Sustainability

A Real Commitment to Sustainability

Going far beyond fashionable lip service to being “green,” Kennedy/Jenks Consultants has forged a Sustainability Program that is a source of pride and inspiration to our employees.

More Must be Done to Preserve Our Planet

Our Sustainability Program, called GreenSteps, commits the firm to educate, demonstrate, and innovate in the area of sustainability – inside our offices and beyond. With GreenSteps, we formally join a global movement that recognizes that more must be done to meet the needs of the present while preserving the quality of life for future generations and our planet.

Taking GreenSteps

GreenSteps commits Kennedy/Jenks to back up our words with action: executive support, firmwide education and participation, and integration of steps toward sustainability in every project we do.

GreenSteps includes the following:

• Creating metrics and goals for sustainability in operations and design within the sectors we serve
• Educating staff and clients on the principles of sustainability
• Incorporating a suite of sustainability-oriented basic questions into the earliest stages of every planning and design project
• Undertaking specific sustainability initiatives, such as:
• Expanding our expertise in renewable energy
• Reviewing our guide specifications for opportunities to increase sustainable practices
• Enhancing our understanding of climate change and how to minimize the global warming impacts of projects
• Enhancing asset management and infrastructure rehabilitation expertise to embrace Triple Bottom Line principles (accounting for environmental, social, and financial performance)
• Improving our extensive water conservation, water reuse, and stormwater management practices to help clients address rapidly dwindling water resources and rapidly expanding water regulations

Furthermore, Kennedy/Jenks Consultants adopts sustainable practices within our own offices. New automobile purchasing guidelines set minimum mileage rating standards for new car purchases. A firmwide purchasing agreement is being negotiated to switch the entire company to recycled office paper. We are currently evaluating our paper, electricity, and gasoline use to identify ways to minimize waste. We are also evaluating opportunities to increase recycling of wastes we generate; each office location has different recycling opportunities in its local area. A committee of the Board of Directors is exploring options for socially responsible investment funds to include as options in the employee benefit package. Furthermore, our Corporate Headquarters has been officially recognized as a San Francisco Certified Green Business by the City of San Francisco and other offices are seeking opportunities for similar certifications in their communities. The process of improving all of these internal practices is a learning opportunity for all of our employees, furthering our education on sustainability while simultaneously reducing our ecological footprint.

LEED™ (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Accreditation

A number of Kennedy/Jenks personnel are accredited to help our clients gain LEED™ certification of their facilities. This means that the facilities meet the standards for environmentally sustainable design and construction established by the U.S. Green Building Council through their LEED™ Green Building Rating System. The system’s rating criteria can be used to pursue building certification or it can be used to guide design decisions on infrastructure or other non-building projects, as appropriate for an individual client’s needs.

The University of California, National Park Service, City of Oxnard, and Port of Portland are just a few of the clients with projects that have either received LEED™ certification or have been designed to meet LEED™ criteria with the help of Kennedy/Jenks.

GreenSteps to the Future

We are learning as we go, and we find that many of our clients are too. We offer our clients a partnership in moving towards a sustainable society.

Educating, demonstrating, and innovating, we empower and inspire employees to become leaders in sustainable practices and take the challenge to improve the world through our work. We have the responsibility, the tools, and the will, and there will never be a better time than now.