Corporate Sustainability: Turning Earth Day into a Year-Round Mission

What began in 1970 as a national movement, Earth Day is now a global event mobilizing more than one billion people to engage in sustainable, environmentally responsible activities. For Woodard & Curran, the international day reminds us to reflect on how our work builds upon our economic, environmental, and social impact. 

Growing Corporate Social Responsibility 

On Earth Day 2018, the firm released its inaugural Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Report, which formally stated our commitment to improve overall social and environmental footprint by sharing our sustainability policy, reporting our baseline, documenting current and planned efforts, and setting sustainability goals for 2020 and 2025. This document reflects our inherent commitment to our employees, the environment, and the communities in which we work. It serves as the basis for our Office Sustainability Program (OSP) we launched this Earth Day. 

With over 30 offices across the country, the OSP consists of more than 80 actionable items for each location to undertake and improve upon its existing infrastructure. The goal is to make each office a healthier, more engaged, and environmentally sustainable community within the framework of the firm. While we are sometimes limited in changes we can make at an office, the OSP provides employees with a checklist of actions with tangible results, addressing one of these nine categories:  

Administrative/Leadership
Purchasing
Community Engagement
Committed Colleagues
Waste
Water 
Emissions and Energy
Health and Well-being 
Innovation

Each of the actions is tied to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, including sustainable cities and communities, clean water and sanitation, climate action, good health and wellbeing, responsible consumption and production, and affordable energy. Tying our OSP actions to the UN’s goals provides a reminder about how our local efforts can make progress towards a larger, global impact.

The OSP is designed to foster our people and environment-first mission, while continually providing exceptional services to our clients and the communities we serve and in which we work. The program is also a key action noted in our 2016-2017 CSR report. We look forward to sharing the results of this piloted program when we evaluate each office’s progress in January. Annually, we will award tiered Sustainable Office Certifications to our offices based on their OSP performance. 

With Purpose in Mind

The launch of the OSP demonstrates our continued dedication to the action plan designed to achieve our 2020 and 2025 sustainability goals. After the end of each year, we are measuring our progress and have revamped our website to summarize key components of the CSR efforts and our progress to date. These pages, found under Purpose, include: 

2016-2017 CSR Report
Our Sustainability Policy
Our People
Our Work
Our Business Operations
Our Communities

I encourage you to browse through these pages to gain a better understanding of the effort Woodard & Curran puts in to fulfilling our mission. As global conservationist Jane Goodall said, “You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” Our people of Woodard & Curran are making a positive difference in our communities every day. 

 

Author

Alyson Watson Chief Executive Officer & Chair of the Board

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