GHD Digital’s Global Director of Digital Intelligence: Driving Sustainability through Data-Driven Engineering

Dr. Nipa Basu is the Global and North American Practice Director for Digital Intelligence at GHD Digital, a global environmental, design, and construction engineering firm with a 94-year history and 10,000 employees. Based in Irvine, California, GHD has historically focused on geographic information systems (GIS) and data management (DM), but expanded five years ago to include a data science and artificial intelligence (AI) group led by Dr. Basu.

As an economist with a strong background in data science and statistics, Dr. Basu oversees a team of 100 professionals in various data-related areas. During the interview, she highlighted the differences between D&B and GHD, noting that engineering firms like GHD require a different approach due to their focus on engineering services.

While engineering firms are still catching up on their digitization journey, they have a unique advantage in understanding the environmental and sustainability needs of their clients. GHD is at the forefront of corporate sustainability efforts, providing valuable insights into environmental, social, and governance (ESG) improvements. Dr. Basu emphasized the importance of data collection, quality, sharing, and real-time analytics to drive industry benchmarking and progress.

The experiences shared by Dr. Basu are not only insightful but also encouraging for the future of digital intelligence and data science in engineering firms like GHD. With a focus on harnessing the power of data, Dr. Basu and her team are paving the way for industry-wide advancements in ESG practices.