Nathalie Waelbroeck on LinkedIn: At Roanoke College, a Mysterious Cancer Surge and a Search for Answers (2024)

My brother and I went on a road trip from LA to Sequoia National Park recently. We left after work on a Friday and needed to break up the drive, so I found a random park off the highway we could camp at on the way to Sequoia. I really didn't expect much as it's pretty hard to find camping on short notice in California 😂 We got in late at night, so we set up camp excited to see the park for the first time in the morning. The last thing we expected to see was... a ghost town. No really, we woke up to find these eerie looking buildings in the horizon. Turns out Allen Allensworth, an escaped slave and Union soldier, was the first African American to become a lieutenant colonel in the United States Army. His retirement dream was to found a self-sufficient community where African Americans could live free of racial discrimination. He did just that in 1908, choosing an accessible site right off the railroad. By 1914 Allensworth the town became a judicial district, with the first African American school district in California. Unfortunately, the town began to decline in 1914 after Colonel Allensworth passed away, water scarcity issues restricted progress, and the railroads "moved" the station to another town... My brother and I had a great time and were so impressed to see the quantity of small businesses in the area, many owned and operated by the widows of the community. I am grateful that the town was saved and converted to a state park.Now the point of the message: Colonel Allensworth State Park is hosting a Juneteenth celebration this Saturday June 8th! If you are in the region, come check it out, it's totally worth it. Even cooler, Amtrak is offering discounted tickets to the historic Allensworth station, so you can ride in the same way the locals did back in the early 1900s.https://lnkd.in/gkqAGtwr

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It's been a while since I shared a nature post! As a sustainability professional, nature does a couple of things for me. 1. Connection to nature is a good stress reliever and a source of positive wisdom.2. Provides fun inspiration for biomimicry that I can take back to work.3. It reminds me what we are fighting to keep!I loved and hated this trail back in April because it was muddy and overgrown. The deeper I got into the trail, the more savage the ferns got, the muddier the trail got, and the steeper the slopes got. But I loved it. I loved the simplicity of following the trail. Very rarely in life do we have a clear path in front of us to follow. Very rarely in life are rewarding outcomes easy to come by. But most rewarding of all, stepping ankle deep into a puddle of mud with my very white shoes. Sounds weird I know! But it put a huge smile on my face for the rest of the day.

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Garbage in Garbage Out! I am very excited about the trend towards more transparent, high-quality data. What I like about ESG is that it provides a framework from which companies can speak about sustainability on an even playing field. What I don't like about ESG is that it created a pressure for speed and positive marketing. It is no surprise then that this latest ESG backlash has narrowed in on greenwashing risks. This is a good reminder that like most things in life, it's not about the tools you use, but how you use them. That is what ESG is at the end of the day, a tool. Let's not blame the tool, but instead blame the implementation. Let's also give a bit of grace to companies that had to create data they didn't have before out of thin air, data that in many cases are provided by a chain of third parties. The first couple of years of data collection are going to be BAD. The first couple of years, all you are doing is identifying the challenges in collecting high quality data and identifying the best ways possible to calculate the environmental impacts you must deliver. The true test is what happens next. How will you overcome the data gap and quality issues? https://lnkd.in/gd7vTYTj

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Just one more indication that sustainability is here to stay, despite the latest ESG backlash. "According to the survey, more than 80% of companies see potential financial opportunities from their sustainability strategies over the next five years, including 81% who see sustainability as somewhat (41%) or very (40%) likely to drive higher profitability, 79% to drive higher revenue (35% very likely, 44% somewhat likely), and 82% to improve cash generation capabilities (38% and 44%). Another key benefit highlighted by the study was improved access to capital, with 77% of respondents reporting that sustainability could drive lower costs of equity or debt over the next five years." But like most things in life, these positive news come with challenges. Challenges that we at Arcadis are happy to face. If you are one of:- 69% anticipating very (28%) or somewhat likely (41%) costs from changing processes: check out our construction International Construction Costs Report. - 72% seeing higher costs or legal risks from sustainability regulation: we are Ecovadis Platinum awardees; ranked in the top 1% of firms for successfully integrated sustainable practices. - 73% seeing higher costs or scarcity of raw materials over the next five years: we are building dozens of tools including parametric computational models to help design more material efficient buildings. - 74% viewed restructuring supply chains to meet human rights obligations as a challenge: we offer whole building lifecycle assessments to make we are making the most sustainable material and product choices.https://lnkd.in/gwgRc9HH

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I could not be more excited about this project. Kids are like sponges in that they learn so much from their environment. It's very inspiring to see that not only were we able to deliver on an innovative, high performing building, but a building that will mold young minds and give back to the community.What a great demonstration of what we are capable of at Arcadis. Kudos to the team 👏 #planetpositive #microgrids #resilience #education #community

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So exciting to see the latest updates from Mitrex - Building-Integrated Solar Technology. They have a new BIPV Simulator that allows you to estimate your solar production potential. You can experiment with: 1. Cities2. Product orientation (North, South, East, West)3. Cladding facing (facade, railing, glazing)4. Texture (brick, granite, stone, metal, wood, glass, etc.)5. Edge accent6. Systems Big thanks to Sue Terer and the Mitrex team for taking the time to meet with me, understand our needs, and come back with tangible solutions. I look forward to our continued collaboration!BIPV Product Simulator - Mitrex#BIPV #RenewableEnergy #Collaboration #NetZero

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I love that we do this! I especially like the "Winner Takes All" section with some interesting insights worth noting:"Resources will become harderto secure and commercial dealsthat worked in the past might nolonger be accepted in a capacityconstrained market. Programs mayalso become more complex andthe need to effectively manageglobal, multicultural teams willbecome more acute, for start-upsand for industry champions alike." "First-of-a-kind innovation. Many projects will involve theintegration of processes andtechnologies that have littleor no precedent. Uncertaintiesassociated with the selectionand specification of thesetechnologies might affectpermitting, as well as designand execution. Ideally the shellshould be designed outwardsfrom the process at its core.""Most construction clients areaccustomed to compromise; andconstruction, an industry withvalue engineering at its heart,sometimes delivers suboptimalresults. By contrast, for timecritical mega-programs, thereis no room for compromise.Across multiple dimensions,the capabilities of delivery teamswill be stretched well beyondthe norm.""Start-up mindset – building theenterprise. Some clients willface the challenge of buildingtheir organization parallel todeveloping the technology anddelivering a capex program.Key issues around leadership,organizational design, clear andeffective decision making, andstakeholder management willbe resolved in-flight, even as theproject is being taken forward."

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Sustainable buildings (and sustainability in general) do not cost us money. They save us money. https://lnkd.in/g9bjz63d

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