Ver 1.0 (May 23)
Confidential & Proprietary | 2023 CBRE Inc.
In August 2022 the United States Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the most sweeping collection of climate change-related programs in decades. The bill is being heralded as helping to get the U.S. back on track with the country’s Paris Agreement commitments––among these, limiting temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius, with an agreement to aim for a 1.5 degree Celsius limit. Overall, the Inflation Reduction Act would spend about $369 billion on energy and climate projects in the next 10 years. The IRA’s numerous provisions are meant to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by a billion metric tons by 2030.
Overview
Implications For Waste Management
BIOFUELS
ESG REPORTING
EV CREDITS
FOOD WASTE & COMPOSTING
Landfills emit gas as waste decomposes. That gas can be captured before it gets released into the air and refined into usable fuel for vehicles and airplanes. The Inflation Reduction Act includes new and expanded tax credits for biogas projects. “Clean hydrogen” credits look to spur development in using renewable natural gas to produce and expand hydrogen production:
- Alternative fuel tax credit has been expanded as well as a credit for landfill gas construction projects through 2024
- 30% credit for biogas property along with credits for low-carbon transportation fuel and sustainable aviation fuel
- Grants totaling $500 million are also available for improvements in blending, storing, supplying or distributing biofuels
The Inflation Reduction Act aims to help support standardising climate reporting. Funding will enhance transparency around how companies implement sustainability plans. A significant number of companies in the USA (90%) are now judged on ESG scoring. The waste industry continues to develop solutions and services to tackle emissions targets due to pressure from investors and other financial institutions.
There are a number of credits available for commercial EVs - $1 billion in grants and rebates to cover 100% of the cost for clean heavy-duty vehicles including school buses and garbage trucks.
In the U.S., 40% of food is wasted every year. Food waste is estimated to be responsible for about 8% of all global greenhouse gas emissions. The Inflation Reduction Act includes $5 billion in grant programs for pollution reduction.
Local and state authorities could use these grants for organic waste bans and to build local composting facilities:
- Organic waste bans help reduce the amount being landfilled
- Composting can provide new jobs and reduce methane emissions
Landfill diversion can translate into lower costs for our clients waste management costs as prices are often connected to the volume of waste being transported.
A green bank provides low-cost funding and helps secure private investment in clean energy projects. The Inflation Reduction Act sets aside $27 billion into a Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund through the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). While some states already have similar programs in place, this creates the first federal one:
- $7 billion for low-income and disadvantaged communities to deploy or benefit from zero-emissions technologies
- $8 billion to support low-income and disadvantaged communities through funding renewable energy projects
- $12 billion to be used for renewable energy projects nationwide
Financing can help expand waste-to-energy, RNG and biofuel projects.
Is there transparency in the reporting that our suppliers are providing to us and is there an audit trail? We will be required to pass this data onto our clients for their own waste management targets and we will be requested to provide details of the waste journey
Are suppliers capitalising on the grants available for biogas projects if we are sending waste to landfill with them?
What are suppliers' plans to roll-out clean heavy-duty vehicles for garbage collection? This will be an increasing requirement as more cities start to implement bans on ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles
Can we measure the landfill diversion rate for food services at client sites? Are we ensuring that organic waste is being composted where possible?
GREEN BANKS
Are we ensuring we use diverse suppliers and social enterprises for services where possible, who have been funded by green bank initiatives?
Source: Information sourced from www.irs.com & Roadrunner Recycling