CH2M HILL is pleased to announce that the firm’s Access Water program (www.ch2mhillblogs.com/water) was recognized with the American Academy of Environmental Engineers’ (AAEE) Honor Award in the inaugural category of Excellence in Environmental Communications. The award recognizes Access Water for its innovation in messaging, providing future value to the water engineering profession, creativity and clarity, effectiveness, and integrated design approach. The award was presented during AAEE’s Awards Luncheon on April 26, held in Washington, DC.

 

“As a consultant, it is an honor to have our firm’s own communications efforts recognized by fellow members of the engineering industry,” said Kate Peabody, CH2M HILL Water Business Group Communications Strategist who helped develop and manages Access Water. “It is very important to CH2M HILL to meaningfully keep in touch with our clients, increase public understanding of water and environment issues and solutions, and provide a forum where all members of the industry can collaborate to speed the development and implementation of much needed solutions in our global communities. Access Water is not yet even two years old, and we look forward to continuing to grow the community, content, and long-term value that the program provides.”

 

 

With the increase in awareness of social media and its impact, Access Water was launched in 2010 by the CH2M HILL Water Business Group to “provide innovation and insight on all things water all year long” in an engaging format that was not being used broadly in the industry. Access Water was developed to increase and streamline meaningful, two-way communications with clients, staff, and members of the industry, and to provide a forum to showcase: CH2M HILL thought leadership; conference attendance/involvement; the latest technology, processes, and innovation from CH2M HILL and our clients and partners; industry trends; and the latest news and events, whether it be about people, projects, or community activities. The main components of Access Water are blogs, dynamic pages, videos, and a quarterly client newsletter.

 

For readers, Access Water acts as an information filter and provides valuable insight, research, resources, and examples of current trends, new technologies, risks and opportunities to look out for, changing regulations, financial options, upgrades, what other communities are doing, and more. It also provides an outlet for members of the industry to share their challenges and solutions with industry peers. This is not only a great resource for the firm’s clients and members of the industry at large, but also for students and trade press looking to keep up with the latest trends, technologies and projects.

 

The blog is providing future value to the water and environment industry as it is a searchable resource with vast amounts of innovative project examples, technological information and knowledge exchange, allowing for: open dialogue to speed the development and implementation of solutions; increased collaboration across the industry; and a forum for aspiring and young engineers to learn, share ideas, network, and develop in their careers.

 

There are a number of groups and individuals who have embraced and contribute their voice to Access Water regularly, for example:

The Access Water blog continues to grow in popularity and readership, with thousands of regular readers who spend 3-10 minutes reading and exploring the blog each visit. Clients have followed up with future business opportunities for CH2M HILL after reading a project highlighted in the Access Water client newsletter or on the blog roll, and multiple editorial opportunities have resulted from journalists following up on projects featured in blogs. With more than 30,000 employees, Access Water has also become a place for global CH2M HILL staff to share ideas, lessons learned, and to network, and has also proven to help staff with career growth and development opportunities.

 

CH2M HILL invites you to explore Access Water online as well as sign up for email alerts or the RSS feed to gain the full experience of the program.

 

Headquartered near Denver, Colorado, USA, employee-owned CH2M HILL is a global leader in consulting, design, design-build, operations, and program management for government, civil, industrial and energy clients. The firm’s work is concentrated in the areas of water, transportation, environmental, energy, facilities and resources. With US$6.4 billion in revenue and 30,000 employees, CH2M HILL is an industry-leading program management, construction management and design firm, as ranked by Engineering News-Record and named a leader in sustainable engineering by Verdantix. The firm has been named a FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For five times. Visit us at www.ch2mhill.com, www.ch2mhillblogs.com/water, twitter.com/ch2mhill and facebook.com/ch2mhill.