ADS issues FY24 sustainability report

Advanced Drainage Systems Inc. (ADS), a provider of water management solutions in the stormwater and septic wastewater industries and the largest U.S. maker of thermoplastic corrugated pipe, has issued its sustainability report for fiscal year 2024.

The company, headquartered in Hilliard, Ohio, says the report demonstrates its continued commitment to environmental stewardship.

“Water is the world’s most precious resource,” ADS President and CEO Scott Barbour says. “As an industry leader, Advanced Drainage Systems is committed to protecting and managing water by providing sustainable water management solutions that safeguard the environment and build resiliency in communities.”

According to the report, ADS purchased 540 million pounds of postconsumer and postindustrial recycled plastics during the fiscal year—around 50 percent of the 1.1 billion pounds of plastic the company purchased. The company, which primarily uses high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and polypropylene (PP) resins in its products, reports that it consumed 33 percent of the pigmented recycled HDPE bottles in the U.S. during the time period.

Additionally, the company notes in the report that it has set a target of utilizing 1 billion pounds of recycled materials annually by 2032, and is in the process of enhancing its recycling infrastructure.

“In fiscal 2024, ADS approved $36 million across our recycling facilities, targeting various projects geared towards streamlining operations,” the report says. “These initiatives focus on transitioning to bulk handling for pellets, simplifying blending processes and enhancing material quality—all pivotal steps towards realizing our billion-pound goal.”

Regarding its environmental impact, ADS reports it submitted targets to The Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) for approval, including a 50 percent reduction in Scope 1 and Scope 2 absolute greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and a 30 percent reduction in Scope 3 emissions from the fiscal 2022 baseline.

ADS says additional report highlights include:

• seeking limited assurance on fiscal 2024 Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions;
• implementing a supplier code of conduct;
• signing the United Nations Global Compact;
• contributing $2 million to charitable organizations, including $1 million through the ADS Foundation; and
• improving Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR), a companywide safety performance metric, by 19 percent compared to fiscal year 2023.

“As one of the largest plastic recyclers in North America, we remove over half a billion pounds of recycled plastic from the waste stream each year, incorporating it into products designed to last decades,” Barbour says. “Further, we are continually working to increase our usage of recycled material, with the goal of reaching 1 billion pounds purchased annually by fiscal 2032, nearly doubling the amount of recycled plastic we purchase today. Not only is using recycled plastic an economically viable solution, but it also lowers our carbon footprint.”

The full report is available here.