Insights

For ordinary citizens like us, “saving the world” sounds like a tall order.

With the magnitude of the impact of climate change, it can be easy to feel helpless, even hopeless. Even so, we are not entirely without power. Though our impact may be small on our own, if there are hundreds, thousands, and millions of us doing our part, that “small” impact multiplies and strengthens.

Sustainability Awareness

In the spirit of empowerment and collective action, we launched our Sustainability Awareness initiative at Arcadis Gen. We reached out to everyone in our organization to come together and channel their passion for sustainability into meaningful, productive actions they can take in their everyday lives.

We have a group of passionate Sustainability Citizens who do three main things: represent Gen in sustainability initiatives across the wider Arcadis business; formally come together once a month to discuss relevant issues and our sustainability challenges for the month (more on this later); help each other live more sustainable lifestyles by sharing resources, advice and feedback, and supporting and encouraging one another in our respective sustainability journeys.

Community is a core part of this initiative. We recognize that we need collective and dedicated action to save our planet and tackle the issue of climate change.

Sustainability Challenge and Tignum

In 2021 we started with setting 30 tasks for everyone to complete within the year to improve their awareness of sustainability and environmental issues, and to develop small and new, but important habits to live a more sustainable lifestyle.

Since then, we have issued and completed hundreds of small and big sustainability challenges. From completing training modules on our internal sustainability training programs, to switching to more environmental modes of transportation, to even growing our own vegetables. Through these challenges, our people found the consistency and community they needed to do their part in protecting the environment.

To further support our Gen community, we have also partnered with sustainable human performance coach, Tignum, to boost resiliency, energy and healthy practices of our people, who are our most important asset. Through Tignum, we introduced the Sustained Human Performance program, which aims to optimize the way Gen people manage their day and work to be as productive and meaningful, without compromising their health and personal wellbeing.

Driving Sustainable Impact

In as much as we believe in people’s initiatives, we also understand that true change must be systemic.

At Gen, we recognize the value of culture. Culture correlates to performance, and fostering a healthy organizational culture is key to successfully adapting to the challenges and changes of the world. More importantly, our culture aligns with our purpose and connects to our values: to unlock the power of data for a more sustainable, efficient and resilient world.

One tangible way we strive to nurture the culture in Arcadis Gen is by aligning with the standards of a B Corporation. Organizations certified by B Lab, a non-profit global network, are considered as “leaders in the global movement for an inclusive, equitable, and regenerative economy”, measured for the entirety of their social and environmental impact.

To align ourselves with the values and practices of a B Corp Certified organization, Arcadis Gen must “walk the talk”. Our commitment to sustainability is holistic; as we encourage and support our people to live more sustainable lifestyles, we also adjust our business operations accordingly.

Conclusion

Arcadis Gen is still at the beginning of its sustainability journey, but we have big ambitions, which will allow us to support a more sustainable future. We are bolstered by our community of people who are committed to the same goals as we are.

For all that we have achieved so far, there is so much more we would still like to do. We have only one Earth. With our small, but collective actions, guided by our community of sustainable citizens, standards and commitments we will grow and iterate so our actions continue to improve and keep in step with trends to making the world a more sustainable, efficient and resilient place.

Arcadis Gen is a global community united by a clear purpose and strong values. We have embedded sustainability in our DNA and we will continue to operate and work in a way that reflects and upholds these values.