- We follow the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM)® standards.
Our Goal
Support environmental sustainability by reducing the carbon impact of our facilities and operations.
Our greatest direct impact on the environment comes from the way we operate our 1.4 million square feet of office space: How we build and outfit the offices, how those offices collectively consume resources—particularly electricity—and how our employees’ day-to-day behaviors add up to significant change.
BBH looks at the sustainability of our facilities from many different angles, from top-down decisions on office location and design, to resource use and reductions to programs focused on individual behaviors—educating our employees on the good practices and habits, small and large, that will have a lasting effect on the planet.
Giving Trash Cans a Second (Greener) Life
Simple changes to our daily routine can make an impact toward our sustainability goals. Our Boston Environmental Champions group had this in mind when it launched an initiative to remove all personal trash and recycling bins from each desk, diverting approximately 500,000 plastic trash can liners from landfills. In their place, central waste stations were created on each floor for trash, recycling, and in some locations, compost.
With more than 1,500 people in the Boston office, we were left with the question of what to do with the 3,000 plastic waste bins. We looked for opportunities to reuse them, and through online marketplaces, we were able to find them new homes, donating them to individuals, organizations, and schools across Massachusetts. Some continued to be used as trash cans, but others were used to create urban gardens.
Environmental Champions hand-delivered the bins and saw the recipients’ appreciation for such a simple item, this made the process even more rewarding. “I never thought trash could bring people together,” remarked BBH Sustinability co-op, Bri Douglas. By donating the trash cans, we diverted 3,000 pounds of waste from landfills and gave the bins a second (greener) life.
Core Program Components
- One global department allows us to maintain a clear line of sight to—and ability to optimize–our operation’s collective impact.
- We build our offices for long term tenancy, using practical architectural standards that can flex to ever-changing business needs.
- We track and set reduction goals centrally for energy, waste, paper, water, and carbon emissions, hitting those marks by continually upgrading equipment and engaging employees to support the effort.
- Working with our landlords and local communities, we maintain guidelines for our business units and employees to follow.
- We have guidelines that help BBHers choose eco-friendly corporate gifts and giveaway, promoting experiences or charitable donations in lieu of physical gifts.
- We keep unnecessary travel to a minimum through routine budget scrutiny and key investments in meeting technology, including video conferencing.
Based on 2021 data
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