Sustainability

Bird’s approach to sustainability reflects our commitment to the core company values to put safety first, create opportunity, do great work together, and lead with honesty. These values guide us in all we do and ensure that Bird provides sustainable value and accretive contributions to our clients, employees, shareholders, and the communities in which we live and work.

Bird’s Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Program, and the manner in which sustainability priorities are embedded across the organization, is based on in depth research, industry best practices, materiality to the business and stakeholders, the experience of specialized teams, and expert external guidance. We strive to optimize our positive social and environmental impact, utilizing a strong corporate governance framework that ensures accountability and stewardship across all our operations.

Sustainability at Bird is a continuous journey of learning, evolving, innovating, and growing. We strive to incorporate up-to-date guidance into our sustainability priorities and adopt best practices that positively impact the way we work and build.

View our 2023 Sustainability Overview

2023 Highlights

Bird 2023 financial highlights, people & culture

Bird 2023 indigenous relations, engagement, health, safety, and environment

A message from Teri McKibbon, President and CEO

A message from Paul Raboud, Chairman of the Board

A message from Wayne Gingrich (CFO) & John Wright (SVP Strategic Development)

BUILD GREEN

Bird delivers future-ready sustainable solutions, partnering with clients to execute complex and innovative projects that can realize both environmental and cost benefits, from the materials we use to the strategies we deploy to reduce carbon emissions, increase energy efficiency, and minimize resource waste. Bird is committed to sustainable construction, offering end-to-end lifecycle solutions across a multitude of markets.

Bird has LEED^® accredited professionals across Canada and is a proud member of the Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC).

Over the last decade, Bird has delivered over 200 projects that are built to LEED^® requirements or have acquired LEED^® certification.

Bird executes projects that meet Green Globes, Passive House, WELL Standard, and Zero Carbon building requirements.

Net Zero

Bird's commitment to sustainable construction involves driving the transition to a net zero carbon economy by focusing on high energy-efficient, zero carbon buildings. These structures utilize onsite or procured carbon-free renewable energy to offset yearly carbon emissions from materials and operations. Zero carbon building standards can be applied to various building types, including high-rise towers, arenas, warehouses, residential complexes, and schools. Retrofitting existing facilities also offers significant opportunities to reduce their carbon footprint. Bird's teams leverage various technologies, processes, and materials to advance the realization of net zero buildings, aiming for energy and carbon reductions throughout every construction phase and across the building’s lifecycle.

Our Net Zero Services From Pre-Design to Post-Construction

Learn more about Net Zero projects at Bird

Deep Energy Retrofits

Deep energy retrofits aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption in existing buildings through extensive overhauls of building systems and materials. They are crucial for achieving net zero and decarbonization goals, driving innovation in design approaches, technology, and strategies. Bird leverages its multidisciplinary experience across Canada to deliver deep energy retrofit solutions, including energy analytics, mechanical and electrical assessments, sustainable energy solutions, incentive management, and energy modeling.

Mass Timber

Brightshores Markdale Hospital Grand Opening

Mass Timber is a renewable and sustainable low carbon building solution. Through sustainable forestry, wood-based materials capture carbon and offset total CO2e emissions over the lifespan of the asset. Bird is a North American leader in wood construction with the in-house expertise to develop cross-laminated timber, nailed laminated timber, wood-frame, and hybrid projects from concept to substantial completion.

From high-rise wood frame housing developments to largescale institutional buildings, the Bird team brings an in-depth understanding of the benefits and limitations of different mass timber and engineered wood products, and delivers efficient design strategies to maximize structural efficiencies.

View our Mass Timber projects

Collaborative Contracting

Collaborative contracting is a method of construction delivery designed to connect owners, designers, constructors, and other key parties in an open and transparent environment for stronger outcomes. It uses a contract with specific clauses designed to increase collaboration, including an early design phase and open-book costing. Together with other collaborative tools offered by the Bird team, better outcomes across the lifecycle of the project can be achieved.

Explore our delivery models

Sustainable Energy

Renewable and low carbon energy solutions contribute to global efforts to meet climate targets, support the energy transition, and achieve sustainable change. Bird has been supporting the construction execution on some of our country’s largest infrastructure projects, from hydroelectric infrastructure, nuclear, and renewable power, to organic waste processing and waste energy recovery projects for over half a century. Leveraging our electrical, instrumentation, substation, and high voltage services, as well as our extensive civil, structural, and mechanical experience in developing and executing complex major projects, Bird is contributing to delivering cleaner energy solutions and supporting decarbonization initiatives.

Learn more about Bird’s sustainable energy solutions

Modular and Prefabrication

Bird’s investment in modular construction, through our 50% partnership with Stack Modular, contributes to our overall environmental sustainability focus. As an off-site manufacturer, Stack Modular builds innovatively, with less footprint and smarter resource usage through pre-planning and waste reduction methods. Stack’s goal is to challenge and reimagine steel modular design, bringing the most efficient design to the market.

View modular building solutions

Learn more about Bird's fabrication services

Modular units being craned into position

WORK GREEN

Bird is continuously exploring ways to work leaner, smarter, and greener. That is the focus of the Work Green pillar. We are proactively investigating our processes and implementing appropriate sustainable, energy efficient, and low-carbon solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in our operations. The effective deployment of technology is an essential component of this pillar as it further enables the delivery of innovative solutions for sustainable construction that meets the needs of clients and communities and contributes to the achievement of climate goals.

Emissions Program

Bird continues to reflect on our own processes and consider how we are living our values as a responsible and responsive company, exploring how we can build smarter and greener as we contribute to the sustainability goals and aspirations of clients, employees, and communities with whom we interact. In addition to implementing sustainable, energy-efficient, and low-carbon solutions, Bird tracks the company’s GHG emissions profile across all project sites and offices.

Bird has committed to set near-term and long-term emission reductions in line with climate science with the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi). This commitment will reduce emissions in line with the Paris Agreement goals and align the company to a 1.5°C future.

GHG emissions calculated in accordance with the methods detailed in the internationally recognized WBCSD/WRI Greenhouse Gas Protocol and ISO 14064-1.
Expert third party consultant provides quality and uncertainty assessment, and verification of Scope 1 and 2 emissions in accordance with ISO 14064-3.
Limited to activities under Bird’s operational control and paid for by Bird.

Digital Construction

By effectively leveraging technology to deliver innovative solutions for sustainable construction, we can build smarter, more efficient facilities that meet the needs of clients and communities. Fully connecting the physical and digital world reduces unknowns and provides deeper insights, resulting in higher consistency and an enhanced quality of work. Electronic management, communication, and follow-up of all project drawings, images, submittals, deficiencies, progress tracking, schedule visualization, and quality considerations ensure that all project stakeholders reference a single source of the truth at any time, helping to keep projects on time and on budget, and reducing our carbon footprint.

View our digital construction solutions

Centre for Building Performance

At The Centre for Building Performance (The Centre), we are redefining the future of smart buildings with cutting-edge technology and a commitment to sustainability. With our in-depth understanding of construction and building systems, we offer innovative solutions that optimize performance, reduce costs, and minimize environmental impact.

Learn more about the future of smart buildings

Collaborative contracting image of a worker on their computer

Supply Chain Management

Our supply chain practices and asset management processes are aligned to our core values. We endeavour to work with partners that share our commitment to:

Conduct business in an ethical and transparent manner
Prioritize safety at all times
Prioritize and report on sound labour practices
Stipulate that there is no forced or child labour at any point in the supply chain
Employ a diverse workforce
Seek opportunities to work with Indigenous businesses and communities
Promote, track, and report on environmental sustainability initiatives
Utilize local resources responsibly and sustainably
Minimize environmental impacts where we work
Integrate social procurement practices into buying decisions

Access Bird's Supply Chain Code of Conduct

Bird creates opportunities for communities and the business

Bird recognizes that purchases made by the organization have an economic and social impact. Through these purchases, Bird creates opportunities for communities and the business. Bird considers a number of factors during its procurement process, including quality and technical requirements, ability to deliver on time, price, and social value. Social Value Objectives include, but are not limited to:

Increase in diversity of suppliers, including those from underrepresented groups
Increase support for local, diverse, and social businesses
Decrease barriers to entering the workforce
Increase community engagement and involvement with a particular focus on Indigenous relations

Bird Construction is a Buy Social Engage Member. Social procurement can be a powerful tool for building healthy communities. In addition to taking into account the cost and quality elements of purchases, best value considerations can provide economic, environmental, cultural, and social impacts in the communities in which we work and live. This includes supporting Indigenous and minority-owned businesses, talking to our suppliers about their policies, and buying local.

Bird is a member of the Canadian LGBT+ Chamber of Commerce. It is a step towards realizing our goal to be a better ally and promoting Bird as an inclusive company.

Bird is proud to be part of the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business’ Progressive Aboriginal Relations (PAR) certification process. It confirms corporate performance in Indigenous relations and indicates to communities that participating companies are good business partners, a great place to work, and committed to prosperity in Indigenous communities. Our PAR certification evolved to include all Bird business units in the fall of 2018, and in the summer of 2020 Bird was recertified PAR Bronze level.

Bird’s membership in the Aboriginal Procurement Champions Group provides assurance that procurement opportunities are made available to those businesses that are independently pre-certified as Indigenous owned and controlled.

LIVE GREEN

Bird pursues a holistic approach to employee health and wellbeing, striving to create an empathetic culture that goes beyond providing physical health benefits to one that considers the mental health and psychological safety of all employees. A healthy workplace promotes safety and overall wellbeing, and the essential components of supporting our people include advancing their professional development, strengthening our neighbourhoods, and creating inclusive, respectful, and equitable working environments.

Health, Safety, and Environment

Bird is recognized for best-in-class Health, Safety, and Environment Management (HSE) systems and industry-leading safety performance. Our health and safety culture is rooted in our commitment to work in a spirit of collaboration with all employees, trade partners, clients, and suppliers, to foster a healthy and safe work environment that ensures everyone goes home safe every day. We uphold our high standards through an engaged workforce and vigilant processes that create a culture of complete accountability and personal responsibility. Safety is an essential component of our DNA. It affects everything we do.

+10.5M

Total internal work hours

>13,000

Tool Box Talks

>130%

Learning target average hours exceeded by HSE employees in 2023

0

Lost Time Incidents

0

Fatalities

Read our Health and Safety Policy

Read our Environmental Protection Policy

Read our Incident Management Policy

Read our Risk Assessment Policy

Learn more about Safety at Bird

Bird’s stringent environmental controls aim to leave the environment in the same manner in which we found it. Through daily checklists, tracking and reporting, several ongoing construction controls are adhered to, including:

Water management through dewatering authorizations to ensure no impact to environmentally sensitive areas or fish and wildlife habitats
Vehicle and equipment maintenance and idling policies
Use of environmentally-friendly products
Erosion and sediment control
Waste segregation
Secondary containment and proper storage of controlled products
Proper waste disposal to mitigate wildlife attractants
Wildlife monitoring

Environmental health and safety is embedded within the core health and safety procedures on site, forming part of the communications, briefings, and hazard assessments conducted on site every day. Best practices that exceed compliance with federal laws ensure that all team members contribute to the protection of the environment, including water resources and biodiversity.

Read our Environmental Protection Policy

Indigenous Relations

Bird strives to be a positive contributor to the overall well-being of Indigenous Peoples and groups with whom we interact across Canada. We demonstrate this commitment by building respectful relationships founded on open communication and seeking collaborative business opportunities with Indigenous partners. We invest in skills development initiatives and scholarships that support the aspirations of Indigenous Peoples pursuing careers in the construction industry. Our national Indigenous Engagement Policy aims to ensure a consistent and culturally appropriate approach that respects the diversity of the Indigenous landscape in Canada, while supporting the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action.

>$62.2M

Total spend with Indigenous
subcontractors and suppliers

+40

Indigenous-owned
businesses supported

$20,500

Total
scholarships

>$132,000

Indigenous community
investment spend

Indigenous artwork of bird, flowers and environmental elements

Bird is proud to be part of the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business’ Progressive Aboriginal Relations (PAR) certification process. It confirms corporate performance in Indigenous relations and indicates to communities that participating companies are good business partners, a great place to work, and committed to prosperity in Indigenous communities. Our PAR certification evolved to include all Bird business units in the fall of 2018 and, in the summer of 2020, Bird was recertified PAR Bronze level.

Access the Bird Indigenous Sub-Contractor / Supplier Registration Form

Learn more about Indigenous Relations

People and Culture

At Bird, we are building an inclusive and collaborative community driven by a strong sense of belonging, well-being, and social responsibility. We foster a safe, inclusive, and respectful workplace where our employees grow and thrive. With innovative tools, continuous learning, and industry-leading employee experiences, our team of high-performing and highly engaged individuals is prepared to deliver the best.

5,000+

Total Employees

Salaried and hourly throughout the year

Women At Bird

30%

Salaried
employees

22%

Leadership

28%

Promotions

Diversity At Bird

41%

European
origins

32%

African, Asian, Caribbean,
or Latin, Central and South American origins

23%

North American
origins

4%

Indigenous Canadian
origins

Full time salaried employees in 2023 who chose to disclose their ethnic origins

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Cultivating an environment where all employees feel included, seen, and have a sense of belonging is core to Bird’s culture. We commit to proactively employing a workforce that reflects the communities in which we work, fostering an environment of continuous learning, and never compromising on our values.

Read our DE&I Commitment and Guiding Principles

Employee Resource Groups at Bird

Bird values the importance of leading with an inclusive, respectful, and equitable working environment for all employees. As part of this commitment, Bird supports Employee Resources Groups (ERGs) - grassroots, voluntary, employee-led, and executive supported groups that bring people together based on common identities, shared characteristics, or life experiences. ERGs recognize diversity, support employees, and advance inclusion, connection, and belonging at Bird.

Learning and Development

At Bird, we are committed to fostering a culture of continuous improvement, innovation, and growth. Our learning ecosystem is designed to elevate performance with an emphasis on shared accountability and collective success. Our People & Culture team is dedicated to delivering best-in-class learning and development opportunities and we encourage each individual to proactively engage in their personal development, setting career goals, and seeking the necessary support to achieve them.

The “Pride@Bird” group aims to provide a safe space for LGBTQ2S+ employees and allies. This group strives to raise awareness, engagement, and education for LGBTQ2S+ inclusion, provide mentorship and guidance, and give back to the wider LGBTQ2S+ community.

The “Women@Bird” group provides opportunities for women to build relationships and voice their goals and challenges. This group strives to help women build their careers and create an inclusive workplace where women feel supported and empowered to be their authentic selves.

The “Indigenous@Bird” group aims to facilitate cultural and educational activities and roundtable discussions. This group strives to promote community events and answer questions on customs, ceremonies, and traditions while educating employees on the history and contemporary presence of Indigenous People in Canada.

The “MentalHealth@Bird” group aims to create an inclusive workplace for employees impacted by mental health conditions. This group seeks to build social connection, provide resources and peer support, and destigmatize mental health across Bird by promoting awareness and understanding.

Stakeholder Engagement

Bird regularly communicates with internal and external stakeholders on a range of issues, endeavoring to deliver clear and informative messages about the company and its operations. Bird’s communication policy emphasizes transparency, inclusivity, and integrity, in keeping with the company’s core values and mission statement. Bird is continually seeking new ways to engage with stakeholders, utilizing a range of methods and media to reach the widest possible audience.

Community Connections

At Bird, we are committed to making a positive impact in the communities where we live and work. The One Bird Community Giving Framework is our way of using our financial resources and empowering our team to enrich the lives of those in need within our communities.

>$850,000

Total community investment ⁽¹⁾

(1) Includes scholarships, sponsorships, donations, and distributions from Bird-supported endowments

Community giving picture including Bird and Sick Kids banners

COMMITMENT TO GOVERNANCE

Bird endeavors to be at the forefront of industry efforts to be responsible, responsive, and innovative corporate citizens. A strong culture of ethical conduct is central to good governance at Bird, and our core values inform the behaviour of our team members: with each other, with the communities and stakeholders we engage with every day, with clients, and with investors. Our collaborative culture is based on courtesy towards each other, openness to new ideas and perspectives, and an ethos of honesty and fairness.

Meet Bird’s Senior Leadership team

Meet the Board

The company and its Board are committed to conducting their activities in accordance with the highest standards of business ethics. These standards are codified into policies that are intended to assist in recognizing ethical issues, to provide guidance on dealing with such ethical issues, to provide mechanisms to report unethical conduct, and to foster a culture of honesty and integrity.

Access the Board Committee Charters here

Board Independence & Diversity

The Bird Board of Directors strongly supports the principle of boardroom diversity and has adopted a written Board Diversity Policy. Diverse perspectives contribute to innovation and growth opportunities, and the Board believes that diversity may be achieved through a range of factors including business experience, geography, age, gender, visible minorities, Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities, sexual orientation, and other personal characteristics.

Read the Board Diversity Policy

92%

Independent Board
Members

66%

Board Committee
Chairs are Women

27%

Women on
the Board

9%

Indigenous representation
on the Board

(1) Board composition as of May 2023

Living Our Values: Ethics and Conduct at Bird

Bird requires that all employees, direct service providers, and agents of the company observe the highest levels of personal and professional ethics.

Find more information about our corporate governance framework

Risk Management

Bird recognizes that the management of risk through Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) is an integral part of sound corporate governance. The company’s ERM Policy affirms our commitment to the management of risk as an important component to the delivery of the company’s strategic plan, and the effective implementation of our ESG Program. Appropriate and effective risk management systems are maintained and used to manage risks. Regular reviews are conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the company’s ERM.

Climate change risks are outlined in our Annual Information Form (accessible here)

View our Sustainability Overview 2023