PLEASANTON, CA, May 23, 2007 -- Pakpour Consulting Group is the first civil engineering firm in the San Francisco Bay Area -- and the first in its industry nationwide -- to be certified as having a net zero footprint on the environment. Joubin Pakpour, P.E., president of Pakpour Consulting Group, made the announcement.
"As a certified green business in Alameda County, going to a zero footprint was the natural next step for us. Environmental stewardship is everyone's responsibility, and as civil engineers tasked with providing safe, clean water and air to our communities we should be at the forefront of the fight against global warming," Pakpour said. "We hope other civil engineering firms will follow suit so we can become the first industry to achieve a zero footprint."
Over the past five months, Pakpour Consulting Group collaborated extensively with Zerofootprint to monitor, measure and ultimately eliminate its environmental footprint. Zerofootprint is a leading resource for businesses and individuals who wish to reduce or eliminate their environmental impact. "Our firm is now completely carbon-neutral," Pakpour said. "We have achieved this through both a reduction in our emissions by use of hybrid vehicles and purchasing credits for our carbon emissions. We also went a step further -- currently all company vehicle emissions and employee commute emissions are mitigated through the purchase of carbon credits."
Through these efforts Pakpour Consulting Group will eliminate over 230,000 lbs of carbon dioxide emissions and other harmful chemicals from the atmosphere each year.
Pakpour Consulting Group has also offset the carbon used by reducing office supplies such as paper and packaging and using less office electricity. The natural resources used to manufacture paper and other office supplies will also be environmentally restored through tree planting, watershed restoration and conservation projects. All future company vehicles will be gas-electric hybrids.
"As part of this process we scrutinized almost all of our daily operations and through innovative approaches we now recycle 80 percent of our waste and have reduced our paper usage by 13 percent while the company has doubled in size," Pakpour said. "Starting next month we will ask our subconsultants to join us in the effort to reduce carbon emissions."
Pakpour Consulting Group Inc. is a municipal civil engineering design and construction management firm located in Pleasanton. The firm serves as contract district engineer to water districts and provides water distribution systems engineering, civil plan review, transportation engineering, sewer and storm drainage design, hydrology studies, program management services, constructability review and construction management to a diverse public sector client base.
Zerofootprint, a Toronto, Canada-based not-for-profit organization, helps businesses become sustainable by increasing efficiency and offsetting environmental costs. Zerofootprint's mission is to improve the world by helping people reduce their environmental footprint. The organization provides information, products, and services for a global network of consumers and businesses who wish to reduce their environmental impact.
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