BLACK & VEATCH
ESG IS CRITICAL FOR BLACK & VEATCH , INTERNALLY AND EXTERNALLY
Amanda O ’ Dell and Ajay Kasarabada of Black & Veatch are making sustainability known across the company and among its construction and engineering clients Sustainability has been ingrained in Black & Veatch ’ s DNA for more than a century , whose strong environmental credentials predate the term ‘ carbon footprint ’ by 70 years .
Black & Veatch is an employee-owned global engineering , procurement , consulting and construction company , headquartered in Overland Park , Kansas , with a century ’ s work in sustainable infrastructure .
“ Since 1915 , we have helped our clients improve the lives of people around the world by addressing the resilience and reliability of their most important infrastructure assets ,” says Amanda O ’ Dell , Corporate Sustainability Manager .
A lot has changed since Black & Veatch was founded , not least the meaning of the term ‘ value ’. Back then , it meant merely the cost of a product or service . But in today ’ s world , ‘ value ’ references a firm ’ s reputation and behaviour as much as it does price tags .
ESG compliance is of monumental importance , with investors , stakeholders and customers all expecting best practice corporate behaviour in this area .
" We ’ re advocates of environmental stewardship ,” says O ’ Dell , who has the task of ensuring compliance across the business . “ This includes optimal use of natural resources and ESG management across business operations .” O ’ Dell also says ESG and diversity , equity and inclusion ( DEI ) both shape relationships with suppliers .
“ Providing equal access to all types of suppliers is important at a very human level , but it also has a profound socioeconomic impact ,” says O ’ Dell .
She goes on to cite data suggesting that while women and those from marginalised communities are well represented in the realm of small firms , this is not the case in the wider business world .
“ While 99 % of US companies meet the definition of a small business , 50 % of those are either woman or minority-owned — representing only 7 % of the total revenue of all US businesses .”
Addressing this is critical for Black & Veatch and something it echoes through its engagements with its clients . Not only does this have an impact on underrepresented groups and brings small businesses into the fold , but diversity creates a more competitive supply chain — more resilient to industry disruptions — and breeds innovation among businesses .
52 October 2022