Sustainability

Tre miljöarbetare står vid sopbil och kärl

Step by step up the waste hierarchy

The Renova Group´s goal is to top the increase of waste generated within the community. This is essential for sustainable growth in the region.

The EU's waste hierarchy is our tool for doing this, and our aim is to keep moving waste as high up in this hierarchy as possible.

About 90 percent of the waste we handle is recycled as new materials, biogas and biofertiliser, or as electricity and heating.

Miljöarbetare tömmer sopor i elsopbilen

Our heavy vehicles are fossil-free

Together with partners in the automotive industry, the Renova Group have been at the forefront of vehicle development and more environment-friendly fuel. All of our 250 heavy vehicles are now being powered by completely renewable fuel!

The fuel in our diesel engines is now a type of biodiesel made from hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO). This renewable fuel reduces emissions of greenhouse gases by up to 90 percent in comparison to fossil diesel. Some of our heavy vehicles run fully or partially on biogas. One of them is fueled by liquid biogas (LBG).

Renova was also one of the first to test the use of electric hybrid refuse trucks. Now the first mass-produced refuse trucks running on biodiesel and electricity and loading with electricity are rolling in central Gothenburg. They are both quiet and fossil-free.
In addition to this, we work with smart route planning and train our drivers in eco-driving.

Kvinna kör kran på avfallskraftvärmeverket

Efficient waste recovery

The Renova Waste-to-energy plant at Sävenäs is one of the most efficient plants when it comes to recovering energy from waste.

We are proud of our environmental concerns. We are well below legislated emission values.  About one fifth of the waste is also material recycled in the waste to energy process. Slag from bottom ash is used for construction purposes and scrap metals are recovered.

Två kollegor pratar i kontrollrummet på avfallskraftvärmeverket

Research grant

A research grant of SEK 100,000 is awarded each year to young researchers and doctoral candidates in the field of environmental science. The first grant was awarded in 2003. University masters and doctoral students may also do their final thesis work at Renova.

Renova's management systems

Renova has certified quality, environment and work environment management systems relating to continuous improvement. We have regular audits, both internal and external, to ensure that the procedures related to our environment, quality and work environment programmes are being followed.