Freese and Nichols endeavors to be responsible stewards of our communities and the environment through our comprehensive approaches to the life cycle of planning, design, implementation, monitoring and assessment of projects. We strive to satisfy the present needs of society and our communities while preserving the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

 

Capturing Our Commitment to Communities

A deep commitment to our communities has been a significant part of Freese and Nichols’ work and culture since our earliest days. From John Hawley’s early work in 1894, bringing clean water to Fort Worth, our founders laid the foundation for protecting public health and supporting city growth. 

That spirit of protecting and building up the people and places where we live, work and play has expanded to include how we give and volunteer, how we make business decisions and how our projects contribute to the economic vitality, environmental sustainability and longevity of our communities.  

As our company has grown, our efforts in these areas have, too, which is part of why this report was first developed a few years ago. Titled ‘On Balance,’ it is intended to capture highlights and examples of how we balance the needs of our constituent groups, stakeholders and communities and find ways to “Act with Integrity” and “Serve Always” in everything we do. 

This On Balance Report highlights Freese and Nichols’ Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) performance for the calendar year 2025. In addition to 2025 data and metrics, the report includes selected 2026 updates reflecting ongoing initiatives and continuous improvements to our CSR framework.

We hope this report helps illustrate our unwavering focus and continual improvements in sustainability, connection, and support for our employees and all the communities we are privileged to serve.

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The Framework

Our Board of Directors oversees our Corporate Social Responsibility work through a CSR framework that enables us to maintain a balanced approach to community stewardship, with regular reviews of our metrics, client and employee feedback, and the study of environmental and social needs over time. The Board receives annual updates from the Corporate Social Responsibility Steering Committee on our progress, and this framework serves as a basis for our report, which includes three sections: Responsibility for the Environment, Responsibility for People and Communities and Responsibility to our Team.

This annual report reflects our dedication to tracking and improving all aspects of our environmental impact as a business, our communities and our profession.

 

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Responsibility for the Environment

Our commitment to environmental sustainability and resiliency guides our office practices, but the nature of our work as an infrastructure firm allows that commitment to extend to supporting our clients in furthering their environmental stewardship goals and in planning, designing and implementing infrastructure projects with the conservation of earth’s resources in mind.

 

VIEW THE ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT
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Responsibility for People and Communities

Since the founding of our firm in 1894, we have been dedicated to creating livable and enjoyable communities by way of practical and innovative infrastructure solutions. We continue to have unique opportunities to influence community-based economic development and enhance health, safety and wellness in the areas we serve and within our own business practices. In everything we do, from our hiring and outreach to employee resource groups to project partnerships, we work to grow a diverse and inclusive working environment for a better today and tomorrow.

 

VIEW THE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC REPORT
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Responsibility to Our Team

By focusing on building our team’s ability to make strategic, sustainable, socially responsible decisions, we improve ourselves, our support for clients and our positive influence on our communities. We continually find ways to equip our staff with technical and management tools to allow for growth as a well-rounded organization. Our Board of Directors is focused on sustaining Freese and Nichols as a key provider of challenging and rewarding career opportunities for our employees, meaningful and impactful projects for our clients, and reliable growth for our communities.

 

VIEW THE ACCOUNTABILITY AND CAPACITY REPORT
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About this Report
With plans to update it annually, the On Balance report reflects our dedication to tracking and improving all aspects of our influence as a business on the environment, our communities and our profession.