Badger Meter (BMI)

Company website 2020 Financial Report Stock Analysis 2020 ESG Report

Billion Gallons

The total amount of water that Badger's customers can save annually

1988

The year when Badger became the 1st company to offer radio connectivity to water meters

425.5

Million Dollars

Sales revenue from water efficiency solutions in 2020

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The Path to Drawdown:

Water Distribution Efficiency

Water utilities are among the largest consumers of electricity globally. They’re responsible for about 1% of total electricity use in the world. Up to 80% of that energy is used for pumping water alone. But ~35% of that water is wasted through pipe leakage, meter error, and unauthorized consumption. This all adds up, dramatically reducing the supply of water over time and producing unnecessary emissions to generate the energy used to pump more water.

Water efficiency solutions can minimize this leakage. Pressure management and active leak detection are two important solutions. Pressure management involves installing pressure valves at water inlets and outlets to better monitor water flow and pressures, and leads to reductions in pipe bursts and leaks. Solving leaks takes substantial investment, but it’s the cheapest way to source new supply, serve growing urban populations, and reduce emissions.

Project Drawdown estimates that, if 38-47% of the global water distribution network can adopt these solutions, it could reduce CO2e emissions by 0.66 - 0.94 gigatons between 2020 and 2050. That’s an emissions reduction equivalent to taking close to 204.5 million passenger vehicles off the road for one year.

About

Badger Meter (stock ticker: BMI) is an innovator and manufacturer of products using flow measurement and control technologies that serve water utilities, municipalities, and commercial and industrial customers worldwide. Headquartered in Milwaukee, WIsconsin

BMI’s Role in Drawdown

Badger Meter offers a wide range of smart metering solutions used to measure and control water flow in a number of applications. They serve municipalities, water utilities, and residential, commercial and industrial customers worldwide. Their fully integrated smart water solutions provide real-time access to detailed water usage data and leak detection, enabling customers to improve efficiency and reduce water loss.

Badger’s metering analytics software and smart phone app were shown (p. 7) to help reduce the number of homes in the study with water leaks by 29%. In homes with water leaks, they were repaired an average of 30% faster.

According to Badger Meter (p. 8), smart metering could help their customers in the aggregate save 5 billion gallons of water annually, more than 11.5 million KWh reduction in energy needed to heat, pump and treat that water, and over 7,850 tons of CO2 emissions avoided.

BMI: What We Like

Badger Meter has several programs to enhance their environmental sustainability, and have made some progress toward their goals. In the last few years, they’ve:

<::marker> Reduced (p. 12) their overall energy usage by installing LED lighting, HVAC upgrades, air leak management, power load monitoring and other operational improvements. Their Milwaukee facility, for example, reduced energy use by 32% between 1991-2019

Reduced landfill waste by recycling plastics, cardboard and other materials, and finding downstream uses for these materials or convert waste to energy. As a result of these efforts, they’ve reduced solid waste ending up in landfills by 7.3% annually since 2017.

What We Want to See Improve

Reduce Absolute Emissions

Badger’s German operation participates in an environmental program (p. 15) whereby all the CO2 emissions generated by shipping/parcel transports are offset by investments in a forest and reforestation project. While forests are crucial carbon sinks that need to be increased, we think it’s more important for companies to do the hard work of addressing the root cause of climate change - mitigating GHG emissions. We urge Badger to take steps to reduce absolute emissions in the very near future.

Track Scope 3 Emissions

We commend Badger for beginning disclosure of their scope 1 and 2 emissions in 2020. But these disclosures don’t yet include their scope 3 emissions, which tend to account for the vast majority of most companies’ emissions. We urge them to add this dimension in their future emissions reporting.

Transition to Renewable Energy Faster

As of 2020, only 4.5% of the energy (p. 1) Badger consumed came from renewable sources. Although this figure is higher (p. 12) than in 2017, the share of renewable energy is growing at a glacial pace. We urge Badger to be more aggressive in transitioning to renewables and retire non-renewable energy from their operations.

Related Water Conservation Stocks in the Climate Index

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Allocated	Company	Description
1.49%	Xylem (XYL)	Xylem offers solutions that help customers use water more efficiently and intelligently. Efficient water distribution conserves energy and cuts emissions
0.40%	Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (WTS)	Watts Water Technologies conserves the flow of water and energy in residential and commercial buildings. Water distribution efficiency helps cut emissions
0.23%	Itron (ITRI)	Itron makes control devices that measure and analyze electricity, gas and water consumption. Efficient water distribution can cut energy use and emissions
0.19%	Badger Meter (BMI)	Badger makes smart metering technologies that allow customers to measure and control water flow. Their solutions enhance water efficiency and reduce emissions
0.02%	Atlas Technical Consultants, Inc. (ATCX)	Atlas offer technical services on how to better manage water resources and leak detection. Water distribution efficiency can cut emissions