As environmental targets quickly approach, companies may struggle to understand their role in the broad field of sustainability and how to manage that role. But Germany-based waste management platform Resourcify can help, a company executive said in a recent interview.
The data-based platform connects waste disposers with local waste handlers, creating uniform communication and digitizing order processing, location management and complaint resolution.
“Some companies don’t necessarily have the full picture on waste streams, where leftovers go,” said Angeley Mullins, chief commercial officer of Resourcify.
Using operational data, Resourcify analyzes where companies can reduce costs through more detailed sorting, more efficient on-site handling, transport and better prices, according to a recent press release.
Mullins likened Resourcify to data visualization tools such as Tableau, which help users better understand the data to inform their decisions. The platform provides a visual presentation of the cost of waste management to businesses and shows how optimizing components, including operations and compliance, can reduce overall emissions, she said
The platform is currently available in Europe and the U.K., and Resourcify plans to expand to the U.S. in 2025, Mullins said. Resourcify manages more than $100 million in waste contracts, the press release said, with clients including the European divisions of Johnson & Johnson and McDonald’s, German home improvement store Hornbach and grocery chain Edeka, and the Frankfurt airport.
While an airport may at first glance seem to focus primarily on carbon emissions, it has many different waste streams, Mullins said, including travelers’ trash, recyclables and food and beverage packaging. Resourcify can help optimize those services as well as keep track of invoicing for disposal, she said.
Erik Balmes, head of infrastructure services at the airport, said the software provided transparency to analyze waste streams in detail. “This enabled us to uncover new sources of recyclables and unused potential for their revenue, but also to optimize container sizes and collection intervals in order to save costs,” he said in a Resourcify presentation.
In another example, German home improvement chain Hornbach operates in six European countries, and used Resourcify to centralize administration, accounting and reporting of recyclables and waste for its 190 waste accrual points and more than 70 disposal service providers.
In the case of Johnson & Johnson MedTech UK and Ireland, medical devices have metal parts that can be repurposed into non-medical uses such as waiting-room chairs, Mullins said, and the company can use Resourcify to find appropriate partners for such a venture.
“The whole idea is that waste isn’t waste, waste is a resource,” Mullins said.
Balancing environment with profitability
Resourcify also helps companies realize they don’t have to sacrifice profits to shift to better environmental practices.
“The first big myth is that a company can’t be profitable and sustainable. That’s one of the pieces of propaganda in the U.S.,” Mullins said. “When you have a digitized waste stream, you can optimize your waste stream and actually save money. We believe materials can have a second and third life, and can provide more profits and revenue. It’s not mutually exclusive.”
Another misconception is that proper reporting is unavailable, she said.
“It does exist and companies need to search for it,” Mullins said. “Companies like Resourcify are leading the way and being vetted to make sure we do have reliable data.”
The Berlin-based company Better Earth checks Resourcify’s data to ensure accuracy, Mullins said.
Resourcify has seen a sizable uptick in interest in its platform with the adoption of the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, Mullins said. In mid-2026, Tier 1 or direct suppliers, consumer product goods companies, and the automotive industry must present full-year 2025 CSRD compliance numbers.
In addition, she said, consumers want to support companies that are working toward sustainability-related goals, so there’s huge support for the EU regulations. This has helped drive companies to seek partners for solutions in the broad category of sustainability.
For example, when addressing carbon emissions, “a lot of people focus on renewable energy, but the rest of the picture is focusing on the circular economy, which is composed of everything else, such as recycling,” Mullins said.
“Recycling isn’t just the consumer’s responsibility,” Mullins said. “This is why the narrative and focus should be on businesses, rather than on individual consumers.”
Optimizing waste operations also results in a higher degree of recycled materials re-entering the production cycle, according to the press release. Mullins added that 50% of recyclables in the EU are incinerated due to incorrect sorting and only 17.6% make it back into the production cycle.
Many people think households are creating the majority of waste, but companies represent a bigger share, Mullins said. She said 70% of total waste in Europe comes from companies, but the U.S. is “bigger in consumerism than Europe, so those numbers are probably bigger.”
Because of a source error, this article originally misstated the dollar amount of contracts managed by Resourcify and has been corrected.
