OCE-B.02.C - Waste Reduction Progress Reporting
Does the company report progress on reducing its waste generation?
About the data
The WBA Ocean Benchmark measures and ranks the world's most influential companies on their efforts to halt and reverse nature loss in marine ecosystems, tracking how companies manage their impacts on ocean biodiversity, marine habitats, and the communities and workers dependent on healthy seas. The 2026 edition is WBA's first Ocean Benchmark, assessing 125 companies across key sectors dependent on oceans, including seafood, maritime transport, offshore wind energy, shipbuilding, port operations, apparel, and chemicals. Companies are assessed on 47 indicators across four measurement areas: governance, ecosystems and biodiversity, social responsibility, and core social indicators. The benchmark builds on WBA's Nature Benchmark and the former Seafood Stewardship Index, and its methodology was developed with input from more than 50 stakeholders including ocean communities, companies, scientists and civil society, with human rights and social impacts kept at its core alongside nature-specific concerns. More information can be found here.
Methodology
Ocean contamination by human waste is a major global environmental issue. Marine litter,
ranging from microplastics to discarded fishing gear, threatens hundreds of marine species by posing
ingestion and entanglement risks, and damaging their habitats. Most marine debris originates from
land due to causes such as littering, inadequate waste management and natural disasters, while some
comes from marine-based sources. Implementing effective waste management systems, improving
recycling efforts and promoting sustainable practices in maritime industries are crucial steps to
mitigating the impacts of marine pollution (SDG 14.1).
Research Guidance:
The company must demonstrate absolute, year-on-year, quantitative reductions for three consecutive years in either its general waste generation, or metrics related to its most material category/categories of waste.
The company must do one of the following:
report reduction progress against its targets in element (b). Progress against a target is only accepted if the target meets the general scoring guidance to be considered a well-defined target.
show reductions in either its general waste generation, or in its most material category/categories of waste. If the company reports data on multiple waste categories but is only improving in one, this element can only be met if it is not regressing in any other waste category. Any increases in a waste category will result in an unmet.
ranging from microplastics to discarded fishing gear, threatens hundreds of marine species by posing
ingestion and entanglement risks, and damaging their habitats. Most marine debris originates from
land due to causes such as littering, inadequate waste management and natural disasters, while some
comes from marine-based sources. Implementing effective waste management systems, improving
recycling efforts and promoting sustainable practices in maritime industries are crucial steps to
mitigating the impacts of marine pollution (SDG 14.1).
Research Guidance:
The company must demonstrate absolute, year-on-year, quantitative reductions for three consecutive years in either its general waste generation, or metrics related to its most material category/categories of waste.
The company must do one of the following:
report reduction progress against its targets in element (b). Progress against a target is only accepted if the target meets the general scoring guidance to be considered a well-defined target.
show reductions in either its general waste generation, or in its most material category/categories of waste. If the company reports data on multiple waste categories but is only improving in one, this element can only be met if it is not regressing in any other waste category. Any increases in a waste category will result in an unmet.
License
Topics
Framework Mappings
Value Type
Category
Options
Yes
No
Assessment
Steward Assessed
Report Type
Aggregate Data Report