Stormwater, Sustainability and Living Up to Our Promises

Written by Nicole Voss, Director of Sustainability 

Sustainability remains important to ADS, as our recently published Sustainability Report highlights.

Stormwater events — such as severe storms, tropical cyclones, drought and winter storms — have increased significantly in both frequency and magnitude over the last 20 years. These events cost our society hundreds of billions of dollars in repairs, disrupt business and displace people — and sometimes even take lives.

At ADS, we included that historical data in our recent annual Sustainability Report because we think it is important to talk about the growing threat stormwater presents to communities around the globe.

It might seem odd for a pipe company to be so focused on sustainability, but protecting and managing water — the world’s most precious resource — is at the core of what we do. And our products help neighborhoods, cities, and farmers protect property and livelihoods from the dangers that come from these disasters.

Our Sustainability Report is one way that we hold ourselves accountable and promote transparency. In it, we share our progress toward our goal to recycle a billion pounds of plastic each year by 2032. I am pleased and proud to share that last year, we recycled more than half a billion pounds of plastic, keeping it from landfills and turning it into pipes that will not only manage stormwater, but will be in operation for 100 years.

We increased our commitment to sustainability as well last year, becoming a signatory to the UN Global Compact, and while we don’t do this work for the recognition, ADS also was honored by the Ohio EPA, Fast Company and USA TODAY for our efforts around environmental protection.

This is good for our business. It is also good for the communities in which our employees live, work and play. That is why our brand promise revolves around protecting water: because we care about those communities and are invested in protecting and managing the water that flows through them.

I hope you will read our Sustainability Report, and reach out with comments, thoughts or questions. We publish it annually because we want to open the door to greater conversation around how businesses can integrate sustainability into their core business practices — because when we all focus on sustainable practices, we can make a greater positive impact.