Employees at Balfour Beatty Team Together in Inaugural Ecoengaged Olympics

DALLAS, Texas—As part of a global Sustainability Awareness Month in May among all 50,000+ team members of Balfour Beatty worldwide, employees at Balfour Beatty Construction U.S. teamed together on a series of 15 daily “ecoengaged challenges” to help make an impact on the environment, while also raising awareness about the many ways sustainability helps build a better community. From carpools and water conservation days to client connection and health and wellness challenges, Balfour Beatty employees achieved impressive results.

While some of the daily challenges were difficult to measure in output, the following were tangible, environmental results achieved through active employee participation in this inaugural event:

• At least 666 gallons of gas saved on Reduce Pollution Tuesdays, which included a carpool day and a public transportation day.
• Community Support Fridays brought in 6,821 articles of donated clothing for charity and 2,124 pounds of food for local food banks.
• Employees spent 305 hours (18,311 minutes) “walking their lunch off” and another 326 hours doing other cardio for Health and Wellness Wednesdays.
• 6,875 gallons of water saved when employees “skipped a shower” on Protect Resources Thursdays (based on an average shower of 10 minutes at 2.5 gallons of water per minute).

“As this was our first year holding the event, we weren"t quite sure how it would go,” said Tracy Browne, the company's corporate vice president of sustainability. “We were thrilled with the results, as we not only achieved success around awareness and environmental and community impact — but at the same time, built morale through engaged jobsite and employee teams across the U.S. It was a fantastic effort by everyone involved!”

In addition to the environmentally-friendly events listed above, the month-long program also focused on healthy communities, and included a number of service projects across the U.S.:

• Sharefest Workday (making improvements to local K-12 schools) in southern California
• Clean Air Carolina 5K Walk and Run in Charlotte, N.C.
• Clay Shoot Fundraiser benefitting Harris Methodist Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas
• Platinum sponsorship for Shelter House Inc's annual fundraiser in Fairfax, Va.
• Wild Ride (bike/run) benefitting Methodist Hospital cancer programs in north Texas

“True to our company's tradition, community service is a hallmark of how Balfour Beatty gives back to the communities in which we live and work,” said Browne.