AET Group Celebrates 25 Years of Sustainable Solutions

KITCHENER – AET Group Inc. (AET), a leading environmental consulting, auditing, and scientific services firm is celebrating its 25^th anniversary of serving the needs of our clients as a trusted partner for sustainable solutions.

Founded in May 1998, the company, then known as Associated Environmental Technologies (which was later renamed to AET Consultants Inc.), began with a mission to put construction and demolition organizations in compliance with waste regulations, reduce waste generation and increase waste diversion onsite through the development, implementation and monitoring of solid waste management programs.  As the new millennium began, the company pivoted from solely providing solid waste management consulting services to the construction and demolition sector to offering waste consulting and auditing services to municipalities and the industrial, commercial, and institutional sectors.

Merging and acquiring several other environmental consulting companies over the years has helped propel AET into a multi-disciplinary consulting, auditing and scientific services company.

In August of 2008, AET Consultants initiated a merger with Eco2 Systems, EcoServices and Integrated Green Building Concepts to form the AET Group.  The newly formed AET Group continued to maintain its place as a leading waste auditing and consulting company, while expanding it services to be a multi-disciplinary environmental company that provided professional and technical solutions in waste, environmental management, compliance, building sciences, energy and natural sciences.  This partnership enabled AET Group to provide a diverse range of environmental solutions that greatly enhanced the resources and technical expertise available to our clients while maintaining the high-quality level of service.

In January of 2012, AET completed the acquisition of Manitoba-based Earthbound Environmental, an environmental consulting firm specializing in providing integrated waste management services to both the public and private sectors including waste auditing and composition studies, recycling program design, integrated solid waste management, and product stewardship program design.

In June of 2015, AET acquired Exeter-based Kuzuka Ltd., an environmental consulting firm specializing in providing greenhouse gas (GHG) and sustainability solutions to both the public and private sectors across North America. AET’s service offerings thus expanded to include GHG inventory planning and implementation, GHG verification, carbon offset project development, sustainability planning, and sustainability data assurance.

In April of 2019, AET acquired London-based 2cg Inc., an environmental consulting firm focusing on waste management and circular economy planning with expertise in data collection and analysis, waste management planning, organic waste management, food waste management and reduction, waste permitting and communications.  This acquisition strengthened AET’s position as a leading waste auditing and consulting company in Canada, enhancing our ability to service our clients.

A proven track record and diverse range of innovative and sound solutions that allow any organization, regardless of type or size, to resolve their environmental issues effectively and efficiently has enabled AET to become a trusted partner for sustainable solutions, with over 1,000 projects completed across Canada, the United States, South America, Europe, Caribbean, and South Asia.

There’s a shared sustainability culture and philosophy among the staff at AET.  More and more people are attracted to working at a company known for its integrity and commitment to sustainability.  “We are the company we are because of the people that work here.  I’m truly humbled by our amazing staff.  Without them we wouldn’t exist,” says Scott Freiburger, AET Managing Director and CEO.

AET’s sustainability commitments, along with our strong focus on company culture and service excellence, has fostered many achievements, recognition and certifications including:

• Certified B Corporation
• Certified Ontario Living Wage Employer
• Kitchener Head Office Zero Carbon Building Certification
• Canada’s Greenest Employers for 5 consecutive years (2018-2023)
• Waterloo Area’s Top Employers for 5 consecutive years (2018-2023)
• Greater Kitchener Chamber of Commerce Environment and Sustainability Business Excellence (2022, 2012, 2009)
• Canada’s Top Small & Medium Employers (2022, 2021)
• Sustainable Waterloo Region Partner of the Year (2023)
• ECO Canada Top Employer Award (2018)
• Canada’s Fastest Growing Companies Growth List (2020, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014)

“Twenty-five years ago, AET was built on innovation and courage.  The company continued to grow because of our resilience, adaptability, and integrity, always putting service before sales,” says Scott.  “We have a prosperous and innovative legacy to be proud of and are grateful for the hard work and dedication of our employees and the support of our loyal clients, some of whom have been with us for 2 decades.  It’s an honour to work alongside such an intelligent, passionate and driven team of professionals, and I can’t wait to see what the future brings.”

About AET Group

AET Group is an environmental consultancy firm committed to our ecological, financial and social responsibilities, working together collaboratively to find innovative sustainable solutions that work.   Our foundation is simple: we are human beings working with other human beings to make a positive environmental impact both locally and globally.  AET Group is a multi-disciplinary environmental consulting, auditing and scientific services company providing professional services in the following core service areas: Air, Audits, Building Sciences, Compliance, Energy, Greenhouse Gases, Home Flood Protection, Management Systems, Mitigation, Sustainability, Waste and Water.