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“As society’s understanding of environmental sustainability grows and broadens, the potential for opportunity expands."
News & Announcements
Director sees BLJC team members embrace sustainability
August 24, 2010
As director of building performance with BLJC’s Energy and Sustainability Group, David Hewitt is not only pleased that sustainability is among the company’s recently announced set of corporate values but also heartened that team members embrace it.
“I’ve been really encouraged by the conversations I’ve had with the different business groups and how if you speak to facility managers within our major contracts, this is something that they’re not just aware of but they’re interested in and that they want to see as part of their work,” Hewitt says.
Recognizing sustainability as a corporate value gives legitimacy to the work done by his group, Hewitt says.
Acknowledgement from the leadership then resonates throughout the company.
“It’s one of the things that (BLJC president) Gord (Hicks) believes (in) and that’s the reason why this group exists, so people like Gord and (vice-president of energy and sustainability) Edwin Lim are believers in these values,” Hewitt says.
Over his career of approximately 20 years, Hewitt has focused on increasing the energy efficiency of buildings. This work enhances the sustainability of clients and reduces “the carbon footprint of the buildings and our clients and ourselves.”
In this broader sense of working to have the least amount of impact on the environment, BLJC “gives all of us a larger reason to work,” Hewitt says.
As society’s understanding of environmental sustainability grows and broadens, the potential for opportunity expands.
Environmental sustainability “is working its way into the business community and into values that various businesses and corporations work into their corporate responsibility reports and corporate responsibility plans and such, so as we’re able to assist in those areas and make a positive impact,” Hewitt says.
Internal and external promotion is one way to reinforce sustainability, Hewitt says. For example, the BLJC Acts of Green website lets team members share their best green practices at work and at home.
Moving forward, Hewitt says another of the newly announced values — innovation — goes hand in hand with practising sustainability.
“We’re going to have to look for new and different ways to address these issues both on a building-by-building level, as well as corporately and nationally and globally,” he says.
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