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Stewardship at David Evans and Associates, Inc.
This Stewardship Report highlights David Evans and Associates, Inc.’s environmental, social, and economic commitments to our communities.
Printed on 100% Post consumer, Green-e certified, processed cholrine free paper. This paper is manufactured with wind power.
DEA’s Core Purpose To improve the quality of life while demonstrating stewardship of the built and natural environments Since its founding in 1976 in Portland, Ore., DEA has become a recognized leader for progressive and sustainable design and management solutions for complex transportation, land development, energy, and water resources infrastructure projects nationwide. Stewardship at DEA means individually and collectively taking responsibility for the economic, environmental, and social consequences of our actions. Stewardship’s reach touches all of the choices we at DEA make every day.
DEA’s Core Values Honesty We must be scrupulously truthful with our clients, our coworkers, and ourselves in our professional and personal actions and work. Consideration We must be concerned for each other and act with respect and sensitivity toward everyone with whom we interact. Openness We are unafraid of sharing good and bad news and believe knowledge of all aspects of our company, if shared, will strengthen our efforts. Enjoyment We recognize DEA is not the center of the universe. Enjoying our efforts and our workplace are essential to maintaining our professional excellence. Involvement We are good citizens. We volunteer for and provide professional advice to a variety of community projects and enterprises. Entrepreneurial Spirit We are keenly interested in new opportunities. We venture into new fields and develop new approaches to our work. We do not take these risks lightly, but seek input from our colleagues and clients so that all who are affected are aware of the risks before action is taken. Financial Security We pride ourselves on providing for the well-being of DEA employees and their families. To do so, we prepare adequate budgets and work within them in order to produce the profit needed to attain financial security.
DEA is an employee-owned corporation driven by a set of strong core values: honesty, consideration, openness, enjoyment, involvement, entrepreneurial spirit, and financial security. This informal code of conduct directs our behavior and decision making.
We seek to create a workplace where people are free to pursue their personal and professional goals. We offer flexible work schedules, tuition reimbursement, and generous health care benefits for our employees and their families. Employees receive training and career development opportunities through DEA University.
Discovery Café is a grant program through DEA University that offers employees funding for research, education, and personal and professional development. The primary requirement is that all funded grants must align with DEA’s core ideology. Since the program’s launch, grants have been awarded to: • explore solar energy uses, and how DEA can incorporate solar energy into its planning and development project design; • investigate ways to deepen and internalize Situational Leadership concepts and practices to enhance employee-supervisor communications; • research residential trip-generation data to better understand traffic impacts of various residential forms and how responsible development may reduce travel demand; • identify the psychological factors that motivate people to practice sustainable behaviors.
environmental
The Natural World We value, understand, and nourish our natural resources and processes to benefit future generations. We improve the quality of life by creating a sustainable built environment through context-sensitive design and we work closely with our clients to understand and explore lifecycle decisions and consequences. DEA’s Sustainability
The DEA sustainability initiative is intended to
initiative
put stewardship into action through heightened
• Define sustainability and stewardship for DEA • Install and support leadership for implementation of sustainability plans in each office • Reduce the impacts of work-related travel • Conserve resources and use renewable energy • Prevent waste and encourage recycling • Support community organizations • Incorporate sustainable practices into projects
awareness, systems thinking, and thoughtful decision making in consideration of our operational footprint. DEA’s CEO, President, and CFO serve on our firm-wide sustainability steering group. The committee is chaired by our Director of Sustainability, who reports to the CEO. Each of our offices has an active sustainability committee and annual plans for internal practices and external services to address transportation, waste prevention and recycling, and resource conservation.
social
We sustain the natural environment and shape the built environment to create healthy living conditions that benefit people, communities, and society.
People Creating an excellent workplace In an October 2007 survey, more than 98 percent of DEA employees agreed that DEA is an ethical company, that they are proud to work at DEA, and that they would recommend DEA as a good place to work. Ninety percent of employees agreed that DEA’s values are evident in their office’s decisions and actions. The survey identified two areas for improvement: supervisors providing timely feedback to employees, and in the structure and administration of our bonus program. In response, we are committed to completing and reinforcing Situational Leadership training for all employees in 2008 to improve employee-supervisor communications, and our CFO is leading a team to reexamine and restructure our bonus program. #73 FORTUNE Best Companies to Work For, 2008 #19 CE News Best Companies to Work For in the U.S., 2007
Communities Giving back to our communities
Abernethy School,
Involvement is a DEA value. DEA knows
portland, oregon
that participation makes for vibrant, healthy
For more than 18 years, DEA employees have contributed countless hours tutoring Abernethy grade school students in reading, writing and mathematics, and helping out on the playground (even rebuilding the playground). DEA regularly contributes financial resources for the school’s annual food drive, the school calendar and handbook, and other special projects throughout the school year.
communities. That’s why employees are encouraged to give back through volunteer community involvement. Local DEA offices regularly support schools, aid agencies, and other non-profit organizations with donations, funding, and volunteers. In 2007, DEA employees recorded more than 1,700 hours in volunteer labor. As a firm, DEA donated more than $282,000 to charitable causes in 2007.
economic Financial security for our firm and its employees is a core DEA value. DEA is employee owned through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), 401(k) contributions, and direct ownership of shares by employees. The ESOP is the largest single shareholder, with 35 percent ownership. The company’s stock value has risen steadily since the ESOP was created in 1985. In 2007, the stock value climbed 18 percent. That same year, the firm distributed 60 percent of earnings before bonuses, interest and taxes, to employees through the ESOP, 401(K) matches, and incentive plans.
environmental
The Natural World We value, understand, and nourish our natural resources and processes to benefit future generations. We improve the quality of life by creating a sustainable built environment through context-sensitive design and we work closely with our clients to understand and explore lifecycle decisions and consequences. DEA’s Sustainability
The DEA sustainability initiative is intended to
initiative
put stewardship into action through heightened
• Define sustainability and stewardship for DEA • Install and support leadership for implementation of sustainability plans in each office • Reduce the impacts of work-related travel • Conserve resources and use renewable energy • Prevent waste and encourage recycling • Support community organizations • Incorporate sustainable practices into projects
awareness, systems thinking, and thoughtful decision making in consideration of our operational footprint. DEA’s CEO, President, and CFO serve on our firm-wide sustainability steering group. The committee is chaired by our Director of Sustainability, who reports to the CEO. Each of our offices has an active sustainability committee and annual plans for internal practices and external services to address transportation, waste prevention and recycling, and resource conservation.
DEA purchases wind energy in the form of
commute trip
Green Tags to offset firm-wide electricity usage.
reduction program
In 2007, 50 percent of our electricity usage was
To support employees who use alternative means of transportation, DEA has a firm-wide Guaranteed Ride Home program, which assures employees ready transportation in the case of an emergency. Several DEA offices have active commute trip reduction programs in place to reduce the number of single-occupancyvehicle trips employees make. Some offices offer employees $3 for every round trip made using alternative transportation. For regular alternative commuters, that pays for lunch.
offset with wind energy. Our commitment for 2008 is to offset 75 percent of our usage with clean energy. We will achieve the 100 percent mark in 2009. DEA is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council, the Oregon Natural Step Network, and the Valley Forward Association of Phoenix, Ariz.
About DEA DEA has 25 offices in seven states and employs more than 1,000 professionals firm wide, including engineers, surveyors, planners, natural resource scientists, and landscape architects. DEA consistently ranks among Engineering News Record’s Top 100 Pure Design Firms in the U.S.
Ken Wightman, CEO
www.deainc.com 800.721.1916