Tetra Tech Wins Six Climate Change and Environmental Industry Awards

Climate Change Business Journal (CCBJ) and Environmental Business Journal (EBJ) recognized Tetra Tech with six business achievement awards at the Environmental Industry Summit XX in San Diego, California, on March 16, 2022. Tetra Tech won awards for project work supporting climate resilience, greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation, clean water, and innovation in buildings acoustics technology. EBJ also recognized our diversity and inclusion efforts and business achievement.

Building a thriving business and workforce

Tetra Tech received the EBJ Business Achievement Award for Large Firms for achieving record financial results based on a strategy of leveraging our proprietary technologies and solutions, referred to collectively as the Tetra Tech Delta, to deliver on more than 70,000 projects in more than 100 countries on seven continents. In 2021 Tetra Tech also strengthened its industry leadership with five acquisitions of high-end consulting and technology firms that enhance our global technical capabilities in digital water; sustainable design innovation for high performance buildings; high-end expertise in computational fluid dynamics and predictive modeling; and management consulting capabilities for international development clients.

EBJ recognized Tetra Tech’s efforts to engage and advance under-represented staff and executives at all levels of the firm with its inaugural Diversity & Inclusion Award. Tetra Tech’s innovations and industry-leading position are driven by the best engineers, technical specialists, and support staff from diverse backgrounds. Our Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Program includes global Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) that provide a platform for professional and leadership development, engagement, and inclusion of employees from traditionally underrepresented groups in the industry. During 2021 employee involvement in Tetra Tech’s ERG Program increased by 47 percent compared to 2020. Last year our ERGs launched several new initiatives including enhanced mentoring programs; targeted sessions of Tetra Tech’s Fearless Entrepreneurs business development initiative; presentations focused on mental health during the pandemic, and allyship programming.

Supporting climate resilience and adaptation

CCBJ recognized Tetra Tech for its continued work using science-based, technology-driven solutions to support our clients in addressing the complex challenges of climate change.

We received a Project Merit Award for GHG Mitigation for our work with the San Pedro Bay Ports Clean Truck Program (CTP) at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Our team works with the ports to replace the older, dirtier trucks with newer, more efficient vehicles. To date, the CTP has achieved a reduction of nearly 2.3 million metric tons CO₂e. Our team helped develop and manages the Ports Drayage Truck Registry, managing registration and concession programs, supporting truck compliance inspection, and providing program data analytics. Tetra Tech continues to support the Ports in assessing feasibility of advanced drayage truck technologies to achieve the goal of deploying only near-zero and zero emission trucks by 2035.

CCBJ also selected Tetra Tech for a Consulting & Engineering Award in Climate Change Adaptation & Resilience for our work in partnership with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) targeting plastics globally, directly at source, and mitigating their impact on climate and health. Clean Cities, Blue Ocean (CCBO) is USAID’s flagship program to combat ocean plastic pollution. The program leverages technical expertise, paired with global grants, to test and scale locally led solutions that help cities reduce waste-linked greenhouse gasses and adapt systems for increased resiliency. As of 2021, CCBO aggregated nearly 250,000 metric tons of waste and recyclables, including diverting more than 30 metric tons of plastic and other low-value waste from disposal. CCBO has improved the lives of more than 845,000 individuals through improved air and water quality because of landfill remediation activities and better access to waste services.

Providing clean, safe water supplies

EBJ selected Tetra Tech for a Project Merit Award in PFAS Treatment for designing treatment facilities for Orange County Water District (OCWD). Tetra Tech supported OCWD in developing per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) treatment systems to purify groundwater to meet California advisory levels for drinking water. Our design and technical support services helped OCWD meet California advisory response levels for two PFAS compounds and restore drinking water supply for 12 production wells that had previously been taken out of service. Our work included designing the largest ion exchange plant treating PFAS in the United States—a first-of-its kind treatment facility consisting of 11 ion exchange systems, a 25-million gallon-per-day booster pump station, and an upgraded onsite chlorine generation system.

Applying technology innovation in acoustics

The Tetra Tech High Performance Buildings Group received an EBJ Technology Merit Award for Acoustics Engineering for using AI technology to assist in acoustics engineering. In 2021 Tetra Tech acoustics and software engineers developed AiHear®, an iOS application that can predict and simulate how a space will sound according to the input of various physical parameters and noise types such as moving footsteps, road traffic, moving aircraft and stationary sources. The software plays back accurate audio samples through calibrated high-quality headphones at specified decibel levels, displaying virtual or augmented reality graphics on a portable smartphone or tablet to match whatever physical parameters are inputted by the user. This allows all stakeholders to preview an acoustic environment and react according to the needs of their projects, providing potential cost savings to clients by mitigating potential rework during the construction process with its predictive capabilities.

Learn more about the CCBJ Business Achievement Awards and EBJ Business Achievement Awards.