our Planet

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

Twin Rivers Technologies recognizes the inherent value of ecosystems and our reliance on them. Our organization relies on our deep-water marine terminal and the surrounding waterways for our continued operations. Sustainable production starts with our raw material arriving at port to feed our systems. This requires us to be very closely integrated with the surrounding waterways.

To protect ecosystems like the Fore and Town Rivers, our Quincy, MA facility is designed to prevent releases and minimize the impact of our operations on the environment. We have installed a comprehensive emergency response procedure and contingency plans to address potential issues that may threaten our community or the environment.

We pursue proper waste disposal, reduction of waste and emissions, upcycling when possible and the developing renewable resources to support our business. From 2002 to 2012, our primary fuel at the facility was what others would consider waste; but we eliminated sulfur dioxide emission and reduced nitrogen oxide and GHG emissions. After converting to natural gas, TRT entered into a contract that sent the same material and other similar byproducts into a system that creates bioenergy and offsets petrochemical use. In 2020, TRT continued our recycling program to reduce waste that would otherwise be landfilled. This effort includes the creation of recycling centers in all office and production areas, the deployment of new recycling containers each of these areas and the removal of general trashcans at desks and workstations to promote recycling.

We are committed to finding opportunities to build a more sustainable operation and work harmoniously within the communities that we are a part of.

REDUCE: ENERGY CONSUMPTION & EMISSIONS

TRT has had a steady electrical load since 2012. Prior to 2012, we executed a number of energy conservation projects to reach our current demand. These included relighting, pump and equipment modifications. The most impactful energy and conservation efforts have been the installation of the Combined Heat and Power (CHP) System, which has allowed TRT to generate much of our electrical load, and the Regenerative Thermal Oxidizer (RTO) system that reduced our annual water demand. Both projects also reduced emissions.

ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION (kWh)

 

FUEL CONSUMPTION* (MWh)

 

*Since 2012 when we installed a natural gas feed system and TRT has since utilized natural gas as its primary fuel. We have the ability to also use #6 Oil, #2Oil and biofuels that we produce on site as a means to produce steam and electricity. The change to natural gas has had multiple positive effects. We now operate at a lower cost, more reliably and have lower overall emissions.

EMISSIONS

TRT has long strived for opportunities to improve the way we operate and to be more efficient and cleaner, especially with respect to fuels. Today we are taking a hard look at our facility and ways we can reduce GHG emissions going forward. Beyond our regulatory reporting we now report under the Carbon Disclosure Project, (CDP), allowing for transparency. We are also currently working to carbon footprint each of our products so the downstream customers can accurately quantify their emissions. We are setting targets under the Science Based Target initiative, (SBTi), and the ACI 1.5C Climate Challenge. These initiatives will help us define our goals for 2030 to 2050 for GHG emissions reduction.
VEGETABLE OIL GROWTH PROJECT…
AN EMISSIONS STORY

TRT began the Vegetable Oil Growth Project in 2019 with the goal of developing new and growing existing products with sustainable vegetable oil feedstock alternatives. In 2022, TRT succeeded in replacing all of our tallow feedstock with vegetable oil alternatives. This is both economically and environmentally important to TRT. TRT is vertically integrated with our suppliers in Southeast Asia and can take advantage of our deep-water port to bring vegetable oils to our facility at lower cost. Beyond the economic impact, this conversion has two environmental affects: first it reduces the amount of truck and rail traffic that delivers tallow for processing and replaces that mode of transportation with vessel tanker deliveries which have far less GHG impact. However, the greater savings on GHG emissions is how that tallow will be utilized when not coming to TRT. Tallow is not only a raw material for our industry but is also used as a biofuel alternative to petro fuels in other industries. By replacing tallow with vegetable oil, the tallow will likely be used as a fuel. TRT has direct experience with tallow as a fuel as it was our primary fuel from 2002 to 2014. Compared to petro fuels, tallow burns much cleaner, it contains no sulfur and therefore does not release sulfur dioxide. Additionally, tallow burns more completely than most petro fuels because of oxygen entrained in its chemical makeup, allowing for more complete combustion and 30% less nitrogen oxide development. And when combusted, tallow releases just over half the amount of CO2 into the atmosphere. Between 2019 and 2020, the project potentially reduced CO2 loadings by 13,000 tons and upon completion, will provide a reduction in emissions of over 400,000 MT every year! At TRT, we continue to look for new ways, both direct and indirect, to reduce our carbon footprint and will continue to help meet the goals of the Paris Climate Accord and UN Sustainable Development Goals.

MONITORING

TRT closely monitors emissions, that we are directly responsible for ( Scope 1), those that are the result of purchased electricity (Scope 2) and those from our supply chain and transportation (Scope 3). TRT believes that by monitoring these emissions individually we can better focus on reducing them in kind. Our performance since adopting the goals of the Paris Climate Accord can be seen in the emissions tables below. In our efforts to reduce emissions, we have taken steps of change. Since converting to natural gas as our primary fuel, the NOB fuel became a saleable fuel to offset other uses of petroleum. The gas conversion led to better scope one and two emissions as our CHP system creates over half of our electric demand. TRT is one of the few, if not the only oleochemical facility in North America with transparency on Scope 3 emissions. Converting to an all-vegetable oil base will reduce Scope 3 emissions by replacing tanker truck and rail supply chains with a marine vessel supply chain that moves bulk oil much more efficiently.

Each of these emissions types is being targeted for reduction. Through various identified methods to optimize our operation and conserve energy and natural resource we will make headway. We are also looking for technology to provide new alternatives for energy supply and generation to continue to improve

DIRECT EMISSIONS

Scope 1 - Onsite Emissions
 

INDIRECT EMISSIONS

Scope 2 – Purchased Electricity Emissions
 

SUPPLY CHAIN EMISSIONS

Scope 3 – Supply Chain & Transportation Emissions
 

All results expressed in MTCO2e

Scope 1: Direct GHG emissions from sources owned by Twin Rivers (i.e. natural gas, vehicle fuels and refrigerants). Due to the biogenic differences between fossil fuels and biomass, the Scope 1 data is net of biogenic emissions.

Scope 2: Energy indirect GHG emissions (i.e. purchased electricity, heating and cooling)

CDP Reporting

TRT recognizes the threat that the entire world community faces with climate change. To increase our transparency TRT joined the Carbon Disclosure Project in 2020 and in 2021 began reporting into the forum. Our efforts show improvement year over year as our initial assessment now compares favorably with other industries in our sector. By establishing science-based targets we hope to continue that trend and lay the groundwork for projects that will make material progress. TRT has worked to hold our emissions in check to prevent any rise in global temperature over 1.5C between now and 2030 and beyond. However, the proof is in the data. The environmental impact we have on the planet is reported to the regulatory agencies on a continuous basis and shared with the public in our annual Sustainability Report. The CDP Project is another opportunity to become an active part in reducing the impact of climate change that affects us all.

TRT has a stated goal of limiting our carbon footprint so to support the 1.5C Climate Challenge over the next 10 years. We began this initiative in 2017 EBY (Emission Baseline Year) and have reduced our carbon footprint by 5%. Initiatives that limit carbon emissions will help to achieve this goal.

REUSE: SOURCE & WASTE REDUCTION

TARGETING ZERO

TRT has set a goal of outperforming the Paris Climate Accord and SDG goals for emissions and is targeting zero growth of emissions and waste streams over the next ten years (2017 baseline). The goals of nearly all efforts globally are to get to net zero by 2050. That might seem like a long time from now, but when you consider we need to change the way we do just about everything, thirty years will be challenging. We believe this will be possible through the development of new technologies, renewable energy sources, waste minimization and conservation.

One of TRT’s most important natural resources is water. We use water as a catalyst in our hydrolyzation processes. That process allows TRT to “split” fats and oils into fatty acids and glycerin. All our products are hydrolyzed before going on to further refinement. Water is the key to success, but in the Northeast that comes at a cost. To promote water conservation and to reduce load on the municipal supply, TRT has piloted and is ready to recover the water used in process and create a closed loop treatment system. Numerous internal studies have been completed and three pilot projects have taught us much about how to execute a venture of this nature. The next step will be a significant one that will provide another sustainability opportunity for the facility that will reduce our dependance on the public water supply, provide huge economic benefit and open the discussion for storm water farming as a make-up water supply.

RESPONSIBLE SOURCING

TRT manufactures a variety of fatty acid and glycerin-based products using many different raw materials. Historically these have included both vegetable and animal fats. As we transition to a vegetable platform, our raw materials include coconut oil, palm oil, palm kernel oil, and soybean oil. TRT’s responsibility is to provide the products that our customers request, while recognizing that each of the materials we require for manufacturing present unique environmental challenges. We are committed to upholding responsible sourcing practices to reduce the environmental and social impacts associated with our products. TRT holds certifications under the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and has instituted a Supplier Code of Conduct that requires our supply chain members meet or exceed the responsible sourcing requirements of the RSPO.

Beyond those certifications, TRT is actively working to bring sustainably sourced products to our customers. We currently offer ten different Responsibly Sourced Palm Mass Balanced products and eleven products that are certified as “Coconut Only” products. Since this initiative began in 2017, the total volume of both product lines exceeds 12 million lbs per year and is expected to grow.

In 2021, TRT instituted a Supplier Code of Conduct to communicate our expectations of the companies in our supply chain as it relates to ESG concerns. We also began a Supplier ESG auditing / survey program to quantify supplier performance to that end.

RAW MATERIALS

 
 
 

RECYCLE: WASTE PRODUCTION & TRASH REDUCTION

WASTE GENERATION

TRT strives to reduce the volume of our waste streams, which have historically been disposed of to landfills or as hazardous / regulated waste. Through reengineering, reprocessing, energy recovery, recycling or the identification of new sales outlets, we have been able to reduce waste sources that are “disposed of” to a fraction of the total potential volumes. Focused efforts by our entire organization have allowed TRT to reduce our total waste discharge by 96% of our total potential waste discharge.

TRT has maintained a Waste Circularity system since prior to 2015. This effort has given us a clear understanding of our waste streams. This has provided us with information to find opportunities to reuse, recycle and repurpose materials that would otherwise be disposed of.

In 2022, TRT significantly improved our containment systems. This included the installation of almost 500 ft of seawall that will help us in two ways. First, it will improve the spill containment capacity and capability of the facility better protecting the environment ad the community from a spill. Second, it will provide protection for the facility from sea level rise and storms that will become more impactful in the future. TRT has made the continued expansion of its containment system part of its long-term infrastructure plan.

WASTE AND RECYCLING
(REPORTED IN SHORT TONS)