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Company: Advanced Drainage Systems
Nomination Submitted by: Paul Werth Associates
Company Description: Advanced Drainage Systems is a leading provider of innovative water management solutions in the stormwater and on-site septic wastewater industries, providing superior drainage solutions for use in the construction and agriculture marketplace. ADS is the second-largest plastic recycling company in North America.
Nomination Category: Company / Organization Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Company of the Year - Materials & Construction - Large
 Nomination Title: ADS: Our reason is water, but our commitment to sustainability extends far beyond that
- Which will you submit for your nomination in this category, a video of up to five (5) minutes in length about the achievements of the nominated organization since January 1 2020, OR written answers to the questions for this category? (Choose one):
Written answers to the questions
- If you are submitting a video of up to five (5) minutes in length, provide the URL of the nominated video here, OR attach it to your entry via the "Add Attachments, Videos, or Links to This Entry" link above, through which you may also upload a copy of your video.
- If you are providing written answers for your submission, you must provide an answer to this first question: Briefly describe the nominated organization: its history and past performance (up to 200 words):
Total 169 words used.
ADS is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of high-performance corrugated plastic pipe, providing a comprehensive suite of water management products and drainage solutions. Founded in 1966, ADS operates a global network of approximately 60 manufacturing plants and more than 30 distribution centers. ADS employs more than 5,000 people around the world and has annual sales up to $1.9 billion. ADS has a long-standing history of innovation that started with the company’s origin: It was the first to create pipes from corrugated plastic. ADS is focused on the life cycle of a rain drop — capturing it, conveying it, storing it, and treating it, returning clean water to the world’s ecosystems. But ADS’s innovations extend beyond water: For more than 20 years, ADS has been one of North America’s largest recyclers, turning existing plastic into pipes that last for decades. More than 10 billion feet of ADS pipe currently are in service around the world, from major construction sites to suburban neighborhoods, from farm fields to cities
- If you are providing written answers for your submission, you must provide an answer to this second question: Outline the organization's achievements since the beginning of 2020 that you wish to bring to the judges' attention (up to 250 words):
Total 231 words used.
ADS’s reason is water, but the company’s commitment to sustainability extends far beyond that. ADS is North America’s largest recycler of high-density polyethylene (HDPE), a common type of plastic that makes up much of the world’s shampoo bottles, bleach containers and milk jugs. ADS’s pipes and wastewater-infrastructure products are made from material that is up to 50% recycled plastic, building a circular economy and removing plastic and greenhouse gases from our environment.
Over the last two years, ADS has expanded its commitment to sustainability and resiliency:
- In 2021, ADS recycled 510 million pounds of plastic and decreased its plastic scrap rate in factories by 21%.
- In 2020, ADS consumed 28% of all of the recycled HDPE bottles in the U.S.
- In December 2021, ADS acquired Jet Polymer Recycling, a privately owned company with three plastics recycling facilities, to further build on its recycling capability.
- ADS has created sustainability partnerships with The Recycling Partnership, The Ohio State University and the Columbus Blue Jackets to advance education and awareness of sustainability in business.
- Earlier this year, ADS pipes helped solve sinkhole issues at the Tuscaloosa (Ala.) airport by better managing the airport’s stormwater runoff.
These efforts are paying off: ADS sales revenue in 2021 reached $1.9 billion, and the company projects that by 2032, it will recycle more than a billion pounds of plastic a year, nearly double its current rate.
- If you are providing written answers for your submission, you must provide an answer to this third question: Explain why the achievements you have highlighted are unique or significant. If possible compare the achievements to the performance of other players in your industry and/or to the organization's past performance (up to 250 words):
Total 178 words used.
The world has a plastics problem. The U.S EPA, in trying to address that, has set a National Recycling Goal to increase the country’s recycling rate by 50 percent by 2030. In the summer of 2021, ADS signed on to that goal, a natural extension of the work we already do. Most of the players in our industry rely on concrete pipe, which is not as resilient as the recycled plastic pipes we produce, and which does not offer the same opportunities to recycle plastic and remove it from the economic stream. ADS pipes are designed to last up to 100 years, extending the lifecycle of a plastic bottle and eliminating waste from landfills — or, worse, from oceans, lakes and streams. ADS’s efforts eliminated more than 730 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions in 2021, a step toward a more sustainable future for the climate. And ADS has been able to achieve these sustainability goals while growing its business: the company, which started on farm fields more than 50 years ago, now serves communities around the world.
You have the option to answer this final question: Reference any attachments of supporting materials throughout this nomination and how they provide evidence of the claims you have made in this nomination (up to 250 words):
Total 80 words used.
Following are a number of reference points for assertions made in this nomination. They include news stories, press releases and the ADS home page:
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