6 Things to Know: HOK’s ESG Progress

At HOK, we’re constantly working to improve our practice and design better buildings and cities. To show our progress, HOK recently released its 2022-23 Making a Difference by Design report on advancements toward our environmental, social and governance (ESG) priorities. Read highlights from the report below, including our achievements in diversity, equity and inclusion; supporting the next generation; environmental sustainability; social responsibility and more. The full report is on our website.

1. Diversified Leadership

In 2021, HOK set aggressive new diversity goals for leadership positions and emerging leaders. This included our board of directors and core boards that oversee design, management, technical and marketing functions. We have met or surpassed most of those 2021 goals, leading to new challenge goals by 2025. Some historic leadership appointments, both inside the firm and within the community in 2023 include:

• Eli Hoisington and Susan Klumpp Williams became our new co-chief executive officers, succeeding Bill Hellmuth. They represent the youngest and first woman CEOs in HOK’s 68-year history, respectively.
• Misty Yanko was selected as HOK’s new chief financial officer – the first CFO to be promoted from within.
• Marti Stubblefield was elevated to director of human resources.
• Kimberly Dowdell took on the newly created role of HOK’s director of strategic relationships. She is also the AIA’s 2024 president-elect – the first Black woman and first Millennial president for the organization.
• Ralph Raymond (Atlanta) is the 2023 president of the AIA’s Georgia chapter.
• Brian Smiley (Philadelphia) is the 2024 president-elect of the Philadelphia chapter of the AIA.
• Femi Oresanya (London) was re-elected to the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Council.

2. Supporting the Next Generation

We are committed to fostering diversity, equity and inclusion in the design profession, including through internships, mentor programs and scholarships. HOK’s Diversity x Design scholarship program launched in 2021 and, to date, has awarded over $270,000 in scholarships to 27 minority and BIPOC design students. Our partner schools include HBCUs and those with a track record of educating diverse populations. Learn more about the current cohort of scholarship recipients here and check out a Q+A from the 2022 scholarship recipients here.

Dive Deeper: HOK staff are also championing the next generation of design professionals. Damon Sheppard (Washington, D.C.) serves on the ACE Mentor Program’s national board.

3. Social Responsibility

Over the past two decades, HOK employees have donated their time, talent and funds to organizations and causes within their communities through HOK Impact, our corporate social responsibility program. In 2022, our people volunteered 1,031 hours and donated more than $109,000 through HOK Impact. Key highlights include:

• Our Chicago team participated in the Rebuilding Together program (above), in which 10 volunteers worked on improvements to a home in south Chicago. Our team repaired walls, re-caulked the kitchen and bathroom, removed furniture, replaced hardware, weatherized windows and doors, and installed a basement stud wall—all in one day!
• Our Houston studio worked with the Make-a-Wish Foundation to donate design services for a backyard gazebo that allowed a girl with developmental disabilities to enjoy outdoor moments with her family.
• The Hong Kong team cooked, packed and delivered healthy lunches for homeless in Hong Kong (nearly 200 lunchboxes in total) through the May’s Angels organization.

4. Environmental Sustainability

Sustainable design is a core value at HOK. We were an early adopter of the AIA 2030 Commitment, which challenges the design and construction sector to reach carbon neutrality for all new buildings, developments and major renovations by 2030.

In 2022, HOK projects achieved a 63.6% reduction in energy use intensity (EUI), exceeding the AIA average of 50%. This high-performance design avoids 85,369.5 metric tons (94,105 U.S. tons) of CO2 emissions annually.

 We are also participating in the SE 2050 Commitment Program and MEP 2040 Challenge to reduce and eliminate embodied carbon in structural systems and mechanical, electrical and plumbing building systems, respectively.

5. Designing for Equity

Last year, we launched Designing for Equity, an internal platform to provide HOK designers with guidelines, design principles and best practices around incorporating equity into projects. The platform also provides recommendations on how to make equity a pillar of each of our office’s design culture and approach. Learn more about the platform.

Further supporting equity, our latest issue of HOK Forward addresses inclusive design for neurodiverse populations in complex building types, including airports, labs, hospitals, sports venues and more.  

Dive Deeper: HOK’s 2019 report on Designing a Neurodiverse Workplace sparked significant interest in designing for neurodivergent individuals and led to our HOK Forward research today. Take a look at the 2019 report.

6. Innovation and Research

HOK continuously invests in research that drives transformative, sustainable outcomes in the built environment. Our regenerative design studio, for example, looks to push beyond sustainability and enhance a site or a region’s ecosystem performance beyond the native habitat.

Our Aviation + Transportation group is collaborating with industry experts to address aviation emissions through advanced air mobility, including zero-emission and electric aircraft. The group is examining infrastructure needs to support this mobility and positively contribute to the environment and local community.

Dive Deeper: HOK is a member of Project Positive, a group of change agents dedicated to raising the bar on what it means to act sustainably. As a founding member of Project Positive’s Integrated Services Provider (ISP) team, HOK’s Sean Quinn guides the creative design efforts for buildings and cities, designing using nature’s guidance and creating strategies intended to emulate an ecosystem’s services. Discover more about Project Positive’s recent summit here.

By the numbers:

According to McKinsey & Company, companies spent $7.5 billion on DEI-related efforts in 2020. That figure is projected to more than double by 2026 to $15 billion.

Follow HOK on LinkedIn for more updates and find all the issues of HOK’s Design Digest newsletter.