From the beginning, our founders instilled an ambitious sense of environmental stewardship into the fabric of our firm and that passion has continuously been picked up by Woodard & Curran employees. Today, as I prepare to celebrate my first Earth Day as the firm’s President of Consulting, I am excited to share the steps we are taking to reinvigorate and strengthen our commitment to sustainability.
As an environmental engineering firm, our work—whether that be creating long-lasting wastewater systems or helping remediate Superfund sites—has always had an undercurrent of sustainability. We look for solutions that will have a positive effect on our clients’ bottom-line, the surrounding environment, and the community they serve. We have delivered sustainability and resiliency solutions to our clients for many years by incorporating efficient conservation and green infrastructure practices in our planning, design, and construction projects.
Woodard & Curran Recognized as Leader in Climate Change Adaptation & Resilience
Now we are ready to take our approach to sustainability a step forward. By integrating and expanding our planning, resource recovery, and hazard mitigation expertise, we are ready offer our clients a forward-thinking perspective that utilizes cutting edge technology and a triple bottom line approach.
For example, we are planning to build on the environmental degradation mitigation services we already offer by pursing resource preservation and recovery opportunities. We are in the process of adding more Envision capabilities to the firm so we can provide more sustainable infrastructure expertise to our clients. With our historical roots in the wastewater business, we are helping clients make the most out of their systems by pursuing opportunities in co-digestion, heat recovery, nutrient recovery, and water recycling. We are considering opportunities for digester gas use, biosolids end use, organic solid waste recovery, and side stream treatment and we are examining the breakthroughs surrounding compounds of emerging concern. As engineers, we can improve the efficiency of any system we work with by bringing an integrated view and big picture mindset. We, as a company, are committed to bringing a sustainability lens to every project we pursue.
We are also expanding the way we approach sustainability internally. In the past our approach was largely driven by grassroots efforts. Our employees were the drivers behind countless programs, inlcuding: tracking and reducing paper and energy use at our offices, volunteering with local non-profit organizations, and deploying sophisticated technology systems to allow our employees to work remotely. Historically, these programs have been born out of our employees’ passions and spearheaded by a small committed group of individuals, but as we recognize the growing importance of these initiatives, we are committed to building a more integrated internal sustainability program. Our most exciting venture ahead will be the establishment of our first Corporate Social Responsibility Report, which will present our baseline social and environmental key performance indicators, and allow us to develop and share future goals to reduce our environmental footprint.
Amidst a national conversation of deregulation and funding cutbacks, I am constantly inspired by the municipal, institutional, and business leaders I interact with across the country. Recently, I was at the WateReuse California Annual Conference and was taken by the fact that every Californian municipality was in attendance—eager to find ways to diversify their water supply and provide a more stable water supply portfolio to their community. As development and population growth continues to rise, Woodard & Curran is ready to step boldly ahead to meet the needs of our clients and be a leader in sustainable solutions for other businesses nationwide.
