At CH2M HILL, we've fostered a culture of environmental stewardship for more than 60 years. Our firm was one of the first in our industry to publish a sustainability report and the first to establish an internal Environmental Management System (EMS) that follows International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14001 guidelines.
We continue to support the UN Global Compact principles, and we measure and report our performance annually. In 2010, CH2M HILL was named a leader in sustainable engineering by Verdantix, an independent analyst firm focused on sustainable business issues.
As accelerated population growth drives up demands for energy and water, the world's finite natural resources are being stressed more than ever. Our clients are being forced to set aggressive goals for how they use and manage these increasingly scarce natural resources. Achieving these goals requires innovation and systems thinking to develop sustainable solutions that are viable today and for the longer term. To address the interconnected challenges of climate variation, energy, water, and land development, in addition to social and economic considerations, we call on our wide array of technical disciplines to develop comprehensive sustainable solutions for our clients. CH2M HILL builds sustainability into the way we do business, applying a whole systems approach and technical expertise to turn sustainability strategy into action.
In the past 2 years, we have evolved our sustainability approach as described below.
More clients want to convert sustainability concepts into business accountability. We have launched two new programs to assist them:
Whether a city is installing water utilities or a manufacturer is constructing a new facility in India, climate change impacts must be considered to make the best investment for the future. Temperature, precipitation, and sea level increases need to factor into infrastructure decision-making, design, and operations. To assist our clients with this process, CH2M HILL has partnered with CLIMsystems, a global leader in modeling climate change impacts. The SimCLIM modeling system, which assesses climate change impacts on potential projects, enables us to plan, design, and implement climate adaptation solutions for clients with current and future infrastructure needs.
Most of our large, complex sustainability projects involve partnering with other firms, universities, institutes, nongovernmental organizations, and equipment suppliers. This allows us to create and lead the best team of partners to provide innovative, customized sustainable solutions for our clients. Our diverse technical skills and niche expertise focused in a programmatic approach helps us create the most robust solutions. We have used this approach in the major programs we have led, including our work with the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Panama Canal expansion, and Masdar Sustainable City in the United Arab Emirates.
We help our clients implement leading-edge sustainable solutions around the world, while doing everything in our power to reduce our own environmental footprint. We do this by integrating sustainability principles into each step of the project life cycle—from planning, design, construction, and operations to sustaining the project or program over time. Some of our most rewarding projects involve helping distressed communities work through conflicting agendas and bewildering technical options. Our solutions range from integrating sustainability principles into local park designs, to restoring wetlands and blighted habitats, to developing master plans for new sustainable cities. We promote sustainability as part of our choice to do business differently, which has long been CH2M HILL's approach in our own operations and in finding and delivering solutions for our clients.
