Corporate Sustainability Report POSITIVENERGY PRACTICE

Transcription

1 2013 Corporate Sustainability Report POSITIVENERGY PRACTICE

2 Contents Introduction Our Identity Environment Workforce & Culture

3 introduction Welcome to PostivEnergy Practice s Corporate Sustainability Report (CSR) for This is our third annual report and we are continually identifying areas of improvement for our sustainability approach and commitment to the responsible operation of our firm. In the process we look forward to sharing lessons learned with our clients and the greater design and engineering community., LLC (PEP) was formed in 2010 based on a vision for a sustainable future and a commitment to ally responsible design for new and existing buildings and human s. We strongly believe that carbon reduction is a goal we can approach by applying what we call the four pillars of our practice: Energy, Ecology, Education, and Economics. We welcome the challenge to design smarter systems, higher performing buildings and greener infrastructure that are efficient, ally sensitive, and financially sound. This report is our attempt to engage others in our pursuit of sustainable practices. At the same time, it provides goals to inspire conscious decisions about our path moving forward and establishes a benchmark against which we can measure improvements as our firm grows. PEP believes consistent CSR reporting is valuable for businesses worldwide, and we have adopted the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) methodology. We look forward to lively discussion on this insight into our operations and commitment to sustainability. Sincerely, John Tolva F. Thomas Voltaggio 3

4 Our Identity Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, the firm is a high-performance consulting engineering firm providing a broad range of professional services and sustainability planning. PEP is led by highly skilled engineering team leaders who bring expertise in best practices for a broad range of engineering challenges in the U.S. and overseas. From supertall buildings and expansion master plans to existing commercial building energy audits and retrofits, PEP s collective portfolio illustrates our team s versatility and professional leadership. 4 We aspire to change how our communities look and how they work. We have developed three primary steps for a sustainable future: 1. Make existing buildings better 2. Deliver responsible new buildings 3. Decarbonize existing urban infrastructure 5

5 introduction introduction Who We Are LLC (PEP) was founded in 2010 by Adrian Smith, Gordon Gill, and Robert Forest. The firm was founded on the ideals of using a multidisciplinary consulting focus to make sustainable, smart urban s. The merging of fields - engineering, data science, and al science - creates a holistic practice. As Gordon Gill has said, The result is increased energy efficiency, decreased waste, and an overall operational efficiency of major urban centers. The principle is to understand the urban built and open as a balanced system of built and natural assets,which together are reassessed in order to achieve a vastly improved urban. Consulting, and Computational Sciences. Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, the firm had 20 full time employees as of December 31, All employees worked out of our Chicago office, with some traveling on an as needed basis to work with clients in countries around the world. What We Do A diverse client base has included private and public sector building owners, universities, corporations, cities, states, regions and countries. We also work in a diverse range of places from local projects in Chicago, to projects in Asia and Kazakhstan. For a full list of 2013 project locations see page 9. is a new kind of urban engineering consultancy focused on buildings and cities. Our approach marries clean technologies, sustainable practices, high performance systems, data-informed design, and a multidisciplinary team to make smart cities a reality. PEP delivers professional services in Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing, Fire Protection, Building Technology Systems, and Performance Simulation as well as a full suite of Sustainability Services (nology). Led by industry professionals with extensive collective experience in best practices for a broad range of project types, our practice is a collaborative team of innovative problem-solvers. President John Tolva joined the firm in January of 2014, with Director Tom Voltaggio acting as Interim President during The firm s integrated design process draws upon professional disciplines in MEP/FP Engineering, Building Automation Systems, Sustainability Our stakeholders include our employees, our partners, our clients, and the communities we work in. We regularly engage with our stakeholders to advance our vision and commitment to sustainability. PEP PARTNERSHIP SERVICES MEP + FP ENGINEERING PRESIDENT BUILDING AUTOMATION SYSTEMS ENERGY MODELING ANALYSIS Sustainability Consulting Computational Sciences Performance Simulation Building Automation Systems HVAC Electrical Plumbing/Fire Protection DECARBONIZATION PLANNING SUSTAINABLE STRATEGIES MASTER PLANNING 6 7

6 introduction Urban Ecologies In the 21st century, a new approach to urban design is needed: one that will make significant, demonstrable changes to the existing city landscape and address the energy and resource usage in our cities. We work with local, regional and national organizations and governments to establish decarbonization plans and new frameworks for today s cities. A building s mechanical and electrical systems can be expensive and energy intensive. Deploying the right systems, components, and control strategies can make measurable differences in the operating cost, functionality, flexibility, and maintainability of a building. We work closely with clients to identify and implement the right building systems to ensure tenant satisfaction, achieve energy conservation goals and protect investments. 50% 6% urban ecologies 8 new buildings Existing Buildings Existing buildings are responsible for up to 70% of carbon emissions. We need to transform these structures from part of the carbon problem to part of the solution. We assist clients with the design of replacement systems or improvements to help reduce operating costs, improve building health, reduce carbon emissions, and extend building life. nology/ Sustainability Consulting The sustainable, high-performance city requires a new kind of infrastructure that is focused on energy efficient and clean technologies. As a holistic practice, PEP focuses on the research and development of these new technologies, ranging from single products to large-scale urban infrastructure solutions. 34% existing buildings On the left you will see a breakdown of our 2013 projects by sector. Projects were weighted based on annual revenue. 10% clean technology 2013 Project Locations Chicago, USA Building Automation Champaign, USA Toronto, Canada Nashville, USA Virginia, USA Mishawaka, USA Existing Buildings Vancouver, Canada Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Astana, Kazakhstan nologies Urban Ecologies Beijing, China Chengdu, China Seoul, Korea Suzhou, China Chengdu, China

7 The It has become clear that our society is in need of change; our use of natural resources today will be unsustainable in the future. At we take a positive approach to this challenge, seizing the opportunity to increase awareness, adjust attitudes and take actions that are good for humans, good for business and good for the planet. As an engineering firm, we are in a unique position to address many of the core aspects of sustainability through our work. 10 Our firm applies sustainable principles not only to our work but also to our everyday lifestyles, as evidenced by our office practices. We take pride in this and are continually looking for ways to improve and build upon our sustainable initiatives. This section outlines our sustainable business operations and our project work. 11

8 introduction introduction Recycling and Waste Reduction We have implemented an office-wide waste management system to help us manage resources effectively. Our staff are educated on this policy which is based on reducing, reusing, and recycling. Aluminum, plastic, paper, and waste are collected into separate streams. Recycling bins for paper are conveniently located near work stations and printers, while aluminum, glass, and plastic bins are located in the kitchen. In addition, our IT staff has developed a program for recycling batteries and electronic waste. We also supply reusable dishware and utensils to reduce waste. We try, whenever possible, to use reusable dishware for team lunches and events. No bottled water is supplied by our office; staff are encouraged to use the water filters provided as well as reusable cups. Our printers are set to default to double-sided printing in an effort to reduce paper consumption. Staff are also encouraged to use digital documents and memos whenever possible. In an effort to reduce our al impact, we have implemented an office-wide policy to purchase sustainable materials whenever possible. We only use FSC-certified paper in our office. Our office supplies vendor participates in the Terracycle recycling program which enables us to recycle pens back to them. As sustainable vendors and supplies become more widely available, we will be able to engage their services and products more consistently. Energy Consumption PEP has no direct energy consumption; all of the energy consumption is indirect from the energy used in our office at 115 S. LaSalle. Our energy is tracked through our utility bills for metered electricity, and an estimate from the building manager for base building systems is prorated for our office space. It is important to note the constraints of our landlord metering on both reporting and the ability to influence consumption. 59% Heating 22% Cooling 19% Electricity Total of 496,109 kwh in 2013 EUI: 185 kwh/m 2 Our electricity, which we can control, has decreased by 14% since This is attributable to our officewide computer shut off policy, cloud computing, and reduced plug loads. On September 11th 2013, The Mayor of Chicago put forward a benchmarking ordinance that will require PEP s landlord to report its annual energy consumption to the City of Chicago in June PEP was an early supporter of Benchmarking, and will continue to work with the City and our building to push energy efficiency and data transparency. Transportation Our office is located in the heart of Chicago s Loop with access to Chicago s bus and train lines as well as easy access to the Metra train system serving the Chicago suburbs. Within a 10 minute walk of our office there is easy access to bus stops, all local elevated/subway train lines and regional Metra trains. Easy access to multiple modes of public transit, as well as the scarcity and expense of parking in the area, encourages staff not to drive. PEP also participates in the Regional Transportation Authority s (RTA) pre-tax benefit program and does not provide subsidized parking. These incentives, combined with excellent public transit access, have consistently shown results in employee public transit use. For the past three years we have completed an employee commuter survey; the survey is anonymous and has an 80 percent response rate. Every survey revealed that 100 percent of our staff either walks or takes public transit. The map below illustrates our office s connectivity. PEP OFFICE 5 minutes 10 minutes 14% Bus 24% L Train 14% Walk 48% Metra 2012 The graph above indicates the results of our 2013 commuter survey. Airplane Travel Although airplane emissions are scope 3 emissions, we feel it is necessary to report them. As a professional services firm, travel to and from clients is one of our most carbon intensive activities. Therefore we believe it is necessary to track and report it. Over the past year our flights have reduced significantly from This is in part due to the locations of our projects. We also have continued to use technology such as video conferencing to reduce travel. In 2014, we will continue to use these methods to reduce travel, but understand that some travel is necessary to properly serve out clients. We will continue to track and report air travel

9 introduction Carbon Emissions PEP s carbon emissions all fall into Scope 2 and 3 emissions; there are no direct emissions. Our scope 2 emissions are comprised of energy purchased to run our office. Building emissions are calculated based upon our electricity, heating, and cooling consumption. Annual electricity data is taken from our utility bills, using emissions factor of kg CO 2 /kwh. This is referenced from the Center for Neighborhood Technology s 2008 Chicago Greenhouse Gas Assessment. Our heating and cooling consumption was prorated based upon total building consumption and our square footage, applying emissions factors of 5.31 kgco 2 / therm and kgco 2 / kwh for heating and cooling respectively. These are referenced from the Center for Neighborhood Technology s 2008 Chicago Greenhouse Gas Assessment. Scope 3 emissions are comprised of air travel emissions and employee commuting emissions. Air travel emissions are estimated from an annual travel log provided from our travel agent. This log tracks every flight taken by an employee for work-related reasons during From this data we were able to calculate total miles traveled and then carbon emissions associated with each flight, depending on the type. Carbon emission factors are as follows: kgco 2 / passenger mile for short haul flights, kgco 2 / passenger mile for medium- haul flights. and kgco 2 /passenger mile for long-haul flights. These emission factors are referenced from the Environmental Protection Agency s 2008 Greenhouse Gas Inventory Protocol. Employee commuting emissions are estimated 14 from our annual commuting survey, which asks employees to record their commute for a given week. In 2013 we had an 80 percent response rate for this survey. For those responders, a carbon emissions estimate is calculated for that week and then extrapolated for the year (assuming two weeks vacation per employee per year). An average of the responders is used for those employees who did not respond, in order to get an estimate for the total number of employees as of December 31, Emission factors for modes of transport are as follows: kgco 2 /passenger mile for a CTA bus, 0.19 kgco 2 /passenger mile for the Metra, and kgco 2 / passenger mile for the elevated train. These emission factors are referenced from the Federal Transit Authority Scope 2 Scope 3 The chart above illustrates CO 2 emissions over the past three years. All numbers are in tons CO Carbon Emissions Our CO 2 emissions are from building operations, employee commuting, and employee air travel. At PEP, we feel it is important to practice what we preach and reduce our own emissions, especially those we can control. The first step has been the measurement and reporting of our emissions through these annual reports. We have seen a continual decrease in our emissions since we have been reporting, and look forward to coming up with innovative ways to keep that trend moving forward. 188 metric tons CO 2 Building Emissions account for 77% of our 2013 emissions. We have made efforts to reduce our office s electricity consumption through computer shut-off policies, use of blinds, and working with the building to have more control of our space temperatures. Our electricity emissions decreased by 12% from metric tons CO 2 Commuting accounts for 14 % of our 2013 emissions. Although we cannot control how our employees commute, we can encourage sustainable options. This is accomplished through our building location s proximity to public transit and our participation in RTA s pre-tax benefit program. 21 metric tons CO 2 Air Travel accounts for 9% of 2013 s emissions. This is a third of our air travel emissions from last year. Although we realize that as a professional services firm there is a need to travel to meet clients, we have tried to employ video conferencing whenever possible. Moving forward we will track these efforts.

10 Workforce & Culture We foster a challenging and rewarding workplace and understand that the encouragement and development of each member of our staff will advance the practice. The business practices outlined in the following section are implemented in hopes of bettering our staff as well as our organization as a whole

11 introduction 2013 Professional Involvement Diversity encourages a diverse workforce in order to reflect the multifaceted world in which we live. We value the knowledge that diverse backgrounds bring to our firm and our clients. PEP does not discriminate in employment opportunities or practices on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation or any other characteristic protected by law. We use the criteria of merit, qualifications, and abilities to determine hiring decisions and promotions within the organization. 45% Female 55% Male The above shows our gender ratio as of December 31, We are proud of the high percentage of women we employ relative to the engineering industry. We will continue to create a culture that retains women in our practice. As of December 31, 2013 there were 20 percent U.S. minorities at PEP. We are proud of the diversity of our staff and are looking for ways to be more involved in the community with minority outreach. < Benefits 401(k) savings plan Subsidized healthcare programs including medical and dental insurance Life and disability insurance Transportation benefits, allowing employees to set aside pre-tax earnings for mass transit and parking expenses Paid Time Off (PTO) Wellness programs 30% 30% 40% The above is PEP s age profile as of December 31, Flexible Spending Account (FSA) and Dependent Care Spending Account Subsidized training and self- improvement courses Subsidized annual engineering memberships and annual licensing fees ASHRAE CTBUH International Building Performance Simulation Association Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers American Society of Plumbing Engineers Society for College and University Planning Society for Marketing Professionals American Institute of Architects Young Professionals Chicago 18

12 GRI Content Table PEP believes consistent CSR reporting measures are valuable for business worldwide, and we have adopted the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) methodology. Some of the standards and indicators of the GRI are not applicable because of the nature of our organization. Wherever the GRI is applicable we have included information to the best of our ability. Following is a table summarizing the contents of this report and the corresponding guidelines from the Global Reporting Initiative, Sustainability Reporting Guidelines, version 3.1 (G3.1). STRATEGY AND ANALYSIS GRI Indicators ORGANIZATIONAL PROFILE GRI Indicators: REPORT PARAMETERS GRI Indicators: GOVERNANCE, COMMITMENTS AND ENGAGEMENT GRI Indicators: PERFORMANCE INDICATORS GRI Indicators/Economic Performance GRI Indicators/Environmental Performance GRI Indicators/Social Pages: 3-7 Pages: 9-17 Pages: Cover,1,32 Pages: 3,5,31 Pages: 8,19 Pages: Pages: FEEDBACK It is intended that a detailed Corporate Sustainability Report will be issued every year from PEP. This report was created in order to establish transparency regarding our economic, al and social impacts and procedures. PEP is the self-author of this report and provides CSR Reporting as part of its consulting services. We welcome feedback regarding the information in this report. If you wish to provide feedback, please contact Craig Burton, Director, at [email protected]. For more information on the Global Reporting Initiative, visit: