AEC firms always talk about how they want their work to “change the world.” One firm, AECOM, is taking corporate responsibility to another level by providing financial support that empowers its employees to tackle humanitarian, environmental, and infrastructure challenges around the world.
AECOM’s inaugural Blueprint Travel Grant program, which it launched last month, awarded 25 grants to support projects that range from the installation of solar-powered water purification systems, to the design and construction of educational facilities in rural communities. This impact initiative spans 15 countries, with the purpose of bringing lasting, scalable solutions to communities and people in need.
The countries include Cambodia, China, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ghana, Guatemala, India, Kenya, Malaysia, Nepal, Panama, Philippines, Tanzania, Thailand, and Uganda.
While AECOM did not disclose its financial commitment to this program, it did state that it is making donations directly to nonprofit partners, for specific campaigns or projects, “to champion our employees’ participation in a skills-based volunteer trip service,” says Brendan Ranson-Walsh, the firm’s Vice President of Global Communications and Corporate Responsibility.
Responding by email to BD+C’s questions, Ranson-Walsh says that this program is the “cornerstone” of AECOM’s corporate responsibility platform Blueprint for a Better World, which has three core pillars: opening doors, creating opportunity, and protecting tomorrow.
AECOM employees help load a section of pipe for transport to the work site in the nearby mountains in Chacayá, Guatemala, a small, Mayan village where coffee farming is the predominant industry. Weighing over 120 pounds each, the 100-meter rolls of pipe presented a significant challenge in hauling them up the steep mountain trail for installation. The community organized teams of 20 people to haul and install three-four rolls per day. Image: AECOM
Examples of the projects that AECOM’s employees are engaging, with the firm’s support, include:
•A team that’s partnering with Engineers Without Borders USA to design, engineer, plan, and construct a vehicular and pedestrian bridge for a Mayan community in Chimaltenango, Guatemala. The bridge would provide better access to the community, lower transportations costs, and improve medical response time for more than 1,200 residents.
•A team from 10 of AECOM’s offices in three countries is working with Building Humanity to construct a bakery for the Felix Family Village in Surat Thani, Thailand. That village supports orphaned and abandoned children, including those who have lost parents to HIV/AIDS. The bakery will provide food and extra income to the orphanage.
•Two AECOM employees are partnering with Engineers Without Borders Kenya to design and construct safe ecological sanitation facilities at the Inchuni Primary School in Kisii County, Kenya. The new facilities will address the school’s substandard and unhygienic sanitation infrastructure, and prevent the displacement of more than 500 students and faculty members.
“Through the transformational projects they deliver, our people are the driving force behind AECOM’s positive impact in communities around the world,” says Mike Burke, the firm’s Chairman and CEO.
Edmund “Eddie” Doku, Project Engineer II, Design & Consulting Services, at a water and sanitation project in Ghana. Eddie has been volunteering with Engineers Without Borders USA since 2011. Image: AECOM
Related Stories
| Sep 7, 2012
7 Do's and Don'ts for PV roof rack installation
As PVs grow in popularity, nearly half of all installations require roof rack systems. Our expert tells how to do the job right and protect your client’s roof.
| Sep 7, 2012
Net-zero energy pioneers on the el-hi frontier
Getting to net-zero is not easy, but the promise of eliminating energy bills and using state-of-the-art technology as a learning lab can make a compelling case to reach for net-zero.
| Sep 7, 2012
Healthcare architects get a preview of tomorrow’s medical landscape
The topic on everyone’s mind was how the Affordable Care Act would impact healthcare design and construction––and whether the law would even make it past the coming election cycle.
| Sep 7, 2012
Suffolk awarded One Channel Center project in Boston
Firm to manage $125 million, 525,000-sf office building project.
| Sep 7, 2012
Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital breaks ground on expansion
Sustainability and nature at the heart of the new addition at the Stanford University Medical Center designed by Perkins+Will.
| Sep 5, 2012
Pagano joins Thornton Tomasetti as Vice President in Newark office
Pagano is a Certified Energy Planner and Certified Energy Manager through the Association of Energy Engineers.
| Aug 29, 2012
BOND completes South Cove Community Health Center
$11 million, 21,000 square foot community health center opens in Quincy, Mass.
| Aug 29, 2012
Mamayek joins HDR as Design Principal in Boston
He will work closely with the Executive Committee and business group leaders to expand and promote HDR’s Design Excellence initiatives in the Northeast region.
| Aug 21, 2012
Under 40 Leadership Summit slated for October 3-5 in Chicago
Attendees will be given an exclusive technical tour of Wrigley Field, led by Steven J. Jacobsen, CDP, who has been retained by the Chicago Cubs to create the business plan and high-level concepts to evaluate the feasibility of various renovation options for this iconic sports venue; and Carl Rice, Cubs’ Vice President, Baseball Operations.