both are included in Covanta Waste to Energy tons.
6 Energy consumption total includes heat input from MSW and auxiliary fuel, as well as purchased electricity. Purchased electricity is not reflected in the breakdown below.
7 Represents fleet operations, insignificant prior to 2017, predominately associated with Covanta Environmental Solutions (CES).

 

Non-GAAP Reconciliation1 (Adjusted EBITDA and Free Cash Flow)2

($ in Millions)
2020 2019 2018 2017 2016
Net (Loss) Income Attributable to Covanta Holding Corporation $(28)
 $10 $152 $57 $(4)
Depreciation and amortization expense 224 221 218 215 207
Interest expense, net 133 143 145 147 138
Income tax expense (benefit) expense (18) (7) (29) (191) 22
Impairment charges 19 2 86 2 20
Loss on extinguishment of debt 12 – 15 84 –
(Gain) loss on sale of business and investments (26) (49) (217) 6 (44)
Property insurance recoveries (net) (1) – (18) (2) –
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests in subsidiaries – – – – –
Other adjustments
  Debt service billings in excess of revenue recognized – – (1) 5 4
  Business development and transaction costs 1 2 3 5 2
  Severance and reorganization costs 5 13 5 1 3
  Capital type expenditures at service-fee operated facilities3 36 34 37 55 39
  Non-cash compensation expense 29 25 24 18 16
Adjustments to reflect Adjusted EBITDA from unconsolidated investments 24 25 23 – –
  Other 14 9 14 6 7
Subtotal other adjustments 109
 108 105 90 71
Total adjustments 452
 418 305 351 414
Adjusted EBITDA 424
 428 $457 $408 $410
Cash paid for interest, net of capitalized interest (112) (152) (136) (132) (135)
Cash paid for taxes 4 (5) (2) – (6)
Equity in net income from unconsolidated investments (4) (6) (6) (1) (4)
Adjustments to reflect Adjusted EBITDA from unconsolidated investments (24) (25) (23) – –
Dividends from unconsolidated investments 9 9 13 2 2
Capital-type expenditures at service-fee operated facilities3 (36) (34) (37) (55) (39)
Working capital/ other (7) 11 (28) 20 36
Cash flow provided by operating activities4 $254
 $226 $238 $242 $264
Plus: Changes in restricted funds–operating5 1 20 4 $1 $22
Less: Maintenance capital expenditures (160) (106) (142) (111) (110)
Free Cash Flow 95
 $140 $100 $132 $176

1  For the years ended December 31.
2  For complete information, please refer to Covanta’s Form 10-K filings.
3  Adjustment for impact of adoption of FASB ASC 853 — Service Concession Arrangements
4  Prior years were revised to reflect adoption of FASB ASU 2016-18 Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230) —Restricted Cash adopted 1/1/2018 and FASB 2016-09 Compensation — Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting adopted 1/1/2017.
16  Adjustment for impact of adoption of FASB ASU 2016-18 Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230) — Restricted Cash