Managing our waste is a critical component of our environmental strategy and we are committed to leading our industry in our approach to minimizing our waste impact.
We have made significant progress in implementing our zero waste-to-landfill (ZWL) program, which is focused on encouraging our Green Teams and employees to implement innovative solutions to reduce waste by reusing and recycling materials. We are focused on increasing our recycling rates and eliminating the concept of waste in our operations. Our Do More Good Plan goal is to achieve zero waste-to-landfill verified status at all major manufacturing facilities by 2030.
In 2023, IFF nonhazardous waste was 452.7 thousands of metric tons, a 9.89% decrease from our 2021 baseline of 502.4 thousands of metric tons.
Our South Brunswick, New Jersey, U.S., flavors facility was certified in 2017 as the industry’s first zero waste-to-landfill manufacturing facility worldwide. Building on the lessons learned, we formalized an internal process for zero waste-to-landfill verification in 2019. Since 2017, we have verified 51 out of 100 major manufacturing facilities (or 51%) as ZWL. In 2023, 10 new facilities achieved ZWL verification.
Because chemical manufacturing generates some unavoidable hazardous process waste, we’ve taken steps to reduce its generation, identify effective treatments and disposal methods and focus on recovery, reuse and recycling, where possible.
In 2023, IFF hazardous waste was 28.4 thousands of metric tons, a 37.44% decrease from our 2021 baseline of 45.4 thousands of metric tons.
Read more about how we are contributing to sustainable development in our 2023 ESG+ Report