Sowing the seed of change

Media Release

5 June 2007

Sowing the seed of change

Encouraging their clients to ‘be the seed of change’ and kick the carbon habit this World Environment Day, Auckland technical services and design consulting firm Maunsell, sent native Kowhai seeds to over 1200 of their clients.

James Hughes, senior environmental engineer and organiser of the company’s World Environment Day celebrations, said the seeds represented not only our natural environment, but a call to action to help reduce the effects of climate change.

“One Kowhai tree will offset approximately 5 months’ use of a family sized sedan car and a quarter of your household’s electricity for the year”, he says.

“We sent seeds to encourage our clients to think about how they can kick the carbon habit but also to give them an opportunity to do something practical about it.”

Maunsell are also undertaking a raft of internal initiatives and activities designed to raise their employees’awareness and stimulate discussion regarding climate change.

Their 400 employees are being encouraged to leave their cars at home and take part in the ‘Commute Challenge’which awards employees points depending on their alternative form of transport on the day – the winning team taking home an environmentally friendly prize pack.

Preliminary results show 70% of participants used an alternative form of transport, 42% walking or taking public transport and 28% choosing to carpool.

Maunsell Regional Director – New Zealand, Dean Kimpton says, “At Maunsell we aim to inspire a culture that embeds sustainability into all aspects of our work and to enhance and sustain the worlds built, natural and social environments.”

A Director’s competition coined ‘The Biggest Carbon Loser’ launched on World Environment Day will measure which Director within the company can most significantly reduce their carbon footprint over the next month starting today; an initiative Mr Kimpton strongly supports.

“Success in sustainability will only, and ultimately, be successful as a result of good leadership. The Director’s teams are being encouraged to get behind them and give them plenty of support and a few friendly prods over the next month”, he says.

Other company initiatives for World Environment Day include celebratory morning teas in each of the company’s five offices around the country, internal expos on sustainability and guest speaker presentations on climate change.

Across the Australia, New Zealand and Asia regions, Maunsell is also promoting a ‘Go for Green’ competition which encourages staff to generate sustainability ideas for achieving the goals set out in the company’s Sustainability Policy.

ENDS

About Maunsell and AECOM
Maunsell is part of AECOM (NYSE: ACM), a global provider of professional technical and management support services to a broad range of markets, including transportation, buildings, environmental, mining and energy. With more than 35,000 employees around the world, AECOM is a leader in all of the key markets that it serves. AECOM provides a blend of global reach, local knowledge, innovation and technical excellence in delivering solutions that enhance and sustain the world’s built, natural and social environments. AECOM serves clients in more than 60 countries and had revenue of $4.2 billion during fiscal year 2007. More information on AECOM or Maunsell can be found at www.aecom.com or www.maunsell.com.

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