How is AECOM strategizing to have a global impact on the green energy transition?
We are an organization of nearly 50,000 engineers, designers, architects, scientists, planners, and program and construction managers, but what really unites us is a common purpose: to deliver a better world. Following the launch of our Sustainable Legacies strategy two years ago, we moved beyond just delivering infrastructure, to driving bold, impactful environmental and social outcomes.
When people think about why we’re going through a green transition, many simply say because it’s the right thing to do. But it’s more than that. Throughout modern history, power has been dictated by energy independence or dependence, and communities have had to play the hand they were dealt. We see the green transition as a levelling of that playing field. This would remove the ‘luck of the draw’ of one’s origin or residence, fostering equity across the globe. This has a ripple effect on society, where people can focus more on generating greater positive social outcomes for their communities. As such, we see an opportunity to reframe the green transition through the lens of energy independence and are focusing on developing the infrastructure to bring that vision to life.
What challenges exist in this very ambitious pursuit of creating energy independence?
The green transition’s success is not limited by ambition, and, at the moment, it does not seem to be limited by funding either. The greatest challenges are technology, talent and holistic planning as communities think about their long-term, multi-decade goals.
As far as technology is concerned, I can give you an example from the state of Arizona who hired us to build the plan to put charging stations throughout the state. It brought into question the need to build large scale storage facilities. As we start to electrify the world, we need a larger baseload, and ways of overcoming batteries’ current limitations. Hydrogen is a fantastic solution moving forward, so we have to invest and develop it. Another really interesting example is pump stations. We have a large water environmental business and work with clients to design massive stations that pump water up a mountain and into a dam. When needed, you run it down the mountain, and it goes through a regular hydroelectric power generation facility. Most Canadian power is hydroelectric, because they have the elevation and many rivers. This kind of process means we can control the baseload.
Ultimately, it all interlinks with the energy transmission infrastructure, which needs to diversify into microgrids because we are moving towards a dispersed way of storing and transmitting energy. As we are building a global portfolio of multiple types of renewable energy, we must work a balancing act to ultimately achieve decarbonization.
What role do you see the AECOM playing in the next five years within the green energy transition?
I would like to see us paving the way forward. We have the technical ability to design all the elements needed, including factoring in community approval, and are ideally positioned to help policy makers and companies alike build their long term plans crucial to the energy transition.
Over the past few years, we have been investing in innovation and digital tools – along with a team of more than 2,500 digital practitioners – to build a platform that delivers work differently, solves our clients’ challenges in new and innovative ways and achieves better outcomes. As a concrete example, we have developed a digital solution called PlanEngage, which optimizes planning and reporting for anyone working on infrastructure projects.
Nobody wants to make the world worse. To lead the world into a better place, time is of the essence. When regulation, community engagement and support for a project can take an inordinate amount of time, we are working on solutions like PlanEngage to speed up and improve the quality of the decision-making process. Our focus is on innovation as a means speed up the green transition.
This is a critical time with unprecedented need, and I am increasingly optimistic about how a company like ours can partner with the public and private sector to drive meaningful change and deliver a better world.
