Season's Greetings

At Stantec, we are proud of our ability to provide consistent innovative solutions to our clients. Innovation was a driving force behind Stantec’s past successes and will continue to be a force into the future. However, the innovation doesn’t cease outside the boardroom, it’s even found in our holiday celebrations!

In 2007, after many years of developing a printed holiday card to send to clients, family, coworkers, etc., an idea was born, “We place such a high value on sustainability, why don’t we transfer this to our holiday card process?”. So, we did! In place of a printed card, we developed an online eCard for Stantec employees to email to their contacts. When clients receive the eCard, they are given the option of choosing from a list of selected charities that they would like Stantec to make a donation to. All the money normally spent on printing, mailing, and distributing the printed cards is now redirected as charitable donations. Not only are we practicing sustainability, we are also demonstrating our commitment to charitable involvement – two staples of our organization.

So far the response from eCard recipients has been fantastic. They, like us, see this process as an opportunity to truly embrace the spirit of the holiday season and help those in need.

Simple Acts for Sustainability: Building Community

Submitted by Wendy Firlotte, Sustainability Education Specialist (Philadelphia, PA)

Whether we are part of a community or organization, how we relate to and support each other has a significant influence over our collective strength and resiliency. In the business sector, as important as a company’s social fabric are their external relationships and how they demonstrate their commitment to community; this not only builds a company’s reputation, but also improves relationships with staff, customers, investors and communities. Although the focus of sustainability-related initiatives is often on building or improving our natural environment, a robust social foundation is also necessary to support a more sustainable future.

At Stantec, our formal community investment program supports growth in our communities by contributing to endeavors in the arts, education, environment, and health and wellness. Stantec’s target is to donate one percent of its annual pretax profits to nonprofit organizations, either through funding contributions or services in-kind.

Personal charitable giving and volunteerism by employees are also encouraged, with employee volunteerism becoming a key part of our formal program. Stantec’s employees have contributed expertise and labor to Habitat for Humanity projects, Water for People projects, United Way volunteer projects, and various walks, runs and bike-a-thons across North America. Stantec also received recognition for workplace giving in the “Special Event of the Year” for the Don Stanley Cup in Edmonton, for its annual United Way fundraiser.

In many of Stantec’s offices, employees share their hearts and time by participating in a broad range of local community activities, from food drives and natural area clean ups, to raising funds for various organizations and building homes for those in need, and everything else in between. Some examples:

Cleaning up our adopted stream in Cincinnati

Cincinnati, OH – Employees have adopted a 5-mile stretch of the Great Miami River and participate in clean-up efforts several times per year. Thanksgiving donations were collected for the local food bank and the office has also decided to help out soldiers stationed in Afghanistan (including an employee’s brother), collecting treats to send in goodie bags for the troops.

North Charleston, SC – Sixteen employees regularly donate their lunch hour to deliver meals to those in need in their community through the Meals on Wheels program.

Philadelphia, PA – Since the fall, the Philadelphia office has held a food drive, participated in the American Heart Association’s Heart Walk raising nearly $6,000 and is currently collecting donations for the Marine Corps’ Toys for Tots program.

Granting a child's wish in Dartmouth

Dartmouth, NS – With several annual community outreach events each year, our Dartmouth office organizes an Earth Day Cleanup of a local lake, a clothing drive, a food drive as well as fundraising events including the Children’s Wish foundation, raising $15,000, the Grant E. Crouse scholarship award, raising more than $18,000 and the United Way, raising $35,000.

At this time of year, the idea of giving back is especially top of mind. But it’s through year-round efforts like these, by volunteers and companies across the globe, that we can make sustainable change for those in need. We know there are hundreds more examples within our own company; if you would like to share how your office or company is giving back, please use the comment section below to tell us how you are lending a hand in your local area.

Sustainability on the mountaintops

Submitted by Stephen Plunkard, principal (South Burlington, VT)

Last year I taught a course in green development in the resort management program at Green Mountain College in Vermont. Held on the college’s Killington Mountain campus, the course focused primarily on ski resorts—what they’re already doing to be green and, more importantly, what they could be doing.

Comprehensive sustainable design at a ski resort can be challenging. To date, many resorts have focused their efforts around wildlife, environmental permitting issues, and waste management. The industry acknowledges that environmental responsibility is essential, and most resorts now have dedicated environmental compliance or development officials on staff. As our panel of speakers highlighted in the course, there are several sustainable areas ski resorts could put more attention to, and some already are:

• Geothermal heating and cooling. Given their generally compact developed areas, ski villages and facilities are perfect for this type of natural system.
• Wind energy. Similarly, the often windy conditions make ski areas good wind power candidates. Some resorts have already set up turbines to harvest this renewable energy source, including Jiminy Peak in Massachusetts and Bolton Valley in Vermont.
• Stormwater management. During the winter, sustainable stormwater harvesting and treatment isn’t much of an issue. But as ski areas have shifted into year-round resorts, establishing these mechanisms is becoming more important.
• Recyclable, biodegradable, or reusable products. Most resorts have been recycling for some time. The next step, however, is using products that can be reused. Stratton Mountain in Vermont, for example, has begun using china plates and metal silverware in its main base lodge. The cost of the dishware was scarcely more than they spend annually on disposable products, meaning the new dishes will easily pay for themselves by next season.

While these efforts are certainly improving the sustainability of ski resort operation, a more comprehensive consideration of their role in the regional environment and economy could raise that sensibility to a broader level. The idea of the self-contained ski resort village hit its peak in the 1980s but is no longer a reliable—or sustainable—business model due to less land to work with, more stringent environmental regulations, a glut on the market, and many other conditions. Rather, ski resorts can work toward creating stronger links between the mountain and the nearby downtowns, taking advantage of their existing infrastructure and, thus, reducing costs and environmental impacts.

One idea that has been floating around the industry since at least the 1930s is that of the “mobile hotel” that could bring skiers from cities to the mountains in sleeper-car trains. These trains could essentially serve as hotels, providing lodging, food, and even waste management in one compact, efficient facility, reducing the myriad needs associated with driving, parking, and accommodating multiple hotels, motels, and inns. Sunday River in Maine and Okemo Mountain in Vermont, for example, have active train tracks adjacent to the resorts, making this “ski train” idea a viable consideration.
 
While this somewhat radical idea has yet to take off, it’s this kind of thinking that could make ski resorts the next leaders in environmental responsibility. If the enthusiasm and creativity of the future resort managers in my class is any indication, we have much to look forward to.

 

 

 

Featured Stantec Employee: Chris Dulaba, Planner/Urban Designer - Edmonton, AB

Chris Dulaba grew up in Edmonton, Alberta and headed east to go to school at the University of Waterloo. After a few years, Chris returned back home where he now plays a role in shaping the future of the city where he was raised.


Why did you choose to be an Urban Designer?

I always had an interest in buildings and cities. I often could be found making cities in the sandbox with my Tonka toys when I was young and throughout school I had a penchant for drawing cities while in class. It’s really something that I felt I wanted to do from a very young age.


You’ve studied cities across North America, what is a common problem most cities seem to have?

I would say the biggest challenge facing North American cities today is meeting the growing demand for transit and alternative transportation systems. Cities in Canada and the United States were designed and planned around the use of vehicles. As the cost of commuting increases - owning a car, fuel, parking, and vehicle maintenance - we are seeing a decrease in drivers. Adding to this are demographics. The generation currently entering the workforce is much less likely to own a vehicle and is far more reliant on public transit. Owning a car is not the dream of every 16 year old these days. They would rather spend their money on social outings and other goods rather than sinking what earnings they have into a car.

All of this is fueling the demand transit. One only has to look to Edmonton’s newly opened expansion of the LRT system where we have seen all of the ridership forecasts broken. And this is going beyond the need for the AM/PM commuter purpose. People want to get to other parts of the city all times of the day and night. To pick up groceries, visit friends, go to a movie or out to dinner. This is a new way of thinking about transit.

Right now cites are caught between the cost of maintaining the current road system and the growing demand for transit and it’s very difficult to find the money to satisfy both.



What do you see happening to cities over the next 20 to 30 years?

Cities will continue to grow at massive rates as the world continues to urbanize. There will be a great need in North America for infrastructure upgrading and replacement as so much of our backbone infrastructure was built after World War II and is now reaching (or has passed) it’s lifespan.



What do see the role of planners or urban designers in the future you describe?

The role of the planner will be the key to successful future development. We’re not talking about just city planning anymore, it’s more regional planning and looking at how provinces and states can best use the resources they have to improve the quality of life for the people that live there. It’s looking at how communities interact with each other and how neighboring towns and cities complement each other.

We expect rapid growth in our cities and that type of growth needs to be planned. It’s figuring out how to best connect people to the spaces and places around them to maximize their quality of life. That doesn’t happen by accident, you need to have a plan.