SWCA Celebrates its 18th Annual Sustainability Report

SWCA recently published its 2025 Sustainability Report. Marking its 18th anniversary, the firm uses this annual report to track its ongoing efforts to improve social, economic, and environmental outcomes for its clients, employees, community, and environment.

“At SWCA, sustainability isn’t just what we do, it’s who we are,” said Joseph J. Fluder, III, SWCA president and chief executive officer. “Throughout our work, we’re committed to preserving natural and cultural resources for future generations while enabling projects that improve people’s lives today. That’s the core commitment that our firm is founded on, and it relates directly to sustainability.

“By assembling this report, we can better understand and improve upon that commitment. It helps us identify opportunities to lower our carbon emissions, reduce waste, cultivate our diverse talent, expand employee ownership, and create an environment where people thrive. With the report, we celebrate our achievements and layout a plan for continued improvement,” Fluder said.

The report documents the firm’s sustainability commitments and progress in terms of Planet, People, Partnerships, and Governance.

Desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) in a field of Lupine in Nevada.

Planet

• SWCA worked on over 1,200 clean energy projects in 2025.
• For the fifth consecutive year, the firm reduced its carbon footprint by offsetting 100% of the electricity used in our offices with the purchase of renewable energy certificates (RECs).
• Working with two non-profits, Human I-T and PCs for People, SWCA continued to find ways to donate, reuse, or recycle old electronics. In 2025, these efforts diverted 4,173 pounds of e-waste from landfills.
• While expanding ongoing office-based sustainability measures, the firm implemented Sustainable Field Practices to support our field crews’ efforts to make their day-to-day work more sustainable.

Aerial photograph of Coastal Michigan.

People

• Women now hold 62% of leadership roles at SWCA. That’s a 7% increase in 2025 and a testament to our commitment to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of creating an atmosphere for women to succeed.
• With a retention rate of 89% (up 6% from the previous year), SWCA saw its second lowest turnover rate in two decades.
• SWCA strengthened its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts. Approximately 25% of the firm’s staff now participate in its 16 Employee Resources Groups (ERGs). SWCA’s new website now features an expanded section on our DEI efforts, reinforcing equity’s role as a cultural priority and business imperative.
• SWCA celebrated 25 years of employee ownership in 2025 as participation in the Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) rose to 87% (a 9% increase). This differentiator orients SWCA towards sustainability, encouraging employee-owners to think beyond short-term benefits.

SWCA staff measuring the length of golden shiners at a project site.

Partnerships

• SWCA’s employee- and office-led Gives Back program generated a record-breaking total impact of $365,735. This included $31,900 raised for the California Community Foundation’s Wildfire Recovery Fund in the wake of Southern California wildfires and $17,266 for the Kerr County Flood Relief Fund, following flash floods in the Texas Hill Country.
• SWCA continues to track its support for multiple UN Sustainable Development Goals in our project work, including the goals of conserving habitat, advancing clean energy, preserving the past, protecting water, and more.
• SWCA employees held 46 Spreading the Science events, where they contributed to environmental education in their communities (at schools, science fairs, etc.). That is a 91% increase from 2024. It also represents an investment in cultivating environmental stewardship among younger generations.

Staff from the Albuquerque office participated in Tree NM tree planting event to plant 100 trees in Albuquerque neighborhoods.

Governance

• SWCA remains dedicated to protecting client data and upholding cybersecurity best practices by maintaining a current ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification.
• SWCA renewed its commitment to employee safety with a reinvigorated Safety Program. The firm’s Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR), Experience Modification Rate (EMR), and Days Away, Restricted, or Transferred (DART)—all important measures of workplace safety—remain well below industry averages.

Wind farm on the Island of Hawai’i.

The sustainability report also highlights a selection of SWCA’s conservation, restoration, and clean energy project work in action, including:

• Work advancing conservation science in the Southwest
• Multiple stream and wetland restoration projects in Massachusetts and Ohio
• A Community Wildfire Protection Plan in Florida
• Support for one of the largest wind energy projects in the United States

Desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) in a field of Lupine in Nevada.