CCE’s Top 10 Under 40: Jennifer Routhier

Photo courtesy AECOM.

This year, for the third time, Canadian Consulting Engineer launched an initiative to recognize up-and-coming consulting engineers across the country. We are now showcasing them on our website, in alphabetical order by surname.

Jennifer Routhier, 34, is AECOM’s decarbonization lead, overseeing greenhouse gas (GHG) quantification and reduction strategy for all business sectors in Canada. Based in Mississauga, Ont., she is a certified EnVision Sustainability Professional (ENV SP) through the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI) and life-cycle carbon modelling practitioner through AECOM’s own Innovation Laboratory (iLAB).

“I am grateful to be pursuing a career at the forefront of innovation for decarbonizing our planet,” she says. “Carbon has become a critical performance metric. Implementing technical, solution-driven and realistic change is not just a possibility, but a necessity—and engineering will play a pivotal role in this transformation.”

Growing up, Routhier was inspired by the example of engineers in her family, including her brother and some of her cousins.

“Engineering was top-of-mind as I was entering high school,” she recalls. “I was always good at science and math and enjoyed problem solving. It was a natural choice.”

After earning her degree in chemical process engineering from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont., where her thesis was on sustainable fuel cell design using alternative fuels from wastewater processing, Routhier worked for Genivar/WSP as an environmental consultant and for Trinity Consultants as an environmental air quality consultant, before joining AECOM in 2016.

“What drew me to consulting engineering is the element of change,” she says. “It’s always fresh, new and exciting. Every project is different and every client is different.”

One of her most ambitious projects has been a GHG reduction and net-zero program for Toronto Pearson International Airport, which will help advance sustainability efforts within the aviation sector.

“She has not only defined the program and managed the team on all technical aspects, but also advised on new technologies yet to be deployed in the sector,” says Justin Trevan, regional strategy and growth lead at AECOM. “I doubt there is a more technically skilled, innovative engineer solving bigger problems in Canadian aviation than Jennifer right now.”