IBI buys Indigenous-focused environmental consulting firm Teranis
IBI, a global architecture and engineering consultancy, has acquired Teranis, a Vancouver-based environmental consulting firm focusing on Indigenous communities.
Founded in 2006, Teranis specializes in providing consulting services in contaminated land investigation, remediation, and risk assessment to First Nations communities in British Columbia. The consultancy’s seven professionals also provide assessments across air quality, mercury, petroleum hydrocarbon contamination, landfills and underground fires, and utility corridors.
Teranis’ approach includes “Two-Eyed Seeing,” a concept that seeks to reconcile the use of Western scientific method and theory with Indigenous knowledge.
IBI’s acquisition of Teranis will complement the Toronto-headquartered firm’s sustainability and environmental management business.
“Through the strong scientific backgrounds of its founders, Teranis brings a unique skillset to IBI that augments several of our existing practice areas, including municipal and land development, water and wastewater management, flood mitigation, and renewable energy solutions,” said Scott Stewart, CEO of IBI Group. “I’m pleased to welcome the Teranis team to IBI, and look forward to broadening our environmental and climate mitigation offering, as well as deepening our commitment to and collaboration with Indigenous communities.”
IBI provides consulting services in building and landscape architecture, interiors, engineering, planning and urban design, and technology systems. The firm has 3,000 professionals across more than 60 offices globally.
“I am invigorated by the opportunity that this partnership represents to apply the principle of ‘Two-Eyed Seeing’ to enhance the relationships we have built with Indigenous communities in BC, and anticipate building across Canada,” said Ian Collings, managing principal of Teranis. “We see many inequities in the communities we operate in, and we believe that as part of IBI, we will be able to provide more holistic support by gaining access to the firm’s integrated professional service offering.”
IBI last year bought Cole Engineering, a Markham, ON-based civil engineering firm. The deal added approximately 180 people in Ontario.
