2nd September 2024
Encyclis, the operator and joint owner of Dublin Waste to Energy, has published its first full Sustainability Report following its second anniversary as a standalone European business. The report provides full details of the company's Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions and sets out a decarbonisation strategy to support the UK and European transition to Net Zero.
The Sustainability Report fulfils Encyclis’ commitment to demonstrate its progress across a full range of environmental, social and governance (ESG) priorities in 2023. Among the milestones documented are triple ISO certifications achieved at the Rookery South and Newhurst facilities, recognising the highest standards of quality management, environmental management and occupational health and safety management.
The report also outlines the company’s vision for the future, including an industry-leading decarbonisation strategy, which aims to harness carbon capture and storage (CCS), district heating and resource efficiency to support the Net Zero targets for waste in the UK and Europe. Additionally, Encyclis has set a target to achieve 100% circularity in its operations by 2030.
Encyclis CEO Owen Michaelson said: “I am immensely proud of the progress we have made in building a standalone business in Europe and delivering an ambitious decarbonisation strategy. This report reflects our ongoing commitment to providing essential social infrastructure which is part of the solution on the road to Net Zero. As a vital component of the waste hierarchy, Encyclis is ultimately dedicated to playing a key role in empowering and supporting a sustainable future for the UK, by setting new standards of sustainability in the Energy-from-Waste sector.”
The company is poised to deliver the UK’s first commercial-scale carbon capture plant at an Energy-from-Waste (EfW) facility via a pathfinder project in partnership with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). Encyclis is aiming to prove that its essential public sanitation role can be fulfilled while capturing carbon dioxide emissions, which would create a repeatable net-zero model for other EfW plants around the world to follow.
Encyclis is also progressing on its mission to decarbonise adjacent local communities with advancing plans for district heat networks. With the necessary infrastructure partners in place, Encyclis will enable commercial buildings and neighbouring homes to benefit from the heat produced by its nearby facilities.
The company’s operational and planned EfW facilities will provide the UK with 2.7m tonnes of treatment capacity for residual waste, providing 282MWh of baseload electricity, which is enough to power 562,500 homes.
Data in the report underlines the company’s dedication to a ‘safety first’ culture. A dedicated employee-led programme has been rolled out across all sites and is advocated by the teams. In a recent staff survey, safety and sustainability were cited as top knowledge areas for the business, which was also recommended as an employer of choice by 70% of those surveyed.