Sargent Electric Helping Companies Find Sustainable Solutions For Their Challenging Needs
By Mark Soroka
May 5, 2022
Whenever Sargent Electric kicks off a new electrical contracting project, it considers how sustainability principles will help its clients and itself to minimize waste, improve energy efficiency, reduce emissions and become leaner and more efficient in the process.
“Sustainability is a lens we look through as we make decisions, both for our internal business operations and also on behalf of our customers,” said Rob Smith, President of Sargent Electric. “Our clients are transitioning to green initiatives and adopting more sustainable business practices because it helps them to stay competitive and grow. Above all, we are all moving in this direction because it’s the right thing to do for our people and our planet.”
Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Sargent Electric serves a wide range of businesses nationwide, including clients in the industrial, power, utility, wireless, commercial, infrastructure and service markets. All these companies share a common goal: they want to reduce their carbon and ecological footprint by incorporating more sustainable business practices.
“We are seeing similar trends taking place in all these industries,” said Smith. “Green energy is one example of how companies are building sustainability into their operations. For example, we are looking for ways to reduce energy consumption in buildings. That could mean installing solar panels so buildings can generate their own power locally. Other times, we are embedding technologies into a building’s electrical system, which transforms the building into a hyper-intelligent smart system. In addition, we are using battery storage technology to reduce or eliminate the use of hydrocarbons to power buildings. All these measures help companies to be more efficient and deliver energy savings.”
Sargent Electric also brings LEAN construction principles to its projects to help minimize waste and improve efficiency.
Closer to home, Sargent Electric has partnered with several other companies to help Pittsburgh International Airport become the world’s first airport to implement an onsite microgrid. Energy generated from five natural gas generators and 9,350 solar panels will power the airfield, terminals, hotel and fuel station.
“This project was a great example of using local assets to reduce dependence on the regional power grid,” said Smith. “In this case, Pittsburgh International Airport is using local natural gas resources along with the solar panels to provide 100 percent of the power it needs for daily operations.”
Sargent Electric is also focused on ways to make its own operations more sustainable, Smith pointed out.
“We are adopting measures that are good for business and the environment, such as minimizing waste in our procurement and material management processes, energy savings through LED lighting, motion sensors and fleetwide GPS implementation to optimize our fleet movements, and fuel utilization,” he said.
Sargent Electric’s commitment to protecting the environment goes beyond its own business operations. Sargent is a Signatory to the UN Global Compact and has identified specific Sustainable Development Goals for its business as part of the process. It participates in sustainable development initiatives such as the CEOs for Sustainability, Sustainable Pittsburgh and the Allegheny Conference. Sargent Electric also participates in regular events such as CleanSweep 15222 and the Sustainable Pittsburgh Challenge as well as similar groups in each of the locations where it operates.
“Working together, we can help our planet and make the world a better place for all of us and the generations that will follow us,” said Smith.
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