Leading Climate Index Ranks Covanta Energy As Top Energy Company, 11th Overall

Covanta Energy Corporation, a leading global owner and operator of Energy-from-Waste projects, has been named among the top 11 U.S. companies in the Maplecroft Climate Innovation Indexes (CIIs), the single most exhaustive study of how U.S.-based multinational corporations manage and adapt to climate change, with a special focus on innovation. 
            This year, 360 of the largest U.S. companies were rated on CIIs, and Covanta was ranked number one for energy, alternate sources and 11 overall.
            In Pennsylvania, Covanta owns or operates waste-to-energy facilities in Dauphin, Delaware, Lancaster, Montgomery and York counties.
            "Energy-from-Waste facilities provide tremendous greenhouse gas benefits to the communities that rely on them day in and day out for sustainable waste management and clean energy generation," said Dr. Paul Gilman, Covanta's chief sustainability officer. "We are pleased that the technology has once again been recognized for its important role in mitigating climate change and are excited to see Covanta ranked among the best and most innovative U.S.-based companies in this regard."
            In its analysis, Maplecroft pointed to the fact that "addressing climate change and energy efficiency is at the core of Covanta's business, as converting waste to energy allows the company to be a net negative emitter of GHG [greenhouse gases]." Maplecroft also gave the company high marks for substantial investments in research and development in order to reduce emissions.
            "We are proud to see the Maplecroft Climate Innovation Indexes recognize the environmental benefits of energy-from-waste and Covanta's innovative approaches to reducing our carbon footprint," said Sanjiv Khattri, executive vice president and chief financial officer. "Our inclusion in the CIIs also makes us more visible to investors focused on climate change and sustainability issues."
            Each company was rated in more than 100 areas, including technological innovation and new working practices to combat climate change impacts; management of climate-related issues; adaption to physical climate-related risks, such as flooding or more extreme weather events throughout the supply chain; and the reduction of GHG emissions.
            According to Maplecroft, the CIIs enable investors to identify the most resilient and innovative companies with the best long-term growth prospects. They do so by highlighting firms that are innovating products, services, processes or partnerships in order to reshape markets and position themselves to succeed in the climate-changed, low-carbon environment of the future.
            Since the CIIs conception in 2009, the firms at the top have consistently outperformed their peers and competitors, as demonstrated by the index's performance on the Bloomberg terminal.
            Recovering energy from waste after efforts to reduce, reuse and recycle have been employed is a critical component of managing residual waste. For every ton of municipal solid waste processed at Covanta Energy's energy-from-waste facilities, greenhouse gas emissions are reduced by the equivalent of approximately one ton less of carbon dioxide emissions.
            This is possible due to the avoidance of methane from landfills, the offset of greenhouse gases from fossil fuel electrical production and the recovery of metals for recycling.
            For more information on the indexes, visit the Maplecroft Climate Innovation Index website and the Covanta Climate webpage.


5/14/2012

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