Gilbane Building Company recently released our 2022 Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Report, sharing progress on our journey to make a positive impact in the world. The report is truly the product of the caring commitment, passion, and purpose of our people at Gilbane. Our 2022 Gilbane Cares Report – Our Blueprint for Impact details many accomplishments and highlights our approach to tackling major goals and challenges including the environment, inclusion and diversity, community impact, safety and wellbeing, governance and ethics, and operational excellence.
On the blog today, we share a Q&A session, straight from our ESG report, with Katherine Johnson, EVP, Chief People Officer, and ESG Leader, who shares her insights on how Gilbane has incorporated ESG into every facet of our operations and made it a top priority.
Q: Since Gilbane has launched its ESG platform, how have you seen its strategy and focus accelerate?
A: In many ways, our work at Gilbane has always embraced the principles of ESG, but since we’ve launched our strategic platform, we’ve stepped up our commitments and formalized our approach to drive consistency and impact throughout the company. Our executive team has made ESG a core part of our operations, weaving it into every aspect of our business.
When we embarked on our annual strategic planning last summer, we made ESG an integral priority to our strategy. We committed to determining metrics and defining our approach so that we could truly organize the business in support of reaching our goals.
One example of this ESG focus is our supply chain management. We are forging partnerships with suppliers who can support carbon reduction through the materials we use to build our projects.
Q: With the growing focus on corporate social responsibility and sustainability, how is Gilbane supporting its clients’ ESG priorities and objectives?
A: We’re eager to partner with our clients to help realize their ESG or corporate social responsibility goals. We’re learning a lot from clients who are leading champions for ESG and we hope that our ESG strategies can complement and further their goals – especially in terms of carbon reduction and DEI.
We know that many of our clients have diversity and inclusion goals and construction projects present a unique opportunity to drive investment in workforce development and diverse businesses that will benefit local communities and economies.
Q: How have Gilbane team members responded to the ESG commitments?
A: Our people are deeply committed to building more than buildings. I see it every day interacting with our people across the U.S. and around the world. I think Gilbane attracts people who embrace our core value of Caring. They’re engaging and supporting our ESG commitments – not because someone is telling them to – but because it’s the right thing to do.
We launched a monthly live companywide forum to engage our people in our ESG strategy. It’s been exciting to see the hundreds of people who join those meetings each month to learn, share, and strive to make greater impact.
Q: What’s on the horizon for Gilbane in terms of its ESG strategy?
A: While we’re excited by the progress that we’re making toward reaching many of our goals, we also know that we still have a lot of work to do. We’re looking at how innovation and technology can support ESG – particularly in the area of embodied carbon reduction.
We’re also seeing how we can leverage our relationships and networks with contractors, suppliers and vendors to do more to support sustainability, DEI goals, and extend the reach of our commitment to human rights.
Our Safety & Wellbeing pillar is focused on supporting the critical issue of mental health. We believe wholeheartedly in taking a holistic approach to safety and recognizing that mental and emotional support of our people is a crucial to promoting total wellbeing.
As chief human resources officer for Gilbane, I’m particularly passionate about our People First commitments and enhancing inclusion and belonging at Gilbane. We know that a diverse and inclusive workforce is absolutely critical to Gilbane’s continued success – and it is equally vital for the health and sustainability of the construction industry.
It’s a pleasure to share this conversation with one of our ESG leaders. We hope that it has helped elaborate on the significance of ESG at Gilbane and our commitment to creating positive change while fostering a thriving workplace culture.
While we have more work to do, we’re making real progress toward our ESG goals. It’s through collective efforts that we can truly make a difference and leave a positive legacy for generations to come.
If you have not seen our latest ESG report, please click here to download the 2022 Gilbane Cares Report – Our Blueprint for Impact.
