Be a Pillar

Keeping Score

This article is included in the Great Things: Issue 8 edition of the DPR Newsletter.

Collage of December Be a Pillar Participants

Actions speak louder than words. Finding ways to benchmark, measure and continuously improve everything we do is key to upholding DPR’s commitments to its people, partners, planet and communities. Like our customers and partners, we seek to change the world. But simply stating our commitments isn’t enough.

DPR leverages several certifications and frameworks like the JUST Label and globally recognized strategies like the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) to hold ourselves accountable and track progress on our Global Social Responsibility (GSR) efforts. Hear from DPR’s GSR leaders on the value of measurement and the importance of doing what we say we’re going to do.


Photo of Cari Williams
Photo: Danny Sanders
Global Social Responsibility

Cari Williams

“Our focus on global social responsibility means we seek to be a strong global citizen… We must benchmark our progress so that we have a baseline for continuous improvement.”

Our focus on global social responsibility means we seek to be a strong global citizen, developing a sense of belonging, environmental stewardship, and community engagement. It means that the people who are part of the work we do—our employees, partners, customers and their families—positively influence the world around them. We must benchmark our progress so that we have a baseline for continuous improvement.

Our efforts to become a Most Admired Company by 2030 by focusing on people, partners, planet and community provide better employee engagement, better customer experiences, more innovation, and the ability to be integral and indispensable to our communities.


Photo of Diane Shelton
Photo: Trevor Satterwhite
Community Initiatives

Diane Shelton

“… our social responsibility efforts go far beyond DPR. Benchmarking and strategy tools like the JUST label and UN SDGs show how we align with other companies doing similar work. They motivate us to be more strategic and to raise the bar with our commitments, helping create positive change.”

Our community initiatives vision of ‘Building possibilities for the under-resourced’ allows us to focus on those in our communities who, with a little extra help, can create greater freedom and options for themselves and their families. In addition to improving our communities, our skills-based volunteering creates leadership, project management and networking opportunities for our employees. But our social responsibility efforts go far beyond DPR. Benchmarking and strategy tools like the JUST label and UN SDGs show how we align with other companies doing similar work. They motivate us to be more strategic and to raise the bar with our commitments, helping create positive change.

Much like we focus on our core markets to build great projects, we focus on our vision and outcomes to support our communities. We are only as strong and resilient as the communities where we work, and we as a company are as dependent on the them as they are on DPR.


Photo of Patrice Gilmore
Photo: Amy Benito
Supplier Diversity

Patrice Gilmore

“It’s important that we benchmark our commitment because it affords us the ability to continually improve. You cannot improve what you don’t measure.”

One of the most valuable ways our global social responsibility efforts impact our business and the industry is by demonstrating to our customers, diverse business partners and peers a sincere commitment to caring for our people, partners, planet and communities while we build great things—showing that these pillars of our business go hand-in-hand to make us better builders.

It’s important that we benchmark this commitment because it affords us the ability to continually improve. You cannot improve what you don’t measure. While becoming the best builder might involve taking the “road less traveled,” we cannot be afraid to innovate and try new methods to move both DPR and the industry forward.


Photo of Ryan Poole
Photo: Jillian Tumblin
Sustainability

Ryan Poole

“We not only need to measure so we can understand our own progress and obstacles, but to share lessons learned across industries to ensure we are aligned in the best methodologies for accountability and drive positive change the world.”

Sustainability not only drives how we operate our businesses but also how we influence design and ultimately construct the built environment. DPR has used its influence to create positive change in the industry and continues to work across workgroups to keep raising the bar. It is our responsibility to change the world by developing the built environment with sustainable resiliency as a primary focus.

DPR is on the forefront of helping develop and commit to industry-leading sustainability benchmark standards that align with our peers in the shared vision to create a healthier future for people and the planet. We not only need to measure so we can understand our own progress and obstacles, but to share lessons learned across industries to ensure we are aligned in the best methodologies for accountability and drive positive change the world. In an effort to push this transparency, DPR has developed an in-house sustainability best practice guide that aligns with The Contractors Commitment and supports reaching our goal of being a most admired company.


Photo of Stacee Barkley
Photo: Allie Abbott
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Stacee Barkley

“… DEI is fundamentally about humanity. Benchmarking and measuring our DEI efforts proves our commitment, validates our investments and serves as a beacon for possibilities.”

A company and an industry that cultivates and fosters diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and creates places where we belong to a community that values and treats us with dignity—this is the rising tide that raises all ships. There are both business and human-centric data that supports the case for DEI, but DEI is fundamentally about humanity. Benchmarking and measuring our DEI efforts proves our commitment, validates our investments and serves as a beacon for possibilities.

‘Hire, Inspire, Develop, Grow’—these aren’t just words, they are a contract of stewardship. Our commitment that we will embrace and empower a tapestry of talent that transforms skylines, uplifts communities and leaves footprints that others want to follow.


If you’re not keeping score, it’s just practice. When it comes to measuring our commitment to people, partners, planet and community, we must align with other major firms and our customers, partners and communities in doing so. We deeply believe that together, we have the power to affect real change and that these commitments, strategies and benchmarks help to channel the collective energy and effort that can change the world.

Collage of November Be a Pillar participants Shay Jones, Rebekah Rafferty, and Mary Price

What does it mean to be integral and indispensable? For DPR, it means being a strong global citizen that has an outsized impact on the people and communities around us. It means that the people who are part of the DPR family, from our employees to their families, to our partners and customers, positively influence the world around them. It means we give back in enough ways to be woven into the fabric of our communities, making a distinctive impact. Read more about our four pillars: People, Planet, Partners and Philanthropy. 

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