SNC-Lavalin announced it has established a strategic collaboration with MBC Group, an engineering services firm in Western Canada to address the immediate need to fortify/retrofit existing physical assets against climate risk. Under the collaboration, the two companies will jointly identify opportunities and provide solutions to bolster the resiliency of buildings and infrastructure against, and recovery in the aftermath of, the increasingly pronounced effects of climate change and extreme weather events.
“This collaboration is perfectly aligned with and further enhances SNC-Lavalin’s ability to offer integrated, end-to-end solutions to create sustainable, resilient infrastructure to meet the demands climate change is placing on our society,” said Ian L. Edwards, president and CEO, SNC-Lavalin. “We’ve seen extreme weather events increasing in frequency and severity- particularly in Western Canada. Immediate action is therefore required to ensure infrastructure- both existing and disaster recovery rebuilds- is fortified to withstand the stresses of a changing climate that are with us already. These efforts must also be accompanied by a decarbonization of the built environment, to avert the most catastrophic effects of climate change on our communities in the long term.”
SNC-Lavalin will provide engineering and project management services combined with MBC’s expertise in property damage appraisal, environmental consulting, and risk management to serve clients in the insurance market. The two companies will use their collective resources, capabilities and experience in emergency preparedness and response during disasters to provide immediate solutions to repair damaged infrastructure & buildings on a mass scale after extreme weather events.
“Working together, we can leverage the respective strengths of our organizations to connect more communities across Canada with climate recovery and resiliency solutions,” commented Dale Clarke, CEO, Engineering Services Canada, SNC-Lavalin. “MBC has a deep presence in Western Canada, and strong relationships working with the insurance industry to address climate risk through both preventative adaptations of new and existing buildings, as well as re-builds following severe climate-related events. SNC-Lavalin continues to expand our role in supporting our clients and communities to reduce their climate change risk, as well as recover from the impacts of a changing climate that are being felt like never before. MBC is ideal to complement our robust Engineering Services business in this area.”
The collaboration is timely as it comes as multiple stakeholders from property owners, insurers, and businesses, to the public sector, are looking for ways to de-risk, or engage in recovery rebuilds of their property portfolios as a result of climate change induced damage. According to the Government of Canada, 2021 was one of the most active years for extreme weather events in the country. Wildfires and floods in British Columbia, the worst drought in the Prairies in recent memory along with a fierce clipper winter storm of extreme winds and snow, and a hailstorm in Calgary that was most significant in Canadian history, were just some of the major events experienced across the country. Altogether, extreme weather events in 2021 caused multi-billion dollar damages and insured losses. With Canada’s climate warming two times faster than the global average, these events are likely to continue in the short-to-medium term, amid efforts to reach Net Zero emissions.
“This strategic collaboration with SNC-Lavalin will provide clients with leading insights built on a firm foundation in engineering and project delivery to projects of diversified scale to help our insurance clients make better decisions for damaged infrastructure, proactively manage risks, and achieve strategic business outcomes,” said Ross Huartt, president and CEO of MBC. “Together, we’ll offer strategic and tactical action plans tailored to address complex challenges unique to each community and environment, as well as deliver transformative solutions that create enduring value.”
Featured image: (BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure)
