AECOM has launched Sustainable Legacies, a transformative ESG strategy for reaching ambitious environmental, social and governance (ESG) objectives. This strategy integrates four key pillars that will embed sustainable development and resilience across the company’s work, improve social outcomes for communities, achieve net-zero carbon emissions and enhance governance.
Continuing AECOM's focus on equity, diversity, and inclusion, part of the strategy outlines the company's focus on ensuring women comprise at least 20 percent of senior leadership roles and at least 35 percent of its overall workforce.
Infrastructure creates opportunities for everyone
Equity, diversity and inclusion are core to AECOM's vision - a world where infrastructure creates opportunity for everyone.
“As leaders of our industry, we have a responsibility to embed ESG principles into everything we do and partner with our clients and communities to advise on their efforts to advance complex, multi-decade sustainability initiatives,” said Troy Rudd, AECOM’s chief executive officer [pictured above]. “With nearly 50,000 talented engineers, scientists, architects, consultants, program and construction managers, along with our Board of Directors and Executive Leadership Team, we are energized by the impact of our work and how we can contribute positively to society and the planet. We believe infrastructure creates opportunities for everyone, and directly integrating ESG principles with our technical excellence and capabilities puts us in the best position to deliver sustainable legacies for a better world.”
“Our clients have new, evolving priorities focused on sustainability and delivering social impact through their projects and services, and AECOM stands out as the company that can best advise and execute for them,” said Lara Poloni, AECOM’s president [pictured below]. “By developing our strategy with a focus on advancing our ESG objectives and supported by the strength of our technical excellence, global collaboration and local engagement, we will continue to drive innovation in our industry while leaving long-lasting impacts on the communities we serve and the planet as a whole.”
Read why AECOM employees believe it's important to leave a sustainable legacy for the next generation.
Delivering sustainable legacies
With ESG principles embedded into everything AECOM does, the goal of their Sustainable Legacies strategy is straightforward: to ensure that the work they do in partnership with their clients leaves a positive, lasting impact for communities and our planet.
AECOM's Sustainable Legacies strategy has four key themes
If there is one thing the pandemic has taught, it’s the importance of social values such as health, quality of life and social inclusion. Promoters of infrastructure projects are increasingly looking for ways to assess and promote these difficult-to-measure values.
AECOM supports social value projects and programs at scale through assessment, advisory and related services such as materiality, reporting and disclosure, supply chain, product stewardship, management systems, resource action planning and goal setting. They also advise organizations on strategies to boost equity, diversity and inclusion.
AECOM believes equity, diversity and inclusion enable better outcomes for clients, a deeper understanding of community challenges and more innovative solutions that propel the industry forward. As part of this pledge, AECOM has set an industry-leading, near-term target of women comprising at least 20% of senior leadership roles and at least 35% of the overall workforce. Its efforts extend to include developing project teams that reflect the clients and communities it serves and partnering with small and medium enterprises to generate social value through positive community investments. Additionally, the company is focused on delivering inclusive, accessible projects that proactively improve social value outcomes for individuals, communities and society. Read more.
- Embed sustainable development and resilience across its work
From aging and deficient infrastructure to the challenges of climate change and population growth, many parts of the world are under-prepared to meet the increasingly unpredictable challenges of today. Resiliency plans reduce the risk and impact of events and make recovery times faster. AECOM's services range from assessing vulnerabilities to climate adaptation strategies and resiliency planning.
AECOM helps governments, cities, organizations, developers, asset owners and other businesses protect the environment and improve communities by integrating sustainable development into their normal business. This includes providing advisory services for sustainable development planning, assessment and benchmarking and using circular economy principles to design out waste and pollution. Read more.
- Achieve net zero-carbon emissions
The Paris climate agreement commits governments to limiting global warming. To meet this goal, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that greenhouse gas emissions need to be reduced to net-zero by 2050. Over 1,500 companies and over 800 cities have announced net-zero commitments.
AECOM is helping clients achieve their carbon targets through energy strategies, services to manage and reduce the contribution of greenhouse gas emissions, and nature-based solutions that work with and enhance natural habitats to take advantage of their ability to sequester carbon. Read more.
To reflect ESG commitments and keep pace with environmental regulations, business models are evolving. AECOM helps organizations assess the sustainability of their operations and improve their ESG performance through target-setting, materiality assessments and benchmarking, life-cycle analysis and advisory services.
AECOM is also a trusted partner to organizations wishing to enhance their governance and develop sustainable legacies. Read more.
Bring your career pathway to a company focused on sustainability
Equity, diversity and inclusion are core to AECOM's vision - a world where infrastructure creates opportunity for everyone.
At AECOM, they’re driven by a common purpose to deliver a better world. When you join a company that’s pioneering the future, your opportunities are unlimited. By connecting the largest network of professional expertise in the industry, AECOM finds new approaches and better answers to the toughest challenges. And they want you to be a part of it.
Efficient buildings. Faster transportation. Improved security. Healthier environments. Resilient cities. Every day, in markets across the globe, AECOM's people are pushing the limits of what’s possible and building legacies for generations to come.
If you’re interested in a career path that’s as dynamic as you are, apply now.
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Disclosure: Where Women Work researches and publishes insightful evidence about how its paid member organizations support women's equality.