Supporting Sustainable Communities

Looking Ahead

It has been said that to understand today, one needs to search yesterday. In exploring Layne’s yesterdays, we see a commitment to exceptional social, environmental and economic performance that will extend into tomorrow. Layne Christensen’s first sustainability report provides a snapshot of our history and operations, giving us a clearer understanding of where we stand today and where we need to be in the future. The global megatrends affecting businesses and communities around the world play an important role in Layne Christensen’s overall strategy development and help us to identify several key areas for quantifying, monitoring and improving our sustainable performance in the next few years.

Key Sustainability Impacts and Risks

While Layne Christensen’s business is highly diverse, the sustainability impacts of our operations remain fairly consistent across our project-based drilling and construction work. As a socially responsible organization, Layne Christensen makes safety — for our employees, our communities and our clients — our top priority. Layne concentrates on creating safe, productive working environments as a primary component of our organizational sustainability. By providing the necessary resources and support to our workforce, we strive to empower employees to lead successful projects. This, in turn, enables the ongoing achievement of Layne Christensen’s goals and objectives.

Energy, particularly fuel, consumption also represents one of Layne’s greatest sustainability challenges. Focusing on energy efficiency and carbon footprint over the next year will enable Layne to develop an appropriate tracking and reduction plan. As the conversation around carbon footprint and climate change evolves, Layne Christensen will manage our risks responsibly, ensuring that we integrate sustainability into strategic operational decisions. Relative to regulatory impacts, Layne Christensen has developed strong competencies in managing risks associated with diverse and environmentally sensitive projects. Continued monitoring of changes or shifts in regulation associated with environmental sensitivity will enable Layne Christensen to design the most appropriate risk management plans. The nature of our work also makes Layne Christensen vulnerable to changes in weather patterns, which can result in delays and risks to the safety and financial success of our projects. Understanding the physical impacts associated with climate change will help us to identify potential challenges early on and develop plans for mitigating these operational risks.

Sustainability Opportunities

Finding ways to more clearly link Layne Christensen’s expertise to the sustainability needs of the markets we serve represents a key opportunity in the near future. Water is one area where our products and services inherently contribute to sustainable performance. Whether we are serving businesses that operate in water stressed regions, helping clients make informed decisions based on water conservation strategies or bringing potable water to communities where children and families need it to survive, Layne Christensen applies leading edge technology and deep experience in responding to water scarcity issues. Increasing our focus on global water challenges provides us with an opportunity to better assess our own water footprint and begin to develop solutions to reduce water consumption and discharges associated with our operations.

Expanding Layne Christensen’s global reach presents more opportunities for Layne to support economic development around the world. Through the work of our Mineral Exploration group, Layne Christensen helps to bring economic growth to developed and developing countries. Utilizing sophisticated techniques and environmentally responsible practices, Layne creates access to natural resources that often serve as the foundation of an emerging economy. Building upon our history as safe, efficient and responsible partners, we have an opportunity to advance the sustainability of the communities in which we operate by sharing our knowledge, training our partners and leaving a legacy that lasts beyond the life of our project.

Growth in cities and urban populations in emerging markets present sustainable business opportunities for many facets of our company. While the majority of the world’s population shifts from agrarian to urban environments, the need for infrastructure development and maintenance will continue to grow. Our ability to offer sustainable solutions – water development and treatment, sewer rehabilitation, and geoconstruction services — will contribute to sustainable global economic development. By making global growth and urbanization an integral part of our sustainability strategy, we will be positioned to capitalize on growth in strategic markets and to contribute to thoughtful, sustainable development.

Finally, a clean energy future begins with strategic investment today. Layne’s natural gas resources are part of a more sustainable domestic energy portfolio. The continued development of shale gas reserves will help meet the growing demand for energy in the U.S. while helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Our role in a clean energy future needs to become a key element of Layne’s sustainability strategy from both a product and operational perspective.

With the experience and expertise to address major global sustainability challenges, Layne Christensen has been and will continue to be a trusted partner in defining, developing and delivering sustainable solutions for our clients and within our operations. One hundred years of sustainable value is a foundation for a future of sustainable growth, and we look forward to continued improvement in the next century.