Climate Risk Meets Engineering Solutions at Fuss & O'Neill

Climate change is expected to have massive impacts on U.S. infrastructure. The numbers tell a jarring story: the frequency of U.S. floods causing over $1 billion in damages has risen 216% since the 1980s—from an average of 0.6 events per year to 1.9 annually between 2015 and 2024.

For engineering firms, this isn’t an abstract trend. It’s a fundamental shift in what clients need. Fuss & O’Neill, Trilon Group’s engineering services firm based in New England, has been focused on meeting the moment for its clients. “Over the last several years, we’ve seen a spike in demand from public and private clients as they navigate climate-related challenges. In fact, we estimate that over 50% of our water and natural resources work relates to climate change resilience in some form or fashion,” says Diane Mas, Fuss & O’Neill’s Chief Resilience and Sustainability Officer.

As climate change reshapes what clients need, Fuss & O’Neill engineers have found themselves well-positioned to respond, working with communities ranging from small towns needing cooling centers to statewide vulnerability assessments. Climate-related projects are also highly interdisciplinary: a single sea-level rise project might require coastal engineers, environmental scientists, and finance teams navigating state and federal grant applications. To serve this complexity, Fuss & O’Neill launched a dedicated Resilience Market Leader position in 2026 as a one-stop shop for clients. “We are engineers who understand sustainability, rather than sustainability consultants who know something about engineering,” explains Mas.

The Resilient Fair Haven Project Illustrates the Group in Action

Fuss & O’Neill worked with the peninsula community of Fair Haven in New Haven, Connecticut, to identify solutions to multiple climate-related challenges, from sea level rise and flooding, to heat and extreme weather. The community is densely populated and has several vulnerable communities.

The team looked for co-benefits where a single solution could address multiple problems simultaneously. For example, one intervention the team recommended involves converting the adjacent surface parking lot into a naturalized, floodable area. This has the potential to produce not only increased flood storage volume, but also enhanced habitat, waterfront accessibility during extreme heat events, and new public open space.

Looking Ahead

Fuss & O’Neill also aims to improve its own sustainability through its corporate initiatives. Mas leads internal corporate sustainability as well as sustainability-related client projects for the firm. Under her leadership, the firm set a science-based target to reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions and is identifying reduction opportunities through fleet electrification and renewable energy procurement. They have also established sustainability committees at each of the firm’s office locations. Mas also leads efforts within Trilon Group’s Partner Business Sustainability Council, sharing learnings across Trilon’s other partner companies.

“I’m incredibly proud of the work we are doing. I’m excited to continue helping our clients—and our own organization—navigate and respond to the challenges of climate change.”                                                                                

—Diane Mas, Chief Resilience and Sustainability Officer, Fuss & O’Neill

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