.jpg)
In December 2005, Jacques Whitford in partnership with the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) put on a one-day workshop for municipal practitioners from the Atlantic Provinces on Community Sustainability Planning. This was the second in our series of municipal sustainability workshops that began in Markham, Ontario in August 2005.
The topic of “sustainability” had been on our radar for awhile, as our clients become more and more concerned with sustainability issues, and as we were following national trends of enlarging pockets of funding for sustainable development projects. When HRM asked us to organize the event, we were only too happy to do so, realizing the great opportunity for both the teaching and learning on the topic.
Thinking about sustainability in its environmental, social and economic sense is a natural fit for a multi-disciplinary firm like Jacques Whitford, where we have environmental scientists, engineers and social scientists working together under one roof. Many of the services offered at Jacques Whitford, ranging from Green Buildings to Integrated Water Resource Management, are highly applicable to sustainable development. We had a team of professionals from engineering, land-use planning, design, and communications involved in the preparation of the workshop.
Drawing on our different disciplines and contacts, we brought together a panel of high caliber speakers including representatives from all three levels of government, non-for profit organizations including the Natural Step Canada, the academic community, and practitioners from several of our offices.
The event drew over 70 participants, who, according to their Workshop Evaluations, were impressed with the quality of the presentations, the applicability of the information, and the timeliness of the event. Almost all participants indicated that they would recommend the workshop to colleagues, and several encouraged Jacques Whitford to organize similar events across the country. During the reception that followed the event, we made important connections with our current and potential clients and identified several opportunities to help municipalities with their sustainability needs. We also strengthened our relationship with the HRM and demonstrated the great potential in public-private partnerships.
Perhaps the most important measure of success was the enthusiasm that was built within Jacques Whitford around sustainability issues. As we attempted to make the event as sustainable as possible (ensuring conservation of paper, serving a low-waste lunch, and presenting speakers with environmentally-friendly thank-you gifts) we sensed the challenges involved in changing the way we do things. Listening to our speakers, we were excited by the technical possibilities and innovative design solutions that would push our engineers to think creatively. In speaking with our clients, we realized the importance of our company’s performance measured against sustainability and corporate responsibility criteria.
Jacques Whitford and the participants at our Community Sustainability Planning Workshops are energized by the prospect of involvement in exciting new projects, and having a positive impact on the environmental, social and economic health of the communities we live in.