When it comes to sustainability initiatives, materiality can be a key component of a company’s success. Companies are besieged with surveys, ratings, rankings and stakeholder demands for greater transparency and disclosure of their environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance. The demand for information is overwhelming, made more difficult by the varying needs of a wide range of stakeholders. Faced with limited resources in a world where some disclosures are mandatory and others are not, how do you break through the noise? That’s where materiality comes in.

Materiality is not a new concept; it is well-understood by the financial community and by companies thanks to established rules, processes and systems that are in place to comply with financial reporting mandates. But when you add sustainability to the mix, does materiality take on new meaning? I would argue that applying materiality to financial and nonfinancial performance together brings both into sharper focus.

Many companies struggle with prioritizing their disclosure because audiences for sustainability performance and financial performance can vary widely. As a result, there has been a rush to report an overwhelming amount of immaterial sustainability data that are not comparable or benchmarkable from company to company or sector to sector. Now, as the Global Reporting Initiative, Sustainability Accounting Standards Board and the International Integrated Reporting Council shift their core focuses to materiality, we can finally get on the same page and start speaking the same language. By doing so, we’ll also put our resources to more efficient use and give clarity to what good performance really looks like. And we’ll be better able to compare apples to apples.

At American Electric Power, we conducted our first formal materiality stakeholder survey in 2012. Management thought it was purely focused on sustainability at first, but the results proved that financial performance goes hand-in-hand with nonfinancial performance. Stakeholders — investors, employees, customers and non-governmental organizations — care about both. It was an eye-opening experience that gave us the opportunity to ensure that issues deemed material by our stakeholders also aligned with our business strategy and risks. Understanding the interconnectivity of financial and nonfinancial performance allows us to be more focused in our engagement and to allocate resources where there is the greatest opportunity for sustainable growth, while mitigating potential risks. That’s how materiality helps you set the right priorities.

If you’re planning on attending the Sustainability Summit in Kansas City on June 7, I look forward to hearing your thoughts on materiality and its importance when the conversation turns to sustainability. And if you’ve not yet registered to attend, we hope you’ll join us.

Image via SeniorLiving.Org 

Sandy Nessing has responsibility for managing sustainability strategy, corporate stakeholder engagement and annual performance reporting for American Electric Power (AEP). She oversees annual production of AEP’s Corporate Accountability Report, including a dedicated sustainability website and, new in 2013, an app. This is the fourth year AEP has produced an integrated report that combines financial with nonfinancial performance.

Today, dialogue surrounding a company’s sustainability performance often occurs in independent online communities. Each year, more public companies are being evaluated and scrutinized by green rating and ranking organizations. Participants in these discussions and individuals and organizations doing the rating, on their own initiative and in support of their own fiscal business models, assess companies with or without the companies’ knowledge or cooperation. These rating organizations publish and often push their data, which reflects your company’s performance, to your investors, customers, competitors and business partners.

As a result, it’s become more important than ever for public companies to proactively engage these raters in an effort to positively influence what these groups say. Without this engagement and participation, companies risk misinformation and miss opportunities for positive public relations in a communications space controlled by others. Some of the companies and organizations providing ratings and sustainability assessments include:

Newsweek Green Rankings®

Newsweek’s Green Rankings comprehensively assess the environmental performance of the largest publicly traded companies in the United States and around the world. Published annually since 2009, this project is the first effort by a major media organization to rank companies based on their environmental footprint, management of that footprint and sustainability communications.

Corporate Responsibility Magazine’s 100 Best Corporate Citizens

Developed by Corporate Responsibility Magazine and the Corporate Responsibility Officer Association, the 100 Best Corporate Citizens 2013 list starts with the Russell 1000® Index. All data must be publicly available in order to be included in the data set for this rating organization. The elements analyzed for this list include climate change, employee relations, environmental, financial, governance, human rights and philanthropy.

Climate Counts

Climate Counts is a collaborative effort to bring consumers and companies together to address solutions around global climate change. Its mission is to engage consumers on companies’ global climate change solutions and strategies. Climate Counts scores companies on how serious they are about addressing climate change and how they compare to their competitors. The organization’s annual scorecard reflects companies’ self-reported efforts, typically within corporate sustainability reports, to address climate change.

CDP (Formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project)

While all other rating organizations addressed here rank companies whether they choose to be ranked or not, the CDP is an opt-in rating organization. Any organization can respond to the CDP questionnaire. The CDP’s mission is focused on climate change and climate change strategy and encourages participating companies to be transparent about the strategy, risks and opportunities that arise from climate change, and calculating their greenhouse gas emissions.

Global Initiative for Sustainability Ratings

In response to the growing number of green ratings and rankings and in an effort to standardize environmental, social and governance-based rankings, Ceres and Tellus Institute developed the Global Initiative for Sustainability Ratings (GISR) in June 2011. GISR is not another green ranking organization but instead will accredit those meeting its sustainability performance measurement standards. Starting June 1, 2013, GISR will release its principles for public comment through July 31.

What You Can Do To Learn More

A significant part of our work these days involves collaborating with clients and assisting them in actively engaging with green rating and ranking organizations like the ones listed above. If sustainability performance is something you need to know more about, you should make plans to attend our Sustainability Summit, which will be held in Kansas City, Mo., on June 7, 2013. We’ve got a lineup of amazing speakers including folks from Dell, Ikea, Unilever, Kohler, ExxonMobile, American Electric Power, ISOS Group and more, all sharing their thoughts, success stories and case studies to help you move your own sustainability initiatives forward.

Register online now to secure your spot. While you’re at it, be sure to subscribe to the Burns & McDonnell World blog for news on the Sustainability Summit and related sustainability topics, including blog posts from some of our presenters. And if you’re on Twitter, follow @BurnsMcDonnell and hashtag #bmcdss13 leading up to and during the conference. We hope to see you there!

Candice Derks is a LEED AP, GRI Certified, RABQSA Certified sustainability specialist at Burns & McDonnell. She has implemented sustainability initiatives at Burns & McDonnell’s world headquarters facilities as well as for our clients.

Choosing the right conductor can make a critical difference in a transmission project. Yet with several products on the market, it’s not always easy to know which conductor will give you the best outcome. If you’re stumped by your options, make plans to join us for the next webinar in our Advanced Technology Series, High Capacity Conductors.

The hour-long webinar will be at 2 p.m. ET on May 30 and will explore the world of high capacity conductors, which offer substantial performance advantages over standard steel and aluminum conductors. Although high capacity conductors increase the capacity of existing transmission lines, it’s not always easy to tell if those advantages will translate into real value for your particular project.

During the webinar, we’ll answer your questions and provide the information you need to be confident when selecting a high capacity conductor. We’ll hear from our featured guests, 3M, who will discuss the 3M Aluminum Conductor Composite Reinforced (3M ACCR). They’ll outline how ACCR works, when to use it to help resolve your project’s challenges, how to design with ACCR and choose the best option, and what to know about the reliable performance and durability of the conductor as demonstrated in laboratory and field testing and case studies.

If you work with conductors, this free webinar is a must-attend. Register online now and secure your spot. And while you’re at it, be sure to check out the rest of our Advanced Technology Series line-up. Upcoming webinars will feature CRUX Subsurface on micropile foundations and steel pile caps, EHV cable systems and automated aerial patrol makers.

The webinars are available on-demand, so if you’re not able to attend an event or would prefer to revisit a past webinar, check out the Advanced Technology Series page on our website. And if you have any questions about High Capacity Conductors or any of the other webinars, feel free to contact our event coordinator, Kim Mulkey.

We hope you’ll join us on May 30!

Image via 3M

Wind is a constant presence and something that most of us don’t think twice about. Yet wind power continues to be a growing source of renewable energy. The American Wind Energy Association reports that, in 2012, “wind energy became the number one source of new U.S. electricity generating capacity for the first time, providing some 42% of all new generating capacity.”

Don’t know much about wind power aside from turbines and kilowatt-hours? That still puts you ahead of the curve! If you’re interested in a closer look at this powerful renewable energy source, take a look at some fascinating wind power facts compiled by the Wind Energy Foundation:

• From 2008 to 2012, wind power provided 36.5% of all new generating capacity in the U.S.
• Windmills have been in use since 2000 B.C. They were first developed in China and Persia.
• A single wind turbine can power 500 homes.
• In 2012, roughly 140 million megawatt-hours were generated by wind energy, which avoided 79.9 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. That’s the equivalent of removing 14 million cars from the roads.
• The majority of wind turbines (95%) are installed on private land.
• At times, wind power produces as much as 45% of Spain’s electricity.
• In 2012, wind energy became the number one source of new U.S. electricity generating capacity. The year proved to be a strong one for all renewables; combined, they accounted for more than 55% of all new U.S. generating capacity.
• During the fourth quarter of 2012, Texas led the nation in new wind installations, followed by California, Kansas, Oklahoma and Iowa.

What’s even more interesting? Wind power doesn’t just generate energy—it’s an economic development driver, too. USA Today reported that wind energy development was partly responsible for economic growth in the fourth quarter of 2012, and we’ll be interested to see how the numbers add up in 2013.

Have you noticed an increased use of wind power in your area?

Image: fRandi-Shooters via Compfight cc

Mother’s Day is quickly approaching, and if you’re still on the hunt for that perfect gift, we have you covered! We took an informal poll around the office asking for gift ideas for moms and loved the responses we got. We think you will, too. Here are some of the things that topped wish lists of moms around our office.

Plan a mother’s day out. Take her to local winery or make an appointment at a nearby spa to pamper her. What mom wouldn’t love a fun wine tasting or a great massage?

Designer purse. Not many moms will splurge on themselves, so consider treating her to that designer purse you know she’s been dreaming of. And if you’re not sure what kind she’d like, ask one of her best girlfriends. She’ll point you in the right direction.

Cooking/art class. Book a cooking or art class that you can attend together. This is a special opportunity for you to only have a great time hanging out together, but it’ll be extra fun to master a new skill together.

Concert tickets. Pick one of her favorite artists and treat her to a night on the town. The summer concert season is right around the corner, so if you do a little digging, you’ll likely find someone she loves that’s coming to town that you can take her to see. If music isn’t her thing, consider the ballet or a night at the theater. Both are sure to please.

Custom Gifts. Sometimes the thing that moms love best is something you create yourself. You can make a custom work of art for mom or consider a personalized smartphone case, which she’s sure to love. The moms at Cool Mom Picks developed a great gift guide that includes custom trinket trays, Mother’s Day cards, jewelry and the like, so if you’re at a loss for ideas, check them out — they’re fantastic.

Free Time. Many of the moms we heard from as we did our survey just want a little extra time to spend with their loved ones. Help free up some of the time she spends on chores around the house. Surprise her with the iRobot Roomba to take care of the vacuuming, or consider hiring a maid service to come in once a month and help out. Even an uninterrupted hour so she can relax in a bubble bath can go a long way.

Fitness Trackers. It’s not always easy for moms to find time to work out, but fitness trackers like the Jawbone Up or FitBit One can help Mom stay on track by monitoring her fitness goals and activity levels for the day.

Vacation. Whether she dreams of an all-inclusive vacation to a tropical island (sans kids) or a Disney Cruise with the whole family, a vacation is a sure-fire way to make mom happy.

Jewelry. Tried and true, jewelry is a safe bet if you can’t decide on something else. We especially love this necklace for the caffeine and science-loving moms.

Keep it simple. Most moms just want to spend time with you. Take her out to lunch or make her favorite lunch at home.

Grandkids. We couldn’t help but laugh to see this on top of one mother’s wish list. But it’s true. What mom doesn’t beg her grown kids for a grandchild?

Most importantly, if you don’t have a lot of money to spend, don’t worry. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to make a big impression on mom. Handwritten notes of appreciation, coupon books for help with chores or breakfast in bed are sometimes the nicest gifts of all.

Finding the perfect Mother’s Day gift can be tough, so if you have any ideas to share with those last-minute shoppers, share them in the comments. We’d love to hear from you!

Image credit: torbakhopper via Compfight cc

It’s no secret that our water infrastructure is in trouble. And if you’re a young professional in Kansas City who’s interested in learning more, make plans to attend an upcoming screening of the water infrastructure documentary Liquid Assets.

The 90-minute film tells the story of our essential infrastructure systems — water, wastewater and stormwater — some of which have been in the ground for more than a century.

Although these systems address critical public health functions and are essential for growth and economic development, the aging infrastructure hasn’t been maintained. Updates and repairs won’t be easy, from a logistical or financial standpoint. In fact, some estimates suggest that this will be the single largest public works endeavor in our nation’s history. The documentary explores all facets of the water infrastructure system, including history, engineering, and political and economic challenges, all of which are designed to spark discussion about public water and wastewater issues.

Watch the trailer for a closer look:

Interested in hearing more about what’s ahead for the country’s water infrastructure system? Join us from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on May 10 in the Burns & McDonnell auditorium at our Kansas City headquarters (9400 Ward Parkway). The screening is sponsored by MO AWWA, MWEA, KS AWWA and KWEA young professionals, which means this event will be an ideal networking opportunity, too.

Secure your spot by RSVPing to Lucas Gillen by May 6. Seasoned professionals are welcome, too, so be sure and register, especially if you work with water infrastructure. We have no doubt that Liquid Assets is going to be an eye-opening documentary, and we’re looking forward to seeing it.

If you attend the event, we’d love for you to stop back by the blog and let us know what you thought of the film. In the meantime, we’ll see you on May 10!

Wind power is, without question, one of the foundations of success when it comes to the renewable energy market. But solutions for success in wind energy aren’t cut and dried, nor is any solution guaranteed. We’re excited about joining thousands of our wind energy colleagues at the WINDPOWER Expo May 5-8 in Chicago, as we look toward the future of the wind industry and collaboratively explore solutions.

Let’s back up a minute. The U.S. wind industry had a record-breaking year in 2012. It grew by 28 percent and became the No. 1 source of new energy capacity for the first time. This, combined with the extension of the Production Tax Credit, which provides a federal tax incentive for wind energy projects started or completed in 2013, has the industry poised to continue the momentum in 2013.

The three-day conference and exhibition is packed with educational and networking opportunities focused on providing solutions for success in the ever-changing wind industry. The conference committee has done a great job assembling a lineup of highly qualified industry experts who will speak on topics ranging from project financial considerations to emerging technologies to scientific research supporting wind power and much more.

One of the coolest things about this year’s event is that it’s powered 100 percent by wind power, meaning everything from event prep to the power at the conference center and even social events are powered exclusively by wind. How impressive is that?

This conference is one of our favorite opportunities to not only learn from industry leaders but also to connect with the best and brightest wind professionals in the country. We have several people attending the conference who will be available to answer questions about the services we provide for the wind industry. Among them are Justin Bailey and Aaron Anderson, who we asked to share what they’re most looking forward to about WINDPOWER 2013. Here’s what they said.

“For me, WINDPOWER is a unique opportunity to meet face-to-face, collaborate and learn from and with the major players and thought leaders in the wind industry. The sessions are tremendously informative, and it’s great to be able to spend time with both our clients and our peers sharing our thoughts and success stories and learning from those of others. But the real opportunities lie in networking — whether making new connections or strengthening old ones. It’s one of my favorite conferences every year.” – Justin Bailey

“The annual WINDPOWER show is the best networking opportunity of the year for those of us focused on the wind energy industry. With up to 20,000 people in attendance, it’s a great opportunity share the results of our own experiences and research with both our clients and our peers, as well as to learn more about what’s on the horizon for the wind industry from the myriad of experts in attendance.” – Aaron Anderson

If WINDPOWER 2013 is on your agenda next week, we’d love to hear from you. Tell us what you’re most looking forward to in the comments section. And be sure to stop by booth #5120 in the exhibition hall and say hi!

Just as our veins keep blood and nutrients flowing through our bodies, the country’s water infrastructure is the circulatory system that keeps our nation alive. The downside? Our water infrastructure is approaching a state of crisis as a result of becoming outdated, overused and underserviced.

To help raise awareness of the plight facing the country’s water infrastructure, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has teamed up with the National Association of Water Companies to launch the Water Is Your Business campaign that “seeks to engage businesses, water infrastructure stakeholders and community leaders on the value of sustainable water provision, the benefits of investing in water infrastructure for the whole community and potential solutions in delivering sustainable water solutions.”

One of the campaign tools is an interactive infographic, which gives readers an opportunity to “travel” through the issues facing our water infrastructure. At 30 times the length of the national highway system, which currently clocks in at 46,876 miles long, the country’s water infrastructure won’t be easy to fix, but it’s something that must be done to rescue a system that largely dates back to the early 20th century.

What’s more, these outdated pipes are being overused. Look at California, for example. As the population continues to grow, the existing infrastructure can’t handle the increased demand and investment isn’t keeping pace with the growth.

Fixing and/or replacing water infrastructure is certainly not cheap. Yet the costs of a broken system quickly add up, too. Daily, 650 breaks lead to 7 billion gallons of water lost, which results in $2.6 billion in lost water — every day. Considering water shortages in the U.S. and around the globe, that figure is staggering.

So what can you do? Knowledge is power, for starters, so be sure to check out the full infographic and do more to educate yourself about water infrastructure issues. And, if you’d like to get involved, you can also opt to follow the Water Is Your Business campaign on Twitter and Facebook.

Image: cursedthing via Compfight cc

Big ideas often come in small packages — and that’s the case with the Westinghouse Small Modular Reactor, a small-scale nuclear reactor that serves as an alternative source for providing affordable, secure sources of emissions-free generation to a variety of global markets.

The SMR builds on the concepts introduced in the company’s AP1000 reactor design. The greater than 225 MWe integral pressurized water reactor includes all primary components inside the reactor vessel, a design that reduces the number of required components while still achieving the highest level of safety.

Now that the SMR is ready to be built, Westinghouse has teamed with Burns & McDonnell to help develop and license the reactors. Additionally, we’ll help Westinghouse with base plant design, the design certification document and engineering services related to the reactor’s construction.

Not only do the SMRs provide a safe, efficient source of emissions-free generation — they’re also expected to generate a significant economic impact, too.

“Westinghouse estimates that the building of a single Westinghouse SMR will provide an estimated economic impact of nearly $3 billion in greater than 15 states and will create or sustain more than 15,000 direct and indirect jobs,” according to Westinghouse. “As this technology is exported to the world, the number of U.S. jobs would continue to increase.”

Additionally, the partnership between the two companies is expected to help propel the U.S. into a leading position within an industry that’s becoming increasingly important as companies and stakeholders pursue alternatives to carbon-based fuel sources.

“We believe this partnership will put U.S.-manufactured small modular reactor technology into a leadership position in our country and around the world,” said Ray Kowalik, president of Burns & McDonnell’s energy division. “There is no question that nuclear power has to be a bigger player if we are serious about reducing our reliance on carbon-based fuel sources. SMRs are a great alternative to large nuclear reactors due to their more predictable costs and the speed at which they can be constructed. We have decades of experience designing the most advanced power facilities in the world and we are eager to put that experience to work with the Westinghouse team.”

We’re excited about where electricity generation is headed. Keeping pace with change can be challenging, but it’s exhilarating, too, and we’re thankful to play a role in the industry’s evolution. Stay tuned and we’ll be sure to keep you updated as SMR construction begins.

Image via Westinghouse

As solar power becomes more widespread, engineers and designers search for ways to more effectively use concentrated solar power. One solution? Heliostats. Originally found on giant solar farms, heliostats are mirrored devices that use a tracking device to follow the motion of the sun, which directs sunlight to a predetermined target.

When they’re used on solar farms, heliostats convert concentrated light to heat, which then drives a heat engine (usually a steam turbine) connected to an electrical power generator. Yet heliostats are proving increasingly useful in smaller applications, too, such as in commercial construction.

Consider One Central Park, a high-rise apartment and retail complex in Sydney, Australia, designed to include heliostats. A system of fixed and motorized mirrored panels capture sunlight and reflect it on the project’s landscaped terraces. At night, the heliostats become a work of art thanks to French lighting artist Yann Kersale, who created a colorful design that illuminates the towers.

Heliostats have a number of applications, which makes them increasingly enticing to developers.

“It has been suggested that small heliostats, placed on building rooftops, could be used like a solar power tower system, using the sun’s power to heat and cool a building or to provide input for thermal industrial processes such as processing food,” writes Justin McGar. “The system could also have the potential to be more reliable and cost-effective than a solar power tower plant, partly because it would not sacrifice 80 percent of the power collected in the process of converting it to electricity.”

Heliostats are already being used in areas such as the sun-deprived village of Viganella in the Italian Alps, the historic Reichstag building in Berlin, the Puente Hills Mall in California and the corporate headquarters of Genzyme Corp. in Cambridge, Mass., among other places — and we’ll likely see heliostats become even more widespread (with possible residential applications, too).

One major obstacle remains, however: Conventional heliostats are still expensive, which means engineers and designers face the challenge of finding commercially cost-effective designs that use fewer, lighter materials while also working as efficiently as traditional systems if they’re to become more commonplace.

Yet that dilemma isn’t unlike similar situations posed by other efficient, sustainable materials that were, at first, cost-prohibitive, and later became more accessible in response to market demand. We wouldn’t be surprised to see heliostats become much more commonplace in commercial (and residential) construction over the next few years. What about you?

Image via Design Build Source