Waste Disclosure Intent Taxonomy

1. Purpose

This section defines the Waste Disclosure Intent (CDI) taxonomy for waste-related sustainability disclosures.

The Waste taxonomy enumerates a stable set of disclosure intents that capture the semantic meaning of commonly requested waste-related information across sustainability reporting frameworks.

The taxonomy:

  • is independent of any reporting standard or regulation,
  • does not prescribe disclosure obligations,
  • does not assert environmental impact, harm, or compliance,
  • is intended to be reused across frameworks via Canonical Mapping Packs (CMPs).

Waste CDIs treat waste as an operational output stream, not as a proxy for environmental impact, circularity performance, or regulatory compliance.

2. Taxonomy Structure

Waste disclosure intents are grouped into the following logical domains:

  1. Waste Generation
  2. Waste Composition
  3. Waste Destination
  4. Waste Handling & Treatment
  5. Waste Intensity
  6. Waste Management & Measurement
  7. Change & Dependency

Each disclosure intent:

  • has a unique identifier,
  • represents a single semantic concept,
  • may be quantitative, narrative, or hybrid,
  • may reference one or more canonical data elements.

3. Waste Disclosure Intents

3.1 Waste Generation

CDI-WSTE-01
Total waste generated

The total quantity of waste generated by the organisation during the reporting period.

CDI-WSTE-02
Waste generated by operational boundary

Waste generated, disaggregated by organisational or operational boundary.

3.2 Waste Composition

CDI-WSTE-03
Waste by material or category

Waste generated, disaggregated by material type or waste category.

CDI-WSTE-04
Waste classified as hazardous or non-hazardous

Waste generated, disaggregated by hazardous or non-hazardous classification as defined by the reporting framework.

3.3 Waste Destination

CDI-WSTE-05
Waste sent to disposal

Waste directed to final disposal routes.

CDI-WSTE-06
Waste sent to recycling

Waste directed to recycling processes.

CDI-WSTE-07
Waste sent to recovery or energy recovery

Waste directed to recovery or energy recovery processes.

CDI-WSTE-08
Waste sent to reuse

Waste directed to reuse pathways without reprocessing.

CDI-WSTE-09
Waste destination by type

Waste disaggregated by destination type or treatment outcome.

3.4 Waste Handling & Treatment

CDI-WSTE-10
On-site waste handling or treatment

Waste handled or treated within the organisation’s operational boundary.

CDI-WSTE-11
Off-site waste handling or treatment

Waste transferred to third parties for handling or treatment.

CDI-WSTE-12
Use of third-party waste contractors

The use of external contractors or facilities for waste management.

3.5 Waste Intensity

CDI-WSTE-13
Waste intensity metric

Waste generated normalised by a defined activity, output, or business metric.

CDI-WSTE-14
Waste data normalisation method

The method used to normalise waste generation or treatment data.

3.6 Waste Management & Measurement

CDI-WSTE-15
Waste management practices or systems

The existence of organisational practices or systems for managing waste.

CDI-WSTE-16
Organisational responsibility for waste management

The assignment of roles or responsibilities for waste-related management.

CDI-WSTE-17
Processes for measuring or tracking waste

The processes used to measure, estimate, or track waste generation and treatment.

3.7 Change & Dependency

CDI-WSTE-18
Changes in waste generation or treatment patterns

Material changes in waste generation, composition, or destination compared to a prior reporting period.

CDI-WSTE-19
Operational dependency on specific waste treatment routes

Dependency on specific waste treatment or disposal routes for continued operations.

4. Taxonomy Characteristics

  • Waste CDIs are distinct from pollution, biodiversity, and circular economy CDIs.
  • Waste CDIs focus on operational waste flows, not environmental impact or harm.
  • Each CDI may map to multiple framework requirements via CMPs.
  • Framework-specific nuance is handled exclusively through CMPs.
  • Deprecated CDIs remain referenceable for historical disclosures.

5. Summary

The CDI v1 Waste Taxonomy defines a stable semantic vocabulary for expressing waste-related disclosure meaning across sustainability reporting frameworks.

By separating operational waste disclosures from regulatory, impact, and circularity considerations, the taxonomy enables consistent data modelling, reuse, and transparent interpretation without embedding judgement or policy assumptions.

Waste Taxonomy Version: v1.0.0

Waste CDI v1 Status

The Waste Disclosure Intent taxonomy defined in this document is frozen as CDI v1.

No new Waste CDIs will be added to v1.
Future extensions will require a new major version.

Status: Frozen
Effective version: CDI v1

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