Household and commercial waste is collected and transported to waste incineration facilities.
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Building a sustainable future
Our journey towards sustainability began with a vision to redefine waste management and promote environmental sustainability. With our passionate teams and global reach, we collaborate with Energy-from-Waste (EfW) companies worldwide to recycle materials that were once considered unrecyclable. By processing incinerator bottom ash (IBA), we extract ferrous and non-ferrous metals for reuse in the metal and manufacturing sectors while producing aggregates and cleaner minerals for reuse in the infrastructure industry.
As one of the world’s largest ash processors, we pride ourselves on operational excellence. Our proven processes, professional teams, and the highest commitment to health, safety, and sustainability performance ensuring that our operations are conducted responsibly and sustainably.
Recognizing the importance of sustainability beyond our own operations, we have revised our sustainability strategies to encompass a broader focus on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) aspects. These strategies guide our actions, ensuring that we contribute positively to society, the economy, and the environment.
Our Ambitions
Our Contributions
We understand that we can't achieve our sustainability goals alone. That's why we collaborate closely with EfW plant operators, policymakers, regulators, engineers, and scientists. Together, we strive to make significant contributions to a more sustainable world. We serve the IBA market (upstream of our value chain) by helping our EfW partners handle their IBA in a compliant and sustainable responsible manner. Downstream our value chain, we serve the metals and construction materials markets by providing them with key, low-carbon alternative products/materials.
Market Economy
Processed material re-enters the market as a secondary product that can be used in various applications, reducing the demand for primary mining and promoting resource conservation
Construction
Extracted secondary aggregates produced by Blue Phoenix are used by construction companies as raw materials for various construction and infrastructure development applications.
Energy-from-Waste
MSW undergoes incineration to generate energy and heat. A quarter of the initial mass is transformed into incinerator bottom ash (IBA)
IBA Processing
Following EfW processes, Blue Phoenix focuses on processing IBA generated from waste incineration. Our advanced facilities allow us to recover valuable metals and produce secondary aggregates, minimising waste and optimising resource recovery.
Metal Refinery
Extracted metals are sent to metal refineries to produce a high-quality metal product that sent to smelters for reuse in a range of different applications.
Why we do it
Landfills account for about 5% of global GHG emissions¹. Contamination and leakage from microplastics, minerals, and metals to groundwater and soil can be enormous. By diverting IBA from landfills, we help tackle climate and environmental impacts in all the regions where we have operations and technological implementation.
The mineral and metal ore sectors account for 60% of all extracted resources² and the manufacturing of these products for consumer goods and construction materials is responsible for more than 10% of global GHG emissions³ as demand for these products is expected to rise, urgent action is required to improve the circularity of these sectors to limit negative consequences such as resource scarcity.
Blue Phoenix can provide recycled resources helping various sectors (construction, cement, metals, and manufacturing) replace their fossil-based materials. The replacement help reduce climate impacts, support businesses to comply with stricter sustainability standards, and implement the circular economy.
How we do it
At Blue Phoenix, sustainability, technology, and innovation go hand in hand. We work to integrate advanced technologies with sustainability principles to deliver products with positive environmental performance. Looking to the future, we are striving to move away from the psychology of waste materials and instead, create valued products. These products will create a much more significant positive impact to the environment, proving an alternative to a more diverse applications across the infrastructure sector.
We are purpose driven. We look at what the desired sustainable applications for our products are to determine the characteristics of the output, and therefore what technology needs to be developed to achieve it.
Turning strategies into concrete actions
We are committed to transparency and accountability in our sustainability efforts. Through regular assessments and monitoring of our environmental performance, we identify areas for improvement and strive for continuous progress towards our sustainability goals.
Climate Mitigation
In 2023, in the UK, we installed two solar panel systems, purchased renewable electricity from the grid, thus making three operational sites fully carbon neutral. We also purchased 715,000 kWh of electricity generated from waste over 2,230,000 kWh of electricity used. Also in the UK, 880,000 liters of hydrotreated vegetable oil was used, replacing 88% of fossil-based diesel consumption.
Operational efficiency
Our sustainability efforts go beyond just the renewable deployment solutions. Improving our operations has already started for years. We keep working on various saving measures such as using energy-efficient lighting, new compressed air compressors, and energy-efficient motors.
Pollution control
Our operational sites are conducted in a way to minimize the risk of any pollution. We use various methods to control spillages and dispose of contaminants in line with the legislation in the regions where we operate. All of our sites possess permits for waste handling, and restrictions to noise emissions, and water and air pollution.
Most of our sites have ISO 9001 for Quality management and/or ISO 140001. If not, we have similar certificates in compliance with local regulations.
Water Management
Blue Phoenix’s strategy on water focuses on three main pillars: water efficiency, water conservation, and compliance with regulations. We implement good management practices including rainwater catchment, closed-loop water system, and minimal water withdrawal. We strive to use water most efficiently and responsibly and ensure a low water footprint of our products.
Biodiversity and Ecosystem Conservation
At Blue Phoenix, we believe that our business is a part of the sustainable solutions to biodiversity and ecosystem conservation. We strive to optimise our business operations to protect nature and make contributions to restore biodiversity and maintain good ecosystem services through the way we sort, process, recover resources from IBA and beyond.
In all our operational sites, we are fully complied with the regional and local regulations for our operations. Since we do not have wastewater discharge or leakage to the open environment, our biodiversity and ecosystem impacts are nearly zero or negligible.
Community engagement
We understand that it is our role to not only make a positive contribution to society at large, but to also ensure that we are operating locally in a safe and responsible manner. We believe in engaging with local communities to foster sustainability awareness and promote positive environmental impacts. Through outreach programs, educational initiatives and community partnerships, we empower individuals to participate in sustainable practices.
Healthy, safe, and pleasant working environment for all
In 2023, our Global Policies were established. It is a compilation of mandatory global fundamental policies complying with global guidelines and legislations for corporates. The content of the Global Policies covers diverse topics such as Human and Labour Rights, Well-being Policy, Internal Sustainability Guidelines, and Health and Safety. The implementation of the Global Policies is to create, maintain, and ensure a healthy, safe, and pleasant working environment for our employees and for the workers along the value chain.
Corporate culture and Business conduct
At Blue Phoenix, we strive to maintain a healthy corporate culture with a high level of integrity, guiding our employees on professional communication and behaviors as internal teams as well as in interactions and collaborations with external stakeholders. We believe that through a good business conduct policy, we have a strong business and keep growing organically with reputation and recognition.
Join Us in Advancing Sustainability
At BPG, we are committed to promoting sustainability practices throughout our waste processing and contributing to the circular economy. By choosing recycled materials and supporting sustainability solutions, we can create a better and more sustainable future for generations to come.
Want to know more?
Get in touch with us today to find out more about our sustainability practices: sustainability@bluephoenix-group.com
[1] https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/8/2282
[2] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0959652609003199
[3] https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2022/ee/d1ee02165f