First Level: Philanthropic – Waste Management believes in charitable giving. They target their support to fund projects or programs that enhance the scope of services offered by that organization. Funding for environmental support is given to programs that preserve and/or enhance natural resources. They support environmental education programs targeted at middle and high school students to encourage them to act in a responsible manner in order to protect the environment. Waste Management also supports programs in their local communities to make them cleaner and better places to live. They are active in programs such as the Wildlife Habitat Council, Keep America Beautiful, and sponsors Civil Liability Awards. They also have educational material available for download on their website at www.wm.com .

Second Level: Ethical – Waste Management’s statement on their website reads, “We believe it is imperative to exhibit the highest ethical standards — as a company and as individuals. Our aim is to be defined by a culture that reflects our core values”. They have an established code of conduct and educate every employee on it. They expect everyone in the company to operate in an environment of honesty, accountability, safety, professionalism, respect, inclusion, diversity, and employee empowerment.

Third: Legal – Waste Management calls this Corporate Governance. The company’s primary objective is to maximize stockholder value, while adhering to the laws of the jurisdictions within which it operates. There is an entire page on their website devoted to educating the public on their guidelines, policies, and charters.

Fourth: Economics – They are the largest environmental solutions provider in North America. They boast the largest network of recycling facilities, transfer stations and landfills in the industry. In addition, they are a renewable energy provider and use landfill gas harvested from their facilities to create electricity to power local communities. Waste Management is also active in creating sustainable solutions by advancing technologies to reduce waste, increasing recycling and reuse, creating safer treatment and disposal options, developing additional sources of renewable energy, and sharing the benefits of their learning with their collaborators and competitors. They have positioned themselves well to maximize shareholder value which has recently been displayed by their consistently rising stock prices.