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
| Aug 8, 2022
Mass timber and net zero design for higher education and lab buildings
When sourced from sustainably managed forests, the use of wood as a replacement for concrete and steel on larger scale construction projects has myriad economic and environmental benefits that have been thoroughly outlined in everything from academic journals to the pages of Newsweek.
AEC Tech | Aug 8, 2022
The technology balancing act
As our world reopens from COVID isolation, we are entering back into undefined territory – a form of hybrid existence.
Legislation | Aug 5, 2022
D.C. City Council moves to require net-zero construction by 2026
The Washington, D.C. City Council unanimously passed legislation that would require all new buildings and substantial renovations in D.C. to be net-zero construction by 2026.
Cultural Facilities | Aug 5, 2022
A time and a place: Telling American stories through architecture
As the United States enters the year 2026, it will commence celebrating a cycle of Sestercentennials, or 250th anniversaries, of historic and cultural events across the land.
Sponsored | | Aug 4, 2022
Brighter vistas: Next-gen tools drive sustainability toward net zero line
New technologies, innovations, and tools are opening doors for building teams interested in better and more socially responsible design.
| Aug 4, 2022
Newer materials for green, resilient building complicate insurance underwriting
Insurers can’t look to years of testing on emerging technology to assess risk.
Sustainability | Aug 4, 2022
To reduce disease and fight climate change, design buildings that breathe
Healthy air quality in buildings improves cognitive function and combats the spread of disease, but its implications for carbon reduction are perhaps the most important benefit.
Multifamily Housing | Aug 4, 2022
Faculty housing: A powerful recruitment tool for universities
Recruitment is a growing issue for employers located in areas with a diminishing inventory of affordable housing.
Multifamily Housing | Aug 3, 2022
7 tips for designing fitness studios in multifamily housing developments
Cortland’s Karl Smith, aka “Dr Fitness,” offers advice on how to design and operate new and renovated gyms in apartment communities.
Building Materials | Aug 3, 2022
Shawmut CEO Les Hiscoe on coping with a shaky supply chain in construction
BD+C's John Caulfield interviews Les Hiscoe, CEO of Shawmut Design and Construction, about how his firm keeps projects on schedule and budget in the face of shortages, delays, and price volatility.
