Contents 2011 • Issue 02 - Skanska

Raising the Bar
Skanska offices marked Earth
Day with a flurry of activities
that blossomed from ongoing
efforts to implement green
practices in every office.
“We’re starting to see
that these special events
are more and more
business-as-usual… in
a good way,” says Myrrh
Caplan, who chairs
Skanska’s network of
local green councils. “So
many of our offices are
living and working in
sustainable ways yearround
that Earth Day
events are extensions
of normal activities.”
Still, even as Skanska
works more sustainably
than ever before, Earth
Day saw new ways to raise the bar. The tone was set by Skanska USA President
Mike McNally in an editorial in Skanska USA’s Green Newsletter.
“I challenge every Skanska USA office to see what they can do in their markets
to lower Skanska’s environmental footprint even more,” Mike wrote. “If we can do
it for ourselves, we can show our clients how they can too. Whether we’re helping
our clients or our own business, we’ll know we’re doing our part to ensure that
our country’s growth can be supported with affordable resources for all.”
Offices are starting to answer the call.
At the Seattle office, which sits within the urban core of the city, the green
council introduced an office bike.
“We’ve long had a hybrid vehicle that has seen significant use,” says Administrative
Manager Claire Laister, who leads the office’s green council. “This is an additional option
for business in the immediate vicinity of the office, without any carbon emissions.”
In Nashville, the office set an aggressive goal of quantitatively measuring bottom
line savings from environmental practices on 100 percent of the office’s jobs.
“The process is in its early stages, but almost every job is tracking savings so
far,” explains Project Manager Mary D. Bartoe, who helms the office’s local green
team. “We’re seeing savings from paperless jobsites, use of compact fluorescent
lights for temporary lighting and more. These are common practices, but we
think people will be surprised at the bottom line benefit.” ◆
Skanska Survey
Did your office/jobsite participate
in any Earth Day initiatives?
No
56.2%
Yes
43.8%
Want to see your opinions represented here?
Log in to the Hub Survey Page: www.skanskasurvey.com
Community
Timeline
Boston, M.A.: Birthday wishes
The office's preconstruction and HR departments
prepared hats and cards and stuffed goody bags
for Birthday Wishes, an organization that brings
birthday parties to homeless children.
Philadelphia, P.A.: Caring for the kids
Employees held a pot luck lunch and 50/50 raffle
to help three independent living youths. The event raised
$1,134 and each child received $378 in Visa gift cards.
Portland, O.R.: In the can
Using 1,680 cans of food, the
Beaverton team, partnered with
LRS Architects, built the Heart
in Oregon logo for Portland’s
CANstruction competition. The
cans of food were then donated
La Porte, T.X.: Planting the seed
The Houston team participated in the Trees for
Houston Potting Event, helping to pot more than
1,000 seedlings throughout La Porte Tree Farm.
New York, N.Y.: Knowledge is power
Members of the NY Metro Region attended an ACE
luncheon to present a $6,000 Skanska-sponsored
scholarship to a freshman at Tufts University.
Durham, N.C.: It’s a toss up
The office hosted its inaugural Tailgate Toss, a corn
hole bracket-style tournament, to raise money for
the Rex Healthcare Foundation benefitting
Courtyard for Co-Workers and the Ronald McDonald
House of Durham.
The Bronx, N.Y.: Making a contribution
The Croton Water Filtration Plant team donated
materials to Renaissance Education, Music,
Sports, to help complete the build-out of the
organization's new space.
6 coast to coast
coast to coast
7
MAY APRIL
MARCH
Atlanta, G.A.: Down the garden path
The office teamed with a local homeless shelter to
construct downtown Atlanta's first Urban Garden,
which will provide fresh produce for the more than
425 homeless and recovering people at Atlanta Mission.
to the Oregon Food Bank. Orlando, F.L.: Shaping up
The office had 22 runners and
Seattle, W.A.: Team spirit
Seattle’s Community Involvement
Committee held a dinner for 83
guests at the Seattle Cancer Care
Alliance House.
Nashville, T.N.: Spring makeover
Volunteers spruced up St. Luke’s
Community House, painting
the gym, conference rooms and
common areas. Leftover supplies
were donated to the “Restore
the Dream” center to help families
recover from natural disasters.
walkers participate in Insurance
Office of America’s 17th annual
Corporate 5K, which benefitted
the Track Shack Foundation.
Fort Lauderdale, F.L./Oakland, C.A.: Helping hands
In honor of National Rebuilding Day, employees from
the Fort Lauderdale office joined the South Florida
Skanska Young Professionals to lead Stretch and Flex
for more than 300 volunteers and restore the exterior
of a local home. In Oakland, the team spent the
day refurbishing a local children’s amusement park,
Children’s Fairyland at Lake Merritt.