Data shows that some communities, especially those that are home to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and individuals with lower income, have a lower life expectancy, experience higher rates of chronic illnesses such as asthma, greater noise and air pollution, and a host of other health, economic, and environmental disparities that are only becoming more serious with climate change.

Cascadia believes in a just transition—a future where communities that have historically been harmed by progress are the first to experience benefits as transportation moves toward electrification, buildings are decarbonized, and communities invest in the circular economy movement.

Achieving this vision requires applying an environmental justice lens to the work we do—within our organization, in collaboration with our communities and partners, and alongside our clients.

Cascadia's goal is to create and sustain a company culture that is inclusive and welcoming to all. We work toward this goal by adhering to the following principles.

We strive to lead fair recruitment and hiring processes by advertising positions broadly and intentionally and providing implicit bias coaching to every interview panelist in advance of every recruitment.

We invest in all aspects of staff retention, including the professional development of our employees, through internal and external education and training. Our performance reviews are designed to be inclusive of diverse skill sets and lived experience, and we facilitate cohorts and training to support staff in honing and developing skills, or in pursuing advancement within the company.

We create and maintain open communication channels and intentional feedback loops that aim to build trust between staff and leadership. We regularly invite employee input and feedback through pulse surveys, regular employee feedback surveys, and as-needed coffee breaks.

As an environmental consulting firm whose mission is to “inspire and empower communities everywhere to protect and restore our world,” we develop and implement policies and practices that protect the health of the planet and its people.

Cascadia's Green Team ensures that we "walk the talk," adhering to these policies and best practices in our own operations as well.

Cascadia operates in low-energy, low-water, and nearly zero-waste offices to actively limit environmental impacts associated with our work. We prioritize remote and hybrid client meetings when possible to reduce project-related emissions. When commuting, nearly all staff (97%) use public transit or bike to work. Cascadia offers transportation stipends and "guaranteed ride home" policies to encourage the use of public transit, and maintains a flexible schedule and work-from-home policy to allow employees to avoid trips and work efficiently.

We rely on an environmentally preferable purchasing (EPP) plan to guide purchasing decisions—from office supplies to cleaning products and catering. We prioritize local suppliers for each office, and we work with BIPOC-owned companies whenever we can.

At Cascadia, we believe that the greatest impact comes from directing quality, creativity, and innovation toward addressing a client’s unique needs and priorities—not from applying turn-key, out-of-the-box approaches. Because of this, we will always take a small-business approach (which we’ve had 30 years to perfect!) with each and every client—diving deep into each problem and designing tailored solutions that are grounded in reality and include forward-thinking approaches.

Quality means we deliver work that is rigorous, thoughtful, and built on a foundation of deep expertise. Our in-house Quality team, led by our Director of Quality, includes an Editorial Board, Quant Squad (data QA/QC), Graphics Team, and Accessibility Team to ensure that final deliverables meet our high standards for readability, accuracy, aesthetics, and accessibility.

Creativity allows us to uncover new possibilities, turning constraints into opportunities. Working with public sector clients means working with a wide range of budgetary and time constraints—navigating funding and legislative cycles, grant reporting processes, and competing interdepartmental priorities, plans, and programs. We thrive in this space. Our goal as consultants is to improve, not disrupt.

Innovation keeps us exploring new ways of thinking, new ways of working, and new ways of delivering on our commitments. Our team is supported in continuous learning and development with leadership cohorts that build confidence in core consulting skills and technologies; thought leadership opportunities with conferences and networking events; and a variety of small-group exploratory forums focused on areas of strength and emerging topics of interest.

Cascadia understands that the most creative and durable solutions to complex environmental and social challenges are built together with community members, through meaningful engagement at every step of the process. Inclusive engagement introduces fresh voices sharing knowledge, lived experience, and unique viewpoints that can help improve the way projects are approached or programs are delivered. We work with communities from beginning to end—taking time to understand their needs and goals, workshopping ideas that fit the bill, and following through with dedicated implementation support to make sure our work delivers its intended benefits.

As a trusted partner to clients across research, planning, and implementation phases, Cascadia is committed to elevating opportunities for inclusive engagement and codesign across our project portfolio. Our cross-disciplinary organizational structure makes us uniquely well-suited for this work.

Our Communications + Engagement team enjoys seamless collaboration with our Planning + Facilitation and Research + Analysis teams. We are able to integrate strong, topical, engagement support on almost any project. Similarly we are well-equipped to analyze the outcomes from engagement and use them to inform planning processes using skillsets within our own team.

Our in-house Translation, Transcreation, and Interpretation (TTI) team coordinates access to accredited language resources and ensures high quality in-language support and services when we are working with in-language source data, outreach collateral, or populations who primarily converse in a language other than English.

Our Community Task Force Project Management and Relationships Subcommittees work continually to strengthen Cascadia’s awareness of project impacts on local communities as well as develop connectivity with local community-based organizations through networking events, volunteering, sponsorships and donations, partnerships, and resource sharing. These ties and touchpoints help us connect planners to the community partners who are best positioned to support engagement where it’s needed most.