Nitsch Engineering, Inc. – a Boston-based civil engineering, land surveying, transportation engineering, sustainable site consulting, planning, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) firm – was one of the first 23 companies to earn the certification as a Sustainable Business Leader from the Sustainable Business Network of Greater Boston. The certification recognizes the company for their efforts to create a more sustainable workplace.
Nitsch Engineering has been integrating sustainability into site and building development projects for over 10 years, and has also been working to bring this focus on sustainability into our physical office. In 2007, a group of employees started the “Nitsch Green Team” to research different ways to implement sustainability into the office. The company began by instituting changes such as buying only recycled paper, setting printers to default to double-sided printing, installing Energy Star dishwashers so that they could discontinue the use of paper plates and plastic utensils, and encouraging employees to use public transportation or bicycles to commute to work.
To build on this progress and find new areas in which to improve, Nitsch Engineering applied and was accepted into the Sustainable Business Leader Program (SBLP) in 2008. Working with advisors from SBLP, Nitsch Engineering created a Sustainability Action Plan that defined specific steps to reduce their carbon footprint and be more “green.” The company completed all of the items on the Plan in 2009, and was in SBLP’s first graduating class in late February, 2010.
As the result of the effort to “green” their office by completing the Plan, Nitsch Engineering was also recognized during the City of Boston’s Third Annual Mayor’s Green Awards. The company received a 2009 Green Business Award and Bike Friendly Business Award.