Triton Environmental Consultants

January 2, 2025

Triton Environmental Consultants

Building Relationships and Supporting Environmental Stewardship

Possessing the Expertise and expanding to meet the demand in a lucrative sector

Triton Environmental Consultants Ltd. has been a trusted partner in environmental solutions since 1989. Originally founded in British Columbia, the company has steadily expanded across Canada, with operations now in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, and Nova Scotia. Known for its deep community connections, Triton is recognized for its expertise in relationship-building, commitment to sustainable environmental practices, and ability to deliver results.

“We are a full service environmental company, dealing primarily in the oil and gas, mining, energy and construction sectors” expands Ian Emerson, Director of Client and Business Development. “Our services range from pre-construction permitting through construction environmental monitoring and compliance, as well as post construction monitoring and reclamation of development areas.”

Expanding into Saskatchewan

Emerson continues, “Triton has been around for 30 years, and we’ve always worked with clients on big infrastructure projects related to energy and mining. We’ve never really just worked in one sector. There’s always been ebbs and flows.”

With a strong foundation in British Columbia and over 15 years of work in Alberta’s oil sands, major energy developments, and the transportation sector, the company has recently expanded into Saskatchewan. Triton has been operating in the province for just three years but has already made a significant impact, supporting uranium decommissioning projects and conducting fish salvage and monitoring for northern infrastructure development. While Triton is involved in highway and infrastructure sectors, the province’s economy is deeply rooted in its natural resources. Adrian Olenick, Operations Manager for Triton’s Saskatchewan operation, highlights, “In Saskatchewan, energy is one of our major industries. I’d say it’s probably second only to mining as far as project revenue in the province. So, it makes up a significant part of Triton’s business.” He notes that utility gas pipelines, and power transmission lines are also part of the energy sector. However, mining remains the leading economic driver for Triton. “Saskatchewan is, by nature, an export province. Everything we do here has some foundation in a final export,” Olenick adds.

Adapting to Industry Trends and Expanding Opportunities

Triton Environmental Consultants continuously adapts to shifting industry trends, staying ahead of emerging opportunities. Emerson points to the rising importance of mining and power in the context of green technologies and electrification. “We’re seeing a big push, an uptick in mining,” he says, noting the increased demand for precious minerals and uranium, which are essential for supporting nuclear energy and advanced technologies. “If you want to build mines, you need power. So, there’s a lot of push on power and electrification, and green technology is always at play with investors as well.” Along with this, he acknowledges the ongoing need for natural gas, specifically as the demand for LNG continues to increase. “And then there will always be a big push for transportation and growing infrastructure,” Emerson portrays.

Olenick mentions the interconnectedness of industries, detailing how shifts in energy and electrification trends are driving demand for mining. “We might be seeing a gradual decline, eventually, in the energy side,” he explains. “But alongside the electrification trend and the potential shift toward nuclear power, the mining sector becomes all that more important, whether it be uranium exports for power or getting into those rare earth minerals and lithium for the batteries and technology you’re going to need going forward.”

In addition to mining and power, Emerson identifies growing opportunities in infrastructure maintenance and contaminated site services. “As they build more and more pipelines, roads, and transmission lines, the volume of maintenance services and operational services to keep all this infrastructure intact also provides a lot of business for us, with repeat relationships with clients,” he relays.

Building Trust and Relationships

At Triton, cultivating and maintaining strong client relationships is at the heart of the company’s success. “A lot of our business falls into that top 10-20 clients that stem from long-term relationships,” Emerson depicts, sharing that while there are occasional one-off projects, the majority of Triton’s work is repeat business with trusted clients, adapting to meet their evolving needs.

Echoing Emerson’s views, Olenick remarks on the collaborative nature of Triton’s work. “In our industry, we actually get very few transactional projects because of the types of services that we offer,” he states. “We’re providing pragmatic solutions for our clients. It moves us to build that relationship of trust where we are presenting our proposals and our solutions for their projects, that in the end, our most successful projects are based on our most successful relationships.”

Emerson describes a trend in the industry, where advisors and project leaders frequently move between companies. “You might have worked with them under one owner name, and then three years later, they’re leading a major project for another mine or energy project,” he illustrates. “It’s a very relationship based industry.”

Triton’s Mining and Infrastructure Projects

Triton is involved in numerous high-profile mining and infrastructure projects across Canada, spanning from the Canadian oil sands to metallurgical coal mines in southeast British Columbia and Alberta, and a large mine remediation project in the Northwest Territories.

Notable mining endeavors include support for major initiatives on a variety of minerals in BC, Saskatchewan, Yukon, Northwest Territory and Nunavut. “So, lots of coal, lots of copper, gold, lots of precious minerals in the north are being looked at,” details Emerson. “We don’t really discriminate, because it’s all essential for business and for global needs, for sure.” He suggests that Triton’s environmental expertise is highly transferable across regions, adding, “The environmental requirements are all very similar. We really focus on fish, aquatics, wildlife, and terrestrial elements, which makes our work adaptable to different jurisdictions.”

In addition to mining, Triton has played a key role in major energy infrastructure projects. These large-scale projects emphasize indigenous partnerships and long-term relationships with local communities. “When you’re building these huge projects, there’s a lot of community and Indigenous considerations,” Emerson asserts. “One of the things that’s always set Triton apart is that local connection to the projects, the infrastructure, the economy that’s so important for those communities.” He stresses the importance of the longstanding iIndigenous partnerships that are a major part of the environmental work that Triton does, which he says, “are essential to any project development.”

Success Through Integrity

When asked about their personal definitions of success, Olenick and Emerson both refer to the value of integrity and relationships. “It literally is a small world. And I think a tip for growth is to treat everyone with respect and trust, because there are so many interconnections,” Olenick conveys. “In terms of growth here, relationship building is our primary approach to business development, and I think that is what’s going to pay dividends.”

For Emerson, continued progress hinges on integrity and delivering on promises. “Being a good service provider really comes down to your integrity for the work you do,” he imparts. “That key to success is building those long standing relationships with clients. You build a reputable business in the community, where people respect the work that you do, and they’re going to keep coming back to you.”

Looking Ahead

As Triton continues to grow its presence in Saskatchewan, a focus on environmental stewardship, community engagement, and relationship-building remain top of mind. Olenick summarizes, “We really see the mining sector on the verge of a substantial boom as the world proceeds towards electrification. We think that those exports coming out of northern Saskatchewan are going to be a big area of growth for us. In order for us to be successful by our definition, it’s going to be really important to us to forge ahead with some meaningful Indigenous partnerships so that the communities in the north are able to build capacity and participate to the full extent as well.”

From a corporate standpoint Emerson sees continued growth in mining, power and electrification, and gas sectors, as well as contamination sites and transportation. “So, we’re just going to continue to build relationships and inroads with those clients and projects and keep maintaining our relationships with existing clients,” he concludes. “It’s worked well for us, and we’ll continue doing that.”