Green@Stantec: How we drive Stantec's global sustainability objectives locally

Sustainability isn’t new to Stantec—the Company has had a formal sustainability program for almost 20 years. Starting at the top with our board of directors and senior leadership, sustainability remains an important part of our business culture.

Advancing our sustainability culture, the Green@Stantec network formally connects like-minded individuals dedicated to driving office-based environmental best practices.

Join Green@Stantec leader Marelle Davey as she explains how the network supports Stantec’s collective actions toward sustainability and what it means to her personally.

An exciting initiative, why was it important for Stantec to support the internal Green@Stantec network?

As a global and diverse company, each Stantec office is different with its own unique culture. While some offices have established green teams, our people are passionate about sustainability across the globe. Each green team has different priorities and ways of approaching things based on their location and region. Green@Stantec is the overarching network that connects them all, providing a mechanism to collaborate, share environmental best practices, and grow our collective action.  

How do these actions link to Stantec’s corporate sustainability program?

I think Green@Stantec personifies our corporate sustainability pledge. Collectively, the network comes together to implement tools, resources, and industry best practices across the globe, driving environmental change from within our operations. The best part is that this is truly employee driven. By collaborating and sharing, the network fosters an understanding of sustainability at all levels of the Company. The network is endorsed by senior Stantec leaders, giving it the autonomy to integrate sustainability considerations into local operational business decisions. Lastly, the network provides transparency, allowing us to track and report on our actions, little or big! 

As the leader of the network, this is clearly an important opportunity for you personally. Why did you decide to champion this program?

I’m excited to lead this group for many reasons. Going back to my roots, I was raised in Colorado. Although I lived in the city, I was always out in nature camping, skiing, or hiking in the mountains. Being immersed in nature gave me an inherent appreciation and passion for natural systems, protecting and creating healthy ecosystems, and being a good steward of the Earth.

As a sustainability consultant, I feel the connection between my work and environmentalism daily, but I want to do more. As the leader of the Green@Stantec network, I get to merge my professional and personal experience, increasing my impact. Be it something simple like transitioning offices to only reusable cups or getting my colleagues to really think outside the box, we can go beyond traditional programs and approaches.

Every decision comes at a cost to the environment and can also have a cost to the business—think about how much disposable cups cost our operations and contribute to our waste footprint. It's all connected, and my role is to connect those dots and help amplify why it’s important for all of us to do our part.

Is there a success story that highlights the effectiveness of the network?

There’s a lot of diversity in what our teams are doing, but I’m really excited to highlight one initiative from our Australia and New Zealand teams. My colleague Rebecca Phelan, HSSE advisor in the Asia Pacific region, started a successful recycling program for personal protective equipment (PPE). If we think about our existing offices or when we acquire a new company, there are often cupboards full of outdated or off-brand PPE. Rather than let these pieces go to landfills, Rebecca’s team is working with a company to recycle our PPE into stuffing for pet beds and other materials. Having started in a local office, the program is now Australia-wide and will hopefully be expanding to New Zealand soon. It’s an easy program for us to participate in and a great example of keeping excess waste out of landfills.

Tell us about your favorite sustainability tip

Find a new green habit, one at a time. It's easy to become overwhelmed or caught up in gloom and doom given the climate crisis we’re all experiencing. Taking personal action is important and a great remedy to despair, but the prospect of changing your whole lifestyle all at once can feel overwhelming. Even though it might feel like not doing enough, starting with one bite-sized change makes it approachable. That way, it’s easier to successfully change habits and stick with them over time. 

Of habits to change, plastic consumption and single-use plastics are number one for me. I'm trying to find ways to get to zero waste in whatever form that takes. It can be simple, like changing to a shampoo soap bar instead of plastic bottles or purchasing from a bulk food store where you can buy grains and other dry goods without packaging. Little things can make a huge impact.

What’s next for the Green@Stantec network?

Every fall, Stantec hosts an internal sustainability program called Climate Fest. Planned at the same time as the UN Conference of Parties (COP) program, Climate Fest highlights our sustainability impact across the globe, both as an organization and through our client projects. With sessions held in every region, local green teams play a key role in engagement. This year, Green@Stantec is looking to harness that momentum, making these the best sessions yet. I can’t wait!