Bernhard named Best of GBB 2022 by Green Business Bureau
Click to view.
Just as we have helped our customers develop and achieve drastic energy reduction goals, we understand we also have a responsibility to monitor and mitigate the environmental impacts of our own operations. Bernhard being one of the five companies worldwide named Best of GBB in 2022 by Green Business Bureau proves that sustainability isn’t just something we talk about, we live it every day.
Combined, our energy projects have saved customers tens of millions of dollars in utility costs, while simultaneously avoiding more than 5 million metric tons of CO2e from being released into the atmosphere. According to the EPA, that’s equivalent to the annual emissions of more than 1 million passenger cars.
22 of Bernhard’s offices are now GBB Certified, and we proudly display the GBB Seal on our website. It’s more than just a feel-good effort or window dressing. Certification provides our company with verified and credible proof that the sustainable efforts we’ve put in place are actually working to reduce Bernhard’s collective impact on the environment. As we provide a cleaner, more energy-efficient future for our customers, we’re doing the same for our employees and local communities, which is echoed by our inclusion in GBB’s Best of 2022 award.
WHAT IS THE GREEN BUSINESS BUREAU?
Green Business Bureau was established in 2008 to help companies of all sizes affordably meet their environmental sustainability goals with less complexity, less confusion, and less disruption to their operations. In addition to giving members access to an online sustainability assessment and prioritization tools like their EcoScorecard and EcoPlanner software, Green Business Bureau provides rigorous, third-party Green Business Certification.
GBB certification is the most guided and automated certification in the industry. Performed online and initiative based, GBB’s flexible certification framework allows companies to receive points for each sustainability initiative they have completed. With more than 500 initiatives to complete, companies are awarded a GBB EcoScore based on their accumulated points with tiered certification levels.
Initiatives are organized into categories, including ‘Community and Society’, ‘Consumption and Waste’, ‘Energy Use and Emissions’, ‘Transportation’, ‘Water Use’, and ‘Workplace and Culture’ to fully capture the scope of each company’s sustainability efforts. Each category is further scored on the effort, cost, and impact of the company’s initiatives.
GBB members have a publicly available EcoScore page on the GBB website. On this page, completed environmental initiatives are briefly described and scored, so visitors can get a sense of the ground-level efforts each company is taking to meet sustainability goals. Each of Bernhard’s 22 certified locations have their own GBB EcoScore page, with certification levels including Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. We’ve collectively completed more than 800 scored environmental initiatives to date, ranging from ensuring our paper products are made from recycled material to launching a composting program for business-related food waste.
Only the businesses that meet Green Business Bureau goals are allowed to display the GBB Seal. The clickable web seal takes visitors to each location’s personal sustainability page, which shows the total point score, sustainability accomplishments, and Green Business Bureau certification level.
GBB certification allows companies to make measurable, verifiable progress toward impactful environmental goals, marking and celebrating successes while also highlighting areas still in need of improvement. Certification lets GBB members showcase the concrete steps they’re taking to meet ESG goals, which are increasingly important for environmentally conscious customers, employees, and potential hires.
The result: improved morale, a stronger workforce, competitive differentiation from others in the field, and potentially higher sales as today’s customers want their companies to share in the same values regarding sustainability and the environment.
TOWARD A BRIGHTER, MORE SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
In our 104 years in business, Bernhard has never been a “do as we say, not as we do” company. We lead by example. We don’t shrink from challenges. We rise to meet them with the same grit, determination, innovation, and optimism that has always been at the heart of our business.
Businesses, our clients, our nation, and the world are increasingly determined to take meaningful steps toward lowering carbon emissions and mitigating climate change. Bernhard is never content to stand on the sidelines or make empty promises when there’s work to be done. We’re moved to action, and if we’re going to do it, we’re going to make sure that our strategies are achievable, and our goals are met.
Through the help of the Green Business Bureau and GBB Certification, we are doing just that, and doing our part for our shared environmental future. By being named one of five companies in the world to receive GBB’s Best of 2022 Award, Bernhard is not only showing that serious sustainability goals are achievable even for companies of our size, but also setting an example that can be affordably and efficiently followed by the entire AEC industry.
About the Author:
As an ESG Analyst at Bernhard, Ashtyn Bell is involved in building and executing portfolio-wide initiatives in key ESG topics such as climate change and sustainability; diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I); and employee and community engagement. She has provided leadership and structure through the GBB certification efforts throughout 22 certified locations, coordinating with local green teams and sustainability champions to complete GBB initiatives. She is also supporting the launch of Bernhard Leans In – a partnership between Bernhard and Lean In to develop new personal and professional skills needed to lean into leadership and embrace challenges through employee groups. In addition to developing the program, she is also leading the Remote Workers and LGBT+ Circles. Ashtyn earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Hendrix College in Conway, Ark., majoring in Physics and minoring in Gender and Sexuality Studies.
