Waste Management (WM) Turns Business Around and Becomes ESG Leader in Waste-to-Energy

November 6, 2012

Waste Management (WM) has turned around its business, improving its corporate governance and becoming a pioneer and leader in waste to energy, becoming a long-term ESG holding in a growing industry with high barriers to entry, says Todd C. Ahlsten, Chief Investment Officer and Portfolio Manager at Parnassus Investments.

“[WM] over the last decade has made incredible strides. And first of all, Waste Management now has very good corporate governance, where 10 years ago, they had some issues on the board. Now, we like the board, we like management, so corporate governance has vastly improved,” Ahlsten said.

Ahlsten says Waste Management is the largest recycler in the United States, which is growing and profitable, and also they have made significant investments in capturing methane from landfill sites, and they are producing liquefied natural gas and CNG — all of this while improving worker safety in having fewer accidents and less downtime.

“We like the stock’s range of outcomes. The stock is in the low $30s, and we see downside into the mid-$20s if there’s a recession, and upside to well over $40 a share in the next three years if they execute on their plan, so we like the range of outcomes. The stock also has a dividend yield about 4%,” Ahlsten said.