Community care
Our Corporate Social Responsibility program, GHD in the Community (GITC), delivers a positive social and environmental impact on the communities in which we operate.
Through the global program, GHD people are actively involved partnering with many not-for-profit community organisations. This includes the provision of pro-bono services and the support of a range of community-based enterprises for fundraising, volunteering, workplace support and engagement. Our people consider, formally apply and then nurture GITC partnerships, making this program one of deep interest and genuine personal pride amongst our workforce.
Our clients also play an important part in this global community program by highlighting their challenges or identifying opportunities for our assistance. We are grateful for their involvement, which enables us to add value and a make a real difference to disadvantaged communities or causes. For example, GHD makes an AUD10 donation to UNICEF for each completed client eSurvey with money raised in 2019 going to combat a cholera epidemic that is threatening Burundi in Africa.
The projects featured here are indicative of the ongoing work we do with our clients to create lasting community benefit.
Melbourne Indigenous Transition School (MITS)
GHD’s Melbourne office in Australia has been a long supporter of the MITS, which exists to create greater opportunities for Indigenous students from remote and regional communities. This year, GHD provided a range of pro bono building services including: mechanical, electrical, fire, hydraulic and structural services in order to convert part of an existing three-storey office into ‘respite’ style accommodation.
Our work has helped to create a place where Indigenous children from remote communities can pursue educational opportunities at Melbourne schools.
Career guidance for future Fiji rugby stars
GHD’s Fiji team is proud to work alongside the Rugby Academy Fiji, which coaches local children both on and off the field. Through teaching rugby skills, theory, and fitness, the Academy opens up options for students’ development through education and career paths. While learning to play, students are encouraged to pursue professional careers during and after their competitive rugby days.
Our Fiji team is a long-term sponsor of the Academy, providing training materials and hosting clinics teaching students basic structural engineering principles. Through fun, interactive activities, students learn about engineering in a real-world context, with our team guiding them on the challenges and opportunities of engineering career.
Volunteering for Veterans
A team from our Cameron Park and Roseville, California, offices volunteered with the local chapter of Habitat for Humanity for their first-ever Veterans Build, an initiative focused on providing homeownership to US veterans, military service members, and their families.
Our people contributed 500 hours of 'sweat equity' to help build a veteran’s family home and helped with a wide range of tasks, including painting, backfilling the water main trench to the house, putting up siding, attaching trim boards, and cutting brush. The work on this project is indicative of the many projects GHD people across North America contribute to in order to build stronger and lasting local communities.
Engineering new opportunities for female school students
Our Newcastle, Australia office signed a powerful partnership with HunterWiSE, which is a University of Newcastle initiative aimed at increasing the participation of female high school students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). The program opens avenues for women in STEM to liaise, collaborate and mentor each other, as well as create positive perceptions of STEM careers amongst school-aged girls.
As part of our sponsorship, GHD people mentored female Year 8 students from Hunter River High School, which is a comprehensive, co-educational secondary school with over 700 students, in which 15 percent of the school population identifiy as Aboriginal. During the second term of the 2019 school year, GHD hosted the students, helping them take part in a range of hands-on workshops including bridge and road modelling, visiting a virtual mine site, noise monitoring, ecology under the microscope, and the endless possibilities of drones and data.
Client partnership to restore coastal prairie in Texas
In honor of Earth Day, people from GHD’s Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Houston, Texas; and Calgary, Alberta, offices volunteered to remove invasive species and help restore the Texas City Prairie Preserve, a 2,300-acre nature preserve home to hundreds of coastal prairie species, such as native ducks and migratory birds.
The event was organised by the Nature Conservancy, a world-leading environmental organization, and Baker Hughes (BHGE), one of GHD’s clients. Volunteers from GHD and BHGE collected hundreds of pounds of garbage along the coastline and beach and applied herbicide to the invasive Chinese tallow tree, which grows quickly and covers portions of the native wetlands. Several hundred trees were cut down, and their removal provided the opportunity to add a kayak trail for Texas City Prairie Preserve visitors.
UAE Turtle Beach clean-up
A team of GHD young professionals initiated a clean-up of Dibba Beach, Fujairah, UAE that is known for its wild turtle population.
The GHD volunteers’ efforts targeted the plastic pollution of the beach and 152 kg of rubbish was collected from the beach: 50 percent plastics, 20 percent glass, 10 percent varying iron and 20 percent miscellaneous.
This initiative is indicative of many other volunteer efforts by our people globally.
