Case Study Cory

Overview of Asset

In 2018, Fiera Infrastructure acquired a minority interest in Cory, a resource management, recycling and energy recovery company that operates an Energy from Waste (EfW) facility located in the United Kingdom. The asset continues to be a sustainability leader in the portfolio.

In addition to integrating best practices for managing ESG issues, Cory’s business contributes to a more circular economy, ensuring there is no waste from waste and reduces emissions by using barges to transport waste by river to the facility, saving 100,000 road vehicle movements a year.

Key Components of the ESG Program

In 2020, Cory committed to achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions in its operations by 2040
Planning consent was received for the Riverside Energy Park, a new EfW facility that will process 655,000 tonnes of non-recyclable waste into enough electricity to power 140,000 homes each year
Cory received certifications and accreditations for its energy, quality, health and safety, environmental and cyber security management systems
Publicly reported on its sustainability program through its website, sustainability report and annual financial report
Cory reported on 2020 greenhouse gas emissions in line with the UK Government’s new Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) Requirements in the Annual Review. This means Cory will be using 2020 as the baseline year for reporting future progress on reducing CO₂ emissions
In order to help monitor and reduce energy consumption, Cory implemented a sustainability reporting software solution to record sustainability data and track performance
In June 2021, following successful trials throughout 2020, Cory moved its entire river fleet from marine gas oil to run on biofuels. This will result in a reduction of net CO₂ emissions by over 90% from Cory’s river operations
Working in partnership with BAE Systems and Wight Shipyard, Cory is conducting a feasibility study as part of the Innovate UK Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition. The study will inform and de-risk the development and future operation of a fleet of up to 25 autonomous, self-propelled barges powered by electricity from its EfW process
Cory is committed to robust governance of climate-related risks and opportunities and has therefore chosen to implement and report on the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)
On top of the above initiatives, in 2020 Cory initiated a project to install 37 electric vehicle charging points across 6 sites, purchased 100% of renewable energy across all sites, saved approximately 12,000 litres of fuel across its fleet of tugs by reducing engine idling time, and supported seven community projects with grants from its new Community Fund

Key ESG Stats

2021 GRESB score of 94, received a 5-star rating and rated second in its class of Waste Treatment. One of the top-performing assets in GRESB. The top-performing asset from an ESG perspective within Fiera Infrastructure’s portfolio

Employee Training

100% of employees received training and development related to ESG issues

Waste Processing

Processes approximately 750,000 tonnes of London’s household and commercial waste annually

Waste Conversion

Municipal waste is converted into heat and approximately 525,000 MWh of electricity per annum

Green Highway

Removes approximately 100,000 truck movements a year from congested London roads by transporting waste to the facility on the River Thames

Resource Recovery

19,500 tonnes of metals are recovered and recycled, along with 175,000 tonnes of ash, which is used as construction aggregate

Climate Objectives

Net Zero Target of 2040

Future ESG Plans

Cory is planning to make a significant investment in its operations and river infrastructure over the coming years. This includes Riverside Energy Park, which will be constructed alongside the existing facility in Belvedere. The expansion will include an EfW facility that will process 655,000 tonnes of non-recyclable waste into enough electricity to power 140,000 homes each year.

Cory intends to apply carbon capture and storage technology to the UK’s largest single-site EfW operation, with the potential to create the world’s largest single-site EfW decarbonization project. By 2030, this has the potential to deliver 1.4 million tonnes of CO2 savings per annum – providing a significant contribution to reducing the carbon emissions of the several million people Cory services in London and the South East.

Cory is currently working with Vattenfall, local authorities and developers to develop a district heat network to provide affordable and low-carbon heating to more than 21,000 homes.