Professional and Career Topics

Hi all,

First, happy Earth Day! I was curious as to whether this was a day recognized in anyone's companies and if anything special was done to mark it. As chair of my company's sustainability committee, I'm always looking for new ideas to either make sustainable changes at work or participate in external opportunities.

One of my clients is hosting an Earth Day cleanup. These are done periodically, and seem to be a pretty low-lift way to get involved. My company also recently began allowing for "service hours" which employees can use to bill time to participate in events like this. 

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Christopher Seigel P.E., M.ASCE
Civil Engineer
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My office location hosted a plant event where all employees were invited to re-pot a new plant over lunch. It was a fun way to introduce more greenery into our office spaces and get in contact with some actual dirt on Earth Day!

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Samuel Steiner EI, A.M.ASCE
Structural Designer
Peoria, IL
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April, and Earth Day in particular, is one of the good times during the year when employees should be asking their companies for more sustainable policies and projects.

Have they installed EV chargers in the parking lot? do they help all of the design teams follow the ASCE Sustainability policy? Have the companies followed any of the principles of the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI, e.g. is this the right project? are all stakeholders involved in the design from the very beginning?)

These are discussions that should be encouraged throughout the year, or we'll be planning for more and more heat waves and floods and higher and higher sea level for decades to come.  While it's roots are in the digital corporation world, the group Climate Voice has some tips and advice for speaking up for the earth (and climate) inside your company.

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Sarah Simon P.E., ENV SP, M.ASCE
Founding Partner
Ipswich MA
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