Why Measuring Waste is Critical for Nature and Business Success

Chemours is in renewed trouble after discharging toxic ‘forever’ chemicals into the Ohio River, exceeding permitted waste limits and ignoring EPA orders to take corrective action. Over the years, this has devastated local ecosystems, human health, and wildlife. The repercussions are staggering: a $700 million price tag from over 25 years of legal battles, with a fresh lawsuit in January 2025 threatening to deepen the financial and reputational wounds.

Waste is more than just discarded materials. When businesses fail to measure and control their waste effectively, it becomes a legal and financial liability as well as a driver of environmental degradation. Yet, for many, it remains a blind spot in their corporate sustainability strategies.

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For organisations aiming to align with nature-positive goals, the stakes are rising. Frameworks like TNFD (Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures) and CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive) are raising the bar on how companies report and manage their waste.

And here's the challenge: many organisations fail to approach waste measurement holistically.

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Most companies are still making these mistakes:

• Focusing solely on waste weight without assessing its impact on biodiversity or ecosystems.
• Overlooking the distinction between the composition of different types of waste, as different materials have very different implications for nature.
• Failing to evaluate waste that leaves a site, missing potential impacts of the treatment methods.

This leads to two major problems. First, organisations struggle to understand whether waste is a material issue for their business or their impact on nature. Second, incomplete or inconsistent waste data leaves companies vulnerable to accusations of greenwashing or poor regulatory compliance.

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The hidden challenges of measuring waste

Measuring waste is more complex than it seems, especially when attempting to align with robust nature reporting frameworks like TNFD and CSRD. 

This is because waste operates in a grey area:

• It’s both a problem and a potential precursor to pollution. Waste generated at a site might remain harmless in one context but can lead to severe biodiversity damage in another.
• Waste data is often incomplete or inconsistent across industries and regions. Many companies rely on customer-reported data, but not all customers have access to the granular waste data required for robust metrics.
• The frameworks require detailed reporting. For instance, TNFD wants companies to disclose waste metrics such as the weight of hazardous and non-hazardous waste, the waste treatment methods used, and the severity of the impact of that waste on nature. 

Without a clear, structured approach, businesses risk overlooking critical insights and falling out of step with nature-focused reporting standards.

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How to build a waste metrics hierarchy

At Natcap, we prioritise a robust and structured approach to waste metrics to help businesses like yours align with frameworks like TNFD and CSRD. By leveraging a hierarchy of data sources, we ensure waste is assessed holistically, even in complex or data-limited scenarios. Here’s how we prioritise:

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1. Start with customer-reported data

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Your business's data is our gold standard because it provides the most specific and reliable insights. When available, it allows for tailored assessments of waste generated at a site and its subsequent handling. Key metrics we prioritise include:

• Total waste generated: A baseline for understanding site-level waste concerns.
• Breakdown of hazardous vs. non-hazardous waste: Critical for aligning with TNFD reporting requirements.
• Proportion of waste recovered vs. disposed: Measuring what is reused or recycled versus sent to landfill or incinerated provides insight into circularity and waste management practices.

2. Use PRTR data as a secondary source

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When customer data isn’t available, we turn to PRTR (Pollutant Release and Transfer Register) databases. These databases, covering geographies like the EU, Canada, Australia, and Chile, are national data registers used to monitor emissions and off-site transfers of waste and pollutants from industrial facilities across 65 economic activities ranging from aquaculture to waste disposal. Over 50 countries have fully, or partially, adopted PRTR frameworks.

These data are handy for quickly accessing previously reported transfers of waste from industrial facilities. Natcap has integrated PRTR data resources from around the world into a single standardised format to facilitate this for both pollution and waste. With standardised data we can use the inconsistent divisions of information collected by the different national PRTRs to answer to the key metrics required by reporting frameworks in a coherent way globally.

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3. Leverage industry scores for data gaps
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In cases where PRTR data is unavailable, we have developed a set of scores based on the waste volumes typical for that industry by conducting an analysis of historical transfers. Our industry-level scores map to the ISIC (International Standard Industrial Classification). These scores provide credible proxies for assessing waste concerns where business data is not readily available. They help us:

• Understand typical waste generation profiles by sector.
• Provide an approximate baseline for waste severity when customer or PRTR data is missing.

Why this hierarchy matters‍

By combining these data sources, our hierarchy enables us to:

Assess waste holistically
Beyond simply measuring volumes, we factor in site-level proximity to biodiversity-sensitive areas and potential downstream impacts.

Align with leading frameworks
Our metrics align with TNFD and CSRD, ensuring businesses meet global standards.

Adapt to data constraints
Whether data is robust, limited, or unavailable, this approach provides actionable insights to address waste as a material issue.

For businesses, this structured method helps turn waste from a compliance challenge into an opportunity for nature-positive outcomes.

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Aligning your waste strategy with global frameworks

Our waste metrics are built to align with leading frameworks, ensuring companies can stay ahead of the curve on nature-related disclosures. Here's how:

• TNFD requires disclosure of hazardous and non-hazardous waste weights and the proportion of waste diverted from landfill. Our metrics cover these requirements while also accounting for proximity to areas with particularly high or sensitive biodiversity value.
• CSRD (specifically ESRS E5) asks organisations to examine waste throughout their value chains, from production to disposal. While our current metrics focus on site-level waste, we’re already designing methodologies to capture upstream waste impacts.

Three takeaways for measuring business waste

If you were to take away three actionable insights to improve waste measurement in your organisation, here’s what to remember:

1. Revisit your waste data collection practices
   
   • Do your metrics distinguish between hazardous and non-hazardous waste?
   • Are you collecting data on what happens to waste once it leaves your site?
   • Do you know the composition of the waste generated by your operations?
2. Focus on waste's proximity to biodiversity risks
   
   • Waste generated near biodiversity-sensitive areas carries a higher risk. Assess whether your operations are located near ecosystems with high biodiversity value.
3. Don’t wait for waste to become pollution
   
   • Waste is often a precursor to pollution. Consider waste metrics as an early warning system—higher waste generation could indicate inefficiencies upstream or potential pollution risks downstream.

Turn waste management into an opportunity

Waste is no longer an afterthought in sustainability strategies. It’s a potentially material issue, a regulatory focus, and a lens through which investors, customers, and stakeholders judge companies.

If waste metrics are not part of your nature-related disclosures, it’s time to integrate them. The ability to holistically measure waste—not just by volume, but by its impact on ecosystems—is essential to future-proofing your business.

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