Tetra Tech Releases Our 2021 Sustainability Report Card and ESG Goals for the Next Decade

Tetra Tech’s 2021 Sustainability Report shares our progress during our first decade of sustainability reporting and our environmental, social, and governance (ESG) commitments for 2030.

Tetra Tech’s commitment to sustainability began with the company’s founding and, more than 50 years later, we continue to provide clients with innovative solutions to complex water and environmental challenges. The sustainability principles we apply to our projects are described in our ESG policies and demonstrated through our support of the United Nations (UN) Global Compact. 

Achieving our 2020 sustainability goals

Over the past decade, we have demonstrated our commitment to sustainability by focusing on projects, processes, procurement, and people. We complete the first decade of sustainability reporting by achieving our ambitious goals for 20 specific metrics—significantly beyond our original aspirations.

Since program inception in 2010, we have reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions resulting from our operations by 78 percent to 0.89 tons CO2e per associate, well beyond the 30 percent reduction initially targeted. Since 2010 we have achieved 100 percent adoption of our enterprise-wide systems and reduced energy use and increased cybersecurity by moving more than 80 percent of our data to the cloud.

In addition to environmental goals, our sustainability program tracks social and governance goals. In 2020 we reaffirmed our commitment to a diversity, equity, and inclusion with the establishment of our global Employee Resource Group (ERG) Program. Our global ERG Program supports our collaborative culture where all voices are heard and all employees feel safe and can thrive. 

As we moved to remote working as part of our pandemic response, our global community was more connected than ever. We adopted innovative approaches to networking such as VISION 2021, our all-company virtual event; Tech 1000, a global technical challenge event with 1,000 participants; and a worldwide wellness challenge. Together we also supported those in need through community engagements; volunteer programs; science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) events; and global charities that improve lives by providing safe water supplies. 

Our sustainability commitment for the next decade

Tetra Tech’s commitment to sustainability for the next decade is to be Climate Positive & Carbon Negative, achieving a net reduction in GHGs as measured in tons of CO2e through our projects, procurement, processes, and people. Our goals align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, especially in the key areas of environment, water, sanitation, and social responsibility. As part of this new commitment, we also will adopt science-based targets as outlined in the Science Based Targets initiative in the tracking and execution of our plan.

Most important to our program is the recognition of the significant ESG impacts of Tetra Tech’s projects. We are announcing four key environmental metrics that we will use to track the benefits of the projects we perform:

• GHG emissions avoided or captured (CO2e metric tons)
• Water treated, saved, or reused (megaliters)
• Renewable energy identified, planned, or generated (gigawatts)
• Land and water habitat protected, managed, or restored (hectares)

The scale of social benefit will be recognized by Tetra Tech’s goal to improve the lives of 1 billion people worldwide by 2030.

And perhaps most significant, we are committed to Leading with Science® to advance innovation in sustainability policy, process, and procedures. Working with our clients, we will continue to advance the science of sustainability, creating new approaches that magnify the scale of our climate-positive impact on the world.

As we enter this new decade, the challenges of climate change affect communities worldwide. We see firsthand the economic and social crises and communities at risk. However, we believe that global action can result in global benefit. At Tetra Tech we are committed to supporting climate-positive actions worldwide and to partnering with our clients to contribute to a better future.

View the 2021 Sustainability Report.