Advanced Drainage Systems Named to TIME's Most Impactful Companies List

Advanced Drainage Systems has been named to TIME's 2026 list of the World's Most Impactful Companies, an annual recognition highlighting organisations making measurable contributions to addressing global challenges through innovation and sustainability. The Ohio-based water management company, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, was recognised for its work in sustainable stormwater and wastewater infrastructure, circular manufacturing and water resource protection.

 

The company's central claim to circularity rests on its recycling operations. ADS describes itself as one of the largest plastic recyclers in North America, diverting more than half a billion pounds of plastic from landfills annually and converting it into drainage products such as stormwater and onsite wastewater pipe systems. That volume gives the company's sustainability positioning a concrete, quantified basis beyond general claims of environmental leadership, tying recycled material directly to a commercial product line rather than treating recycling as a separate corporate initiative.

 

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Supporting that manufacturing work is a 110,000 square foot engineering and technology centre the company describes as the largest and most advanced stormwater research facility in the world. The centre includes a 90,000 gallon closed-loop water system that replicates storm conditions for testing, a hydraulics laboratory covering water separation and filtration methods, a materials science lab focused on structural performance and recycled plastics testing, and a technology lab equipped for 3D printing and small-scale pipe prototyping. Together those capabilities are aimed at helping the company develop and validate products that meet regulatory requirements, reduce flooding risk and improve water quality.

 

Brian King, the company's executive vice president for marketing, project management and sustainability, said customers increasingly want partners able to solve complex water challenges sustainably, and framed the TIME recognition as reflecting how the company delivers on that expectation through innovation and scale.