All the same names, in all the right places – Part I

It has always been a point of amusement for me that when it comes to companies that do business for -and with- the BC Liberals, I tend to find all the same names, in all the right places.  The Ledcor Group is a prime example.

The Ledcor name recently made news again when it was announced that two of their companies – Ledcor Industrial/Mining Group Ltd. and  Ledcor CMI Ltd. – had become part of The Fraser Transportation Group that has  emerged as the preferred bidder for the South Fraser Perimeter Road.

There was a lot of chatter concerning the appearance of Ledcor in the revised group of preferred bidders – not only because they have been a frequent contributor to the BC Liberal Party, but also because it raised a number of concerns over the status of the project, and ethics of the bidding process itself.

But, was the addition of the two Ledcor companies more than addressing some sudden vacancies in the group ? Further research has led me to believe that the appearance of Ledcor may also have been a strategic one, one that has to do with an attempt at addressing some of the environmental concerns and placating naysayers and protestors. While speculative, I think it bears consideration, for the PR angle on it alone.

In July of 2009, Ledcor issued a joint press release  regarding a strategic partnership they had entered with another, rather interesting company : Offsetters Clean Technology.  ( I say interesting, because as the debate over global warming slowly seems to fizzle out, this company seems to have positioned itself well between the provincial government and industry, and bears the stamp of approval from Gordon Campbell. )

Here is the press release:

Construction/Building — July 23, 2009

Ledcor and Offsetters Establish Strategic Partnership to Offer Carbon Management Services

 

VANCOUVER, July 23 /CNW/ – The Ledcor Group of Companies (Ledcor) and

Offsetters Clean Technology (Offsetters) announced today the formation of a

strategic partnership designed to enhance their service offerings to existing

and prospective clients.

“In today’s economy, one of the key drivers for business success is

strong environmental performance in areas such as the reduction of greenhouse

(GHG) emissions,” said Scott Lyons, President of Ledcor CMI. “The challenge to

understand the generation and subsequent reduction of GHGs touches every

aspect of Ledcor’s business and the business of our clients,” he said.

“Through this partnership, Offsetters will help position Ledcor as a corporate

leader in sustainability within our industry and allow us to offer our clients

sustainable solutions for their projects,” he concluded.

“We are excited with the prospect of working with Ledcor to help them

achieve their environmental objectives,” said Dr. James Tansey, CEO and

co-founder of Offsetters. “This partnership allows Offsetters to provide

sustainable solutions to many of the problems facing North America’s largest

companies in the industrial and building sectors.”

As part of Ledcor’s sustainability strategy, Offsetters will assist the

construction company in the creation of a centre of excellence to help the

company better understand climate concerns, carbon offsets and identify clean

technologies that can be applied in the construction industry.

In response to the developing North American cap-and-trade and carbon

regime in the market place, Ledcor has purchased a substantial equity stake in

Offsetters to strengthen the strategic partnership. Going forward, Ledcor will

utilize Offsetters expertise to help the company expand into new areas of

business associated with the clean technology sector and green building

initiatives.

About Ledcor

Founded in 1947, the Ledcor Group of Companies is a leading, North

American, privately-held, employee-owned collection of construction companies,

specializing in building, civil, industrial and telecommunication projects. In

addition to a diversified portfolio of projects, Ledcor is an award-winning

contractor as well as recipient of numerous safety honours. Ledcor brings an

established history of construction excellence.

About Offsetters

Offsetters Clean Technology was co-founded in 2005 by the company’s CEO,

Dr. James Tansey, a respected professor at the University of British Columbia.

Offsetters is Canada’s first and leading integrated carbon management company.

Since 2005, Offsetters has been helping individuals and organizations

understand, reduce, track and offset their greenhouse gas emissions. They use

carbon offset funds to develop and invest in high quality, renewable energy

and energy efficiency projects that would otherwise not take place.

Offsetters is the first supplier of carbon offsets to the Pacific Carbon

Trust, a provincial Crown corporation helping organizations reduce their

carbon emissions through carbon offsets. Offsetters is also the Official

Supplier of Carbon Offsets to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter

Games.
 

Considering that one of the many real environmental concerns of the South Fraser Perimiter Road construction is vehicle emissions and ongoing pollution, the partnership with Offsetters sets up Ledcor to be prime billing as an attempt to make the project ” environmentally friendly” – at least in appearance.

Stay tuned for Part II : ” Jesus turned water into wine? …. That’s nothing compared to what this fellow has done… “