Firm Practice Enhancement Program (Sustainability)

Engineers and Geoscientists BC released its Organizational Climate Change Strategy in September 2025. It fulfills our public interest mandate under the Professional Governance Act while operationalizing our Strategic Plan and advancing our vision articulated in the updated Climate Change Position Statement.

To help implement Goal #2 (Support Registrants) of the Organizational Climate Change Strategy, we are developing a new voluntary program for registrant firms.

This program, called the Firm Practice Enhancement Program, will help firms incorporate sustainability considerations into their work and projects. 

By providing firms with tools, resources, and guidance, the program seeks to help firms support individual registrants they employ in managing climate risks and integrating sustainability in their professional work. This program aims to enhance public health and environmental protection, and strengthen public trust by enabling more consistent and sustainable professional practice. 

Key Milestones

September 2025: Organizational Climate Change Strategy was published on the Engineers and Geoscientists BC website  

October 2025: Announcement of sustainability program development and recruitment of consultant to help develop the program

November 2025: The consultant began developing and designing the program  

January 2026: First Working Group meeting. Comprised of volunteers, the Working Group meets regularly to guide the development of the program and continuous improvement after program launch.  

How We Engaged

We engaged with registrants and subject matter experts in different ways:

• What We Heard Report: As part of our engagement for the Organizational Climate Change Strategy, we asked registrants specifically about the voluntary sustainability program. This engagement included focus groups, interviews, and a survey. See section 3.2.1 of the report to learn what we heard regarding registrant firms.
• Created a working group of volunteers (mostly comprised of individual registrants, including Responsible Officers and Responsible Registrants) from various backgrounds with experience and/or expertise in sustainability to inform program design and development.
• Conducted interviews with experts in regulatory program design and sustainability, beyond the representation of the Working Group.
• Up to 20 registrant firms could participate in the pilot program from the soft launch, on a first-come, first-served basis. Their feedback will be used to refine and improve the program.

What We Heard: Key Themes

During the consultation thus far, there are a number of diverse perspectives and thoughts shared throughout our various methods of engagement.

• Alignment With Engineers and Geoscientists BC’s Mandate - The Professional Governance Act requires Engineers and Geoscientists BC to regulate firms that engage in the practice of professional engineering or geoscience. The Permit to Practice program’s requirements protect the public interest by introducing established standards of practice based on three pillars: ethics, quality management, and continuing education. The new Firm Practice Enhancement Program will build on the Permit to Practice program to provide guidance and resources to volunteer firms interested in further supporting the registrants they employ to incorporate sustainability considerations in their professional practice.
• Flexibility and Scalability - The program should be flexible and scalable to allow for firms of different sizes, sectors, or priorities to meaningfully participate. As part of the program, participating firms would be able to pick and choose the area(s) of focus they want to prioritize. The program should also meet the firms where they are within their sustainability journey as some have already policies or initiatives in place, while others have not started yet.
• Value Proposition - The program should provide a value add to participating firms. However, a certification was not recommended as this could be perceived as greenwashing and is outside of Engineers and Geoscientists BC’s mandate. Different value proposition options will be evaluated as part of the program’s development.

These themes will be kept in mind throughout the program development process to ensure the program is useful to its participants.
 

What's Next

• Continued targeted interviews to inform program development
• Regular meetings with the working group
• Design and development of the program
• Soft launch of the program in Fall 2026