KANSAS CITY, Missouri — Environmental Business Journal is recognizing Burns & McDonnell in three award categories at this year’s EBJ Business Achievement Awards. The publication will host its awards banquet on Wednesday, March 16, during the Environmental Industry Summit XX in San Diego, California.

“Our employee-owners are driven to do work that matters,” says Steve Nalefski, senior vice president and general manager of the Environmental Services Group. “This is a key tenet of our company culture — motivating us to protect natural resources while identifying cost-effective and efficient solutions for our clients. We are grateful to serve our clients and delighted to receive these recognitions.  

Burns & McDonnell strives to address the world’s biggest challenges with innovative and sustainable solutions. The engineers, construction professionals, architects, technologists and scientists working at Burns & McDonnell are designing and influencing the infrastructure, programs and research of the future. Environmental Business Journal is honoring Burns & McDonnell with awards in the following categories:

• The New Practice category for the Eagle Protection and Offset Program: Burns & McDonnell developed a solution to protect eagles while allowing development projects to continue without delay through its Eagle Protection and Offset Program (EPOP). To help project owners comply with the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, the EPOP provides a streamlined solution for compensatory mitigation required as a condition of Eagle Incidental Take Permits (EITPs). The EPOP offers 30-year offset credits by retrofitting power poles in habitats that pose an electrocution risk to eagles.
  
  
• The Project Merit category for the Moosa Creek Riparian Restoration Project: Working in partnership with Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Camp Pendleton, Burns & McDonnell designed an approach to convert and restore an out-of-use golf course into a riparian protected habitat. The restoration of the approximately 67-acre site will benefit the least Bell’s vireo and the southwestern willow flycatcher, two bird species listed under the Endangered Species Act. The project will reactivate a flood plain, creating a mosaic of natural habitats for multiple species. It will also extend the habitat corridor of adjacent water bodies and improve local water quality and ecosystems.
  
  
• The Industry Leadership category for the Keep America Beautiful 2020 National Litter Study: Keep American Beautiful retained Burns & McDonnell to conduct this study, the findings of which were released in spring 2021. This study produced a national estimate of litter along waterways, plus insights regarding the relationships between litter on waterways and roadways. Burns & McDonnell continues to work with KAB to eradicate littering.

“These projects demonstrate our commitment to our clients’ success and the natural environment,” says Paul Sherman, a project manager leading national mitigation bank acquisition and planning efforts at Burns & McDonnell. “Our staff designed solutions that will span the course of decades, mitigating impacts to endangered species and improving the natural environment.”

About Burns & McDonnell

Burns & McDonnell is a family of companies bringing together an unmatched team of 10,000 engineers, construction and craft professionals, architects, planners, technologists and scientists to design and build our critical infrastructure. With an integrated construction and design mindset, we offer full-service capabilities. Founded in 1898 and working from more than 60 offices globally, Burns & McDonnell is 100% employee-owned. Learn how we are designed to build.