As an infrastructure firm, our commitment to environmental sustainability enhances the project work we do for our clients and shapes our internal operations.
Building Something Better: Sustainability in Client Projects
In nearly every project we touch at Freese and Nichols, we are uniquely positioned to improve resiliency and sustainability for our clients, communities or the environment. Whether it’s providing cost savings for our clients, simple repairs that become community enhancements, or setting paths for future generations to enjoy natural resources, our team has many stories of how our work has made a long-term impact on our communities.
The projects below represent recent examples of sustainability efforts synthesized across multiple channels – technical, environmental, social and economic – that came together as some of our most successful and impactful projects for clients.
Funding a More Resilient Future for South Irving
Freese and Nichols is helping communities strengthen resilience to flooding through strategic planning, innovative funding solutions and sustainable infrastructure improvements. One example is the City of Irving’s West Irving Creek program, where our firm partnered with the City to secure $115 million in funding from the Texas Water Development Board to address chronic flooding in South Irving.
The project will modernize aging drainage infrastructure, reduce flood risk for hundreds of homes, improve water quality, restore natural areas and create amenities that strengthen long-term community resilience.
Sustainable Project Highlights:
- Integrates natural and engineered solutions to manage floodwaters
- Includes stormwater ponds and water quality improvements
- Incorporates restored riparian corridors and native plantings
- Supports infrastructure investment in one of Irving’s oldest neighborhoods
- Saves the City approximately $27 million
- Frees capital for additional drainage and infrastructure improvements
Advancing the Future of Drinking Water Treatment
As utilities prepare to meet strict drinking water regulations, Freese and Nichols is helping clients identify effective and cost-efficient treatment solutions. For Columbus Water Works, Freese and Nichols conducted an award-winning PFAS treatment pilot study serving the U.S. Army’s Fort Benning in Columbus, Georgia. The research evaluated multiple treatment technologies and generated critical data that will guide future investments in water quality, protect public health and inform utilities nationwide as they address emerging contaminants.
Sustainable Project Highlights:
- Supports safe drinking water for approximately 100,000 soldiers, families, veterans and civilians
- Identifies effective treatment solutions for PFAS and other emerging contaminants
- Strengthens utility preparedness for evolving drinking water regulations
Coastal Resiliency: Rebuilding Critical Marshes in Louisiana
Freese and Nichols is helping our coastal clients combat challenges such as land loss, erosion, storm surge and more frequent hurricanes to protect their communities, economies and natural resources. One example is our partnership with Jefferson Parish to restore critical marsh habitat in Louisiana’s Upper Barataria Basin by designing a 600-acre marsh terrace field that will strengthen coastal resilience and reduce future land loss.
Sustainable Project Highlights:
- Wetland restoration and loss mitigation in one of Louisiana’s fastest subsiding coastal regions
- Nature-based infrastructure solution using marsh terraces to strengthen ecological stability and protect coastal communities
- Restoration of public natural resources and coastal ecosystems
Expanding Sustainable and Resilient Attributes in Active Projects
Freese and Nichols has been providing sustainable, resilient infrastructure design solutions since our firm was founded in 1894. Although the terminology has evolved over the years, our LEADS value of “Serve Always” has remained consistent: We are passionate about finding creative, practical solutions and strive to make the world a better place.
Sustainability and Resiliency in Active Projects
Firm-wide, our professional and technical staff work to conserve energy and reduce waste on our client projects. Our project data for 2025 indicates that 17% of our active projects have planned, designed or implemented energy reduction, waste reduction, water conservation or the use of recycled materials. Additionally, as our clients respond to severe weather events or climate change, we see that in 25% of our active projects, we have contributed to sustainability, resilience and adaptation during planning, design or implementation.
Implementing Sustainability Tracking and Communications Systems
As we implement our project sustainability tracking, we have also incorporated a sustainability focus into our Quality Assurance reviews. The Sustainability Committee has received positive feedback on this new process, indicating it creates strong team coordination between the QA reviewer and the project team and has been encouraging for teams to see their sustainability successes in a more concrete way. Additionally, our updated process has created a common language and consistency in how we approach and discuss sustainability with our clients, which helps us more deeply incorporate sustainability measures into projects.
LEED, Envision and Other Sustainability Ratings
At the time of this report’s publication in 2025, 7.4% of our active projects are utilizing Envision, LEED or other sustainability rating systems. We also have 44 staff members who are Envision Sustainability Professionals and 20 who are LEED-accredited. These rating systems can be valuable tools for enhancing our projects, and our credentialed staff provide additional expertise and resources to our clients.
Envision Rating System, developed by the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure, is a tool for evaluating an infrastructure project’s sustainability elements. Our Envision-accredited staff advise our internal teams and clients on best practices for sustainability, and the re-credentialing requirements help us keep our knowledge up to date. We will continue to encourage the expansion of the number of accredited professionals and rated projects where it has the greatest impact for our clients.
University Presentations on the Envision Rating System
Freese and Nichols has formed a partnership with Oklahoma State University (OSU) to prepare engineering students with skills for sustainable design. Our Envision Certified staff serve as guest instructors every semester to teach the basics of the Envision Rating System to senior design students at OSU’s School of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Through our partnership, instruction allows students to learn directly from working professionals and prepares them to become credentialed as an Envision Sustainability Professional (ENV SP).
Project Management and Tracking
Our Sustainability Committee’s role has been expanded to include supporting Project Managers in tracking sustainability and resiliency measures across our projects. By helping to provide a framework for defining, recording and reporting on our projects’ sustainable elements, we expect to increase our team’s abilities to share knowledge with one another, provide a more consistent perspective on sustainability from Freese and Nichols and remain at the forefront of these ever-evolving service offerings for our clients.
Recently, with guidance from our Sustainability Committee, our Project Managers have begun using an updated system for tracking sustainability and resiliency in our projects, and we expect to report further on these elements in the future.
Operational Efficiencies
Our commitment to environmental sustainability shapes how we select and operate in our offices. Increasingly, we are finding more energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly ways to do business, and many of those efforts begin with examining our own spaces.
Sustainability in Current Office Spaces
Our Real Estate Services team works to provide office spaces that best meet Freese and Nichols’ needs in a variety of ways, including location, cost, and conveniences for clients and staff. The team works with the Chief Operating Officer, Executive Vice Presidents, and Division Managers to develop plans for new office openings, expansions, relocations, and closures. Sustainable decision-making applies to all Real Estate Services’ functions, including site selection, design, construction, furnishings, and staff relocation.
In recent years, Freese and Nichols has prioritized energy efficiency and conservation within the office spaces where we work each day. With more than 35 offices nationwide, we track the sustainability opportunities for each of our leased spaces, including recycling or composting capabilities, LED lighting, access to public transportation, reusable kitchenware and LEED Certification. Currently, 47% of Freese and Nichols’ leased office space is located in LEED-certified buildings, and excluding our co-working spaces, all Freese and Nichols’ leased space employs at least one of our tracked sustainable measures and 47% of our offices employ three or more. With newly implemented tracking tools and our Sustainability Committee’s expanded involvement, we continue to take steps toward making our real estate operations more sustainable.
Some sustainable practices that Freese and Nichols employs in many of its offices include:
- Providing reusable plates, silverware and drinkware
- Providing biodegradable plates, silverware and drinkware
- K-Cup recycling
- Providing ergonomic desks or Varidesks for our employees, prioritizing employee well-being
- Diverting furniture and equipment from landfills through resale and reuse programs
- Incorporating sustainable materials into office renovations and build-outs (carpet, tile, counters, etc.)
- Reducing energy use through LED lighting, dimmers and efficient building systems
- Selecting locations with access to public transportation and community amenities
Sustainability in Selecting New Office Spaces
As our firm continues to grow, the spaces we occupy become increasingly important to our sustainable operations. We have developed a framework of key sustainable elements that informs our decisions when selecting new office space, and we continue to refine how we implement it.
Our Chief Operating Officer, Executive Vice Presidents and Division Managers develop growth plans that are presented to the Executive Team and Board of Directors. Approved plans are incorporated into the five-year Real Estate Plan, which is used to develop capital and expense budgets that fund office changes.
Some of the factors we take into consideration when selecting a new space include:
- LED lighting
- Recycling
- Composting
- Public transportation access
- Building LEED certification
Investing in a Sustainable Future
Freese and Nichols is addressing the environmental impacts of business travel through a carbon credit program that invests in the long-term health of global communities and annually supports reforestation projects to offset travel emissions.
A carbon credit is not a physical property, but an investment in one or multiple projects that keep carbon stored in trees. The program originated in response to employee requests to offset travel emissions and evolved into a firm-wide initiative that reflects Freese and Nichols’ commitment to environmental stewardship and serving local communities.
To determine the number of credits Freese and Nichols would purchase through the American Carbon Registry, the firm calculated its employees’ carbon emissions using data from its travel-booking software. In 2026, we invested more than $25,000 toward carbon credits tied to an initiative in Louisiana and Arkansas that helps to preserve forests across the Mississippi River Delta.
In addition to carbon sequestration, these forests improve soil health and water quality, protect wildlife habitats and strengthen ecosystem resilience. By keeping the forests intact, the project delivers environmental benefits for years to come.
