Canada's Greenest Employers (2025) - Flipbook - Page 60
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CANADA'S GREENEST EMPLOYERS (2025)
PCL Construction leads the way to a greener industry
W
hen Mark
Henderson’s
children ask
what he’s doing
to help the
environment, he can answer with
confidence, thanks to his work
overcoming unique decarbonization challenges in the buildings
sector with Edmonton-based PCL
Construction, Canada’s largest
contracting company.
“I get excited about the
opportunity in this sector to
impact the future — it’s just
fantastic,” says Henderson,
manager, sustainable retrofits and
decarbonization.
I get excited about the
opportunity in this sector
to impact the future — it’s
just fantastic. Then, when
my children ask me about
driving change, I can look at
them and say we’re trying.
about using innovative solutions
to balance climate goals with
client challenges to make a big
impact.
Take, for example, the historic,
96-year-old Fairmont Royal York
Hotel in Toronto. The decarbonization project involved building
energy analysis; converting
heating and cooling systems to
heat pumps and deep lake water
cooling; and a centralized building
automation system for improved
energy efficiency — all without
disrupting hotel guests.
The result was an 80-per-cent
reduction in annual carbon
emissions, and certification from
the Canada Green Building
Council’s Zero Carbon Building
— Performance Standard.
“There was a natural alignment
between the infrastructure that
existed and the hotel’s desires,”
says Henderson. “It took a lot of
great partnerships, vision and
commitment from people who
really wanted to see this thing
succeed.”
PCL also taps into existing and
emerging innovative technologies
— from solar, geothermal,
hydrogen, nuclear energy and
more — to reduce the environmental impacts associated with
the construction and operation of
buildings.
Being intentional with where
PCL focuses decarbonization
efforts is key to being effective,
explains Mike Wieninger, chief
operations officer, Canadian
operations.
To do so, PCL relies on a
dedicated sustainability team, a
sustainable retrofits and
decarbonization group, and over
325 in-house LEED-certified
professionals.
“There's a lot of noise out there
in the sustainability world
— certainly in construction — so
you really have to watch where
and how you spend your time and
effort,” he says.
Beyond implementing
sustainable solutions, PCL prides
itself in nurturing employee
growth through its learning and
development culture.
Employees can engage with
sustainability solutions through
initiatives like the Sustainability
Community of Practice, a platform
to learn from or contribute new
ideas to; the QUEST program to
offer opinions and present
solutions to better the organization and industry; or Excellence in
Construction, which pairs newer
hires with seasoned mentors.
“That’s one of the amazing parts
of our organization,” Wieninger
explains. “The environment allows
people to learn, contribute,
— Mark Henderson
Manager, Sustainable Retrofits
and Decarbonization
“Then, when my children ask
me about driving change, I can
look at them and say we’re trying.”
Henderson landed in decarbonization as the demand rose for
LEED-certified projects — the
globally recognized certification
for building sustainability.
“The role came full circle from
the increased need for those
projects, plus a little bit of poking
from my own children about what
dad is doing to help ensure a good
future for them.”
When tackling building
retrofits, Henderson gets inspired
PCL Construction is dedicated to environmental innovation and leads the way in creating positive, lasting
differences.
