Lowering Environmental Impact with Ground Improvement

Ground Improvement is not only the most cost-effective and reliable approach for densifying and reinforcing soils, but it has also proven to be an environmentally positive approach for treating and improving poor soil sites. We believe in a Less is More as a core principle in the way we work, but also when it comes to the environment, always working to lessen our impact in all that we do. 

Menard Canada’s ground improvement systems are designed to be environmentally sound alternatives to deep foundations and other approaches like destructive dig-and-replace methods that can negatively impact the surrounding environment. Instead, ground improvement by Menard Canada offers you low-impact, highly effective techniques for lessening the environmental effects of development and construction-related activities, all while supporting, reinforcing, and strengthening site soils for a range of structures.  All of our ground improvement solutions are environmentally sound approaches that avoid the creation of excess soils or other types of spoils, resulting in a significantly lower carbon footprint. 

  • Using Zero-Spoil Approaches: Avoiding Excess Soils
  • Lowering Our Carbon Footprint: Utilizing Low-Carbon Concrete
  • Treating Soils In-Situ: Lowering Environmental Disturbance 

  • Densify Soils
  • Stabilize Slopes
  • Prevent Liquefaction
  • Block Contaminants
  • Increase Bearing Capacity
  • Reduce Seepage

  • Engineered, Undocumented, and Hydraulic Fill
  • Course, Fine, and Highly Organic Soils
  • Sandy Soils
  • Clay Soils
  • Silty Soils
  • Peat and Organic Soils
  • Gravel
Less is more Menard - Menard commitment

At Menard Canada,
we have always worked to do more with less. 

This Less is More  approach originated from our founder, Louis Ménard, who invented the Pressuremeter. The Pressuremeter was a ground-breaking, yet simple geotechnical testing tool used to assess soil characteristics. As a result, the Pressuremeter required far less complex laboratory work than was needed in the past, and that truly revolutionized the future of geotechnical testing. 

It’s this Less is More  spirit that our founder had that we proudly carry on in all that we do as a company that proudly bears his name, legacy, and principles. The Pressuremeter is only one example of Louis’s approach to finding simple approaches to complex geotechnical challenges. His legacy of innovation, combined with simplicity, has continued throughout the many years that Menard has been in business. It’s these principles that are deeply engrained in all that we do.  

The introduction of highly effective yet elegantly simplistic techniques, such as our development of Dynamic Compaction, the Menard Vacuum™, and Controlled Modulus Columns (CMCs), all were born out of the same concept, that Less is More, with our three fundamental principles being: 

  • Use Fewer Materials & Resources 
  • Avoid Creating Excess Spoils  
  • Work to Simplify the Solution 

Because of these guiding principles, we can proudly say Less is More Menard! To us, it’s all about finding the best, most straightforward solution to a problem while using fewer resources and creating less waste. 

Menard Canada’s Environmental Policy  

Menard Canada believes that we have an important duty to care for and safeguard the environment in which we operate. We identify environmental protection as one of our most important guiding principles and a key component of good business practices and operations. We are wholly committed to providing quality ground improvement solutions in a manner that ensures that we effectively minimize our impact on the environment as a whole, lowering our carbon footprint throughout all of our operations. We continue to operate within and above compliance with both Federal and Provincial environmental guidelines and will consistently work towards using environmental best practices in all we do. We will: 

  1. Incorporate environmental concerns and impacts into all of our decision-making activities 
  2. Promote environmental awareness among all of our employees and will always encourage them to work in an environmentally responsible way  
  3. Train, educate, and inform all of our employees about any potential environmental issues that may affect their work 
  4. Reduce waste by initiating robust recycling programs, both within our offices and on-site 
  5. Purchase environmentally responsible products that have been selected based on specific criteria, including, toxicity, durability, use of recycled materials, reduced energy /water consumption, and ability to be recycled or refilled 

We encourage all of our business partners and members of the wider construction community to join us in this effort. If you have any questions about our environmental policies or want to learn more about how ground improvement can help lower the cost, risk, timelines, and carbon footprint of your next foundation project, contact us anytime at info@menardcanada.ca