Our newly released 2019 Sustainability Report showcases some of the many great things we are doing to take care of our planet for future generations and help communities thrive. It will take dedication and teamwork to accomplish our ambitious sustainability goals which will carry us through 2030. Thank you for all of your hard work in helping us get there!
To learn more about our 2030 sustainability goals, you’ve come to the right place! Visit Blue Nation Online every week as we take a deep dive into each of our goals and specific initiatives contributing to our success. Over the next several weeks, we’ll take a closer look at the following five areas of our sustainability plan:
Week 1: Safety is our No. 1 Priority
Our safety goals support the idea that a sustainable planet is only possible if everyone works and lives together safely. Our goal is zero fatalities and a Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) of 2.0 or less by 2030.1
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is the main federal agency charged with the enforcement of safety and health standards. The OSHA recordable rate shown is the Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) and is a function of the number of recordable injuries and the total number of hours worked. Published OSHA data lag one calendar year.
Here are a few examples of what we are doing to accomplish these goals and keep our employees safe.
Responding to COVID-19 Pandemic
Republic closely followed guidance from the CDC and state and local public health agencies and adhered to OSHA guidelines regarding the safe handling of waste and recycling. Additionally, we provided employees necessary personal protective equipment (PPE) for their roles – including face masks and gloves for all of our field employees. This is an ongoing focus and we will continue to put the health and safety of our employees first.
Using Technology to Prevent Incidents
One of the biggest challenges on the road is other drivers who are distracted. To help with this, we needed an innovative solution that allows drivers to avoid our trucks altogether, so we partnered with Waze, a popular traffic tracking application, to make this a reality. In 2019, we placed tracking beacons on some of our trucks as part of a pilot program. These beacons help Waze communicate to other drivers that a slow-moving vehicle is present. During the pilot, over 130,000 notifications alerted drivers of a Republic truck location, which allowed them to reroute their course to avoid our trucks entirely.
Positive Impacts of Safety Amplified
Our Safety Amplified program provides more tools and drives greater awareness to help our teams better execute our safety standards. Continual training, multifaceted programs and strategic partnerships are the key components of our program. Each year we improve the program based on what we learned the prior year. For example, in 2019 we utilized a structured framework called Human Factors Analysis Classification System (HFACS) to help us evaluate root causes of incidents in the field and process gaps to help guide a more directive decision model to keep employees safe. It’s innovations like this that will help us reach our 2030 safety goals!
Contact Us
What does sustainability mean to you and how do you practice it in your life?
Email us at BlueNation@RepublicServices.com and share your favorite ways!