Environment
The value of waste
Waste can be a valuable commodity if it is treated right. A full audit of waste management at TotalEnergies EP Denmark highlighted transparent and documented ways to sort and treat waste so that it brings more environmental and economic value.
Issues are opportunities
We need to become better at reusing, recycling, and repairing products to create less waste and protect the environment and climate. In 2022, active sites operated by TotalEnergies affiliates globally generated 498,000 tons of waste, of which 61% was valorized. The company aims to recover and valorize more than 70% of its waste by 2030.
A headquarters waste review in Denmark, conducted over two weeks, checked through documents, processes, subcontractors, waste streams and found that as an affiliate we had strong waste management setup supported by the developed waste infrastructure of Denmark. It also identified some golden opportunities to even better understand how our waste is being managed and potentially improve.
“In 2022, we increased our focus on circular resource management, starting with responsible management of our waste. We valorized 86% of our waste that year in Denmark, and want to continue improving on that front in the coming years with particular attention on recycling given our successful experience with the Tyra project.”
– Dana Nasr, Environmental Manager
61%
of the generated waste of 498,000 tons from active sites operated by TotalEnergies affiliates globally, was valorized in 2022.
86%
of TotalEnergies EP Denmark’s waste was valorized in 2022.
Definition of waste valorization
Waste valorization is a waste-to-wealth strategy meaning that waste products are given economic value through the process of recycling or composting waste materials and converting them into more useful products, including materials, chemicals, fuels, or other sources of energy.
We all have to care
The vast majority of TotalEnergies’ waste in Denmark is valorized. Around 60% of that is burnt and energy recovered and sent back to the grid, but recycling waste produces more value and is better for the planet. In 2022, 39% of TotalEnergies EP Denmark’s waste was recycled and the aim is for that to be 50-55% by the end of 2023.
More granularity of the different waste streams is one of the means to improve.
“In 2022, we worked together with our waste contractor to launch a custom-made customer portal suited for our particular needs, based on their template. Our ambition is to be able to follow the waste throughout the value chain and figure out exactly where it comes from, and that means we can take action to reduce and better use our waste,” says Katrina Povidisa-Delefosse, Senior Environmental Advisor.
Once the details will become available on waste from platforms, the environmental teams both locally and at headquarters will be able to spot trends and work with offshore and onshore colleagues to improve the waste management.
By using the waste contractors’ portal, the HSE team will be able to see which platform is sending mixed waste, meaning it can’t be recycled and will have to be incinerated for energy recovery.
“It’s a dialogue – we are not telling people what to do, but rather sharing our experience to improve. We have initiated the dialogue to create an offshore waste forum, where we can get input from the platforms and ask them if certain initiatives will work. We all have to care about it,” says Povidisa-Delefosse.
Total waste 2020–2022
Tons
2022
2,985
2021
2,471
2020*
3,887
Recycled waste 2020–2022
%
2022
39.0%
2021
47.0%
2020*
70.8%
* 2020 includes extra waste from the decommissioning of the Tyra platform
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