Building For The Future

Think of the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building. Or High Speed 2, Europe’s biggest rail project. Then there’s the Grand Paris Express, France’s vast new metro, and Brisbane 2032, an Olympic plan built for legacy. What ties them all together? Beyond their scale and ambition, they represent the kind of future-facing projects that are redefining how cities grow — and Arcadis has been at the heart of them all.

Every day, the demands on cities, infrastructure, and the environment grow more complex — driven by expanding populations, tightening climate targets, and accelerating digital expectations. These shifts are already changing how Arcadis' markets operate after more than 140 years in business.

With deep expertise in urban development, sustainable design, environmental consultancy, and infrastructure, Arcadis is evolving how it works to stay relevant — building on a legacy of delivering some of the most ambitious and globally significant infrastructure programmes. Over the years, it has played a leading role in some of the world’s most ambitious infrastructure and urban development programmes — from urban rail in the UK and France to Olympic-scale masterplanning in Australia and water system upgrades in Brazil. These projects build on the same legacy introduced above — high-impact, technically complex programmes that shape the cities of tomorrow.

These projects reflect the kinds of challenges that are now standard across Arcadis’ markets — where rapid urbanisation, climate stress, and rising expectations demand more integrated, future-ready solutions.

Urban Growth Is Accelerating — And Stretching Infrastructure to the Limit

By 2050, nearly 70% of the world’s population will live in urban areas, up from 56% today, according to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. That equates to an additional 2.5 billion people living in cities — all requiring housing, transport, clean water, energy, and public services.
For organisations operating in infrastructure and the built environment, this means two things:

• Demand is skyrocketing.
• Traditional delivery models are no longer sufficient to meet these demands.

Arcadis is right in the middle of this pressure zone. Their clients — governments, city authorities, developers — increasingly expect integrated solutions that improve how cities function and support long-term sustainability.

Sustainability Has Shifted from Aspiration to Obligation

Climate change has become a day-to-day operational factor for many organisations. In Arcadis’ core sectors — mobility, buildings, water systems, energy — clients now expect:

• Low- or zero-carbon project delivery
• Transparent carbon tracking and reporting
• Nature-based, climate-resilient infrastructure

Regulations are reinforcing this. From the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which mandates detailed climate disclosures and broader Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) reporting for thousands of companies, to local procurement frameworks that weight ESG criteria in tenders, sustainability is now part of the contract.

Arcadis is responding by embedding sustainability at every level — from design choices and material selection to delivery methods and post-project monitoring. Sustainability is now built into how value is planned, delivered, and measured.

Digital Acceleration

Digital tools are fundamentally changing how infrastructure is delivered and managed. Clients want:

• Real-time updates and dashboards
• Predictive models for maintenance and performance
• Building Information Modelling integration and digital twins
• Automation that shortens timelines and reduces risk

Arcadis is adapting to meet these new expectations. By adopting AI-powered automation, self-service platforms, and data-backed performance tracking, they’re building the foundations for faster delivery, improved service quality, and more transparent outcomes.

AI Is Powering Smarter Service Management

One of the more powerful changes in Arcadis’ operating model is the use of AI to streamline internal processes and improve service responsiveness. Through structured automation, Arcadis has significantly reduced manual tasks across service requests, approvals, and reporting.

What used to be handled inconsistently across teams is now tracked, automated, and continuously improved — helping Arcadis maintain high service standards while staying agile in how they deliver support across global teams.

It’s a shift from fragmented workflows to a continuous service improvement model, underpinned by data.

A Legacy Rebuilt for the Future

Arcadis is building a modern, adaptable platform that supports how organisations operate today. It integrates service management into delivery, applies AI to reduce friction and improve responsiveness, and treats sustainability as a core delivery principle. This marks a clear shift from a traditional project delivery mindset to one focused on long-term outcomes, agility, and performance.

Learn more: Operational Efficiencies & Productivity