Our thoughts are with the people that have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. As a global company, with offices on six continents, we have experienced firsthand the devastating impact that this unprecedented event is having on our communities. Golder has been working through this crisis from the first appearance of COVID-19 in mainland China. With the safety and wellbeing of our people and communities at the core of our planning, we have continued our operations with minimal interruption by adapting our teams and leveraging our technology and global resources.
Health and safety is one of our core strengths. We have adjusted our practices and procedures to the current conditions and are following the safety and prevention guidance published by the World Health Organization (WHO), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and local government agencies around the world. This includes adopting lessons from our offices in countries with early outbreaks, emphasizing personal hygiene, limiting meetings and requiring employees who experience symptoms to stay home and seek medical advice.
Our business continuity plans are in action, and our leaders are empowered to deploy resources as needed based on client commitments, evolving conditions, governmental directives, and the personal needs of their team members. We have a flexible working policy in place and many of our people are well-practiced at working remotely. Golder’s robust IT technology systems are designed to fulfill the needs of our workforce regardless of where they work.
Non-essential travel and events have been cancelled or postponed and we are working with our clients to assess travel criticality and enable virtual meeting alternatives wherever possible. We continue to travel when required to deliver essential support, while constantly monitoring and adapting to travel advisories and governmental restrictions and working collaboratively with our clients.
At Golder, we recognize that our services are vitally important to our clients and communities, and we are fiercely committed to doing our part as we navigate through this crisis together. This crisis is creating new and unprecedented challenges for all of us. If history has shown us anything, it’s that when surrounded by a storm, the only way out is through. And the best way through is together.
