Sheryl Owen

Sheryl Owen is the founder and CEO of Surrounded by Opportunities. She created this company out of her passion for creating a sustainable environment where everyone can thrive. With her background in civil engineering and experience in the construction and architecture industries, she has first-hand experience in the processes required for the successful implementation and execution of ambitious climate action goals. She not only helps clients meet their contractual sustainability goals but also serves as a resource to understand carbon reduction techniques and carbon tracking for the Carbon Disclosure Project. She is a member of Corenet NYC Sustainability Committee where she is spearheading an initiative to help the commercial real estate sector understand the importance of articulating their internal sustainability goals to the AEC community. Sheryl’s mission as a sustainability professional is to demonstrate the gaps that exist between company goals, project goals and the people it impacts. Sheryl received her Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering.

Recently helped a client understand how a new building can support their community and their interaction with their supply chain. I helped create a roadmap about how to align their new project with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), specifically SDG 12, SDG 13 and SDG 17. I completed a breakdown of the environmental and social benefits to each strategy presented to the project leadership team. Created an outline of the governance structure that would be required to execute internally. Reviewed publicly available CSR goals and created projections of how the strategies can reduce their GHG emissions. Including conversion of company owned vehicles on-site to electric vehicles at the end of the vehicles life, implementation of composting program, and on-site PV system.