Arcadis highlights collaboration in environmental impact studies on green hydrogen

By Arcadis

Arcadis presented its fifth sustainability report at a meeting with industry and academic stakeholders. The report highlights the progress made by the Dutch company for the period 2023 and its future development plans.

Among the topics addressed at the event, Luis Soruco, BA Resilience Director Chile & Peru, referred to the energy transition and specified the challenges, saying: “In green hydrogen, we have capitalized on four decades of knowledge in a nascent industry. Our desire and expectation are to be able to make a change in how we relate to the environment through the way we develop projects,” he said, highlighting the work in renewable energies, compliance with environmental permits, and international standards.

In 2022, Arcadis declared its corporate policy on green hydrogen for the Chilean market, with which it aims to become a leading player in this emerging sector. In this context, during the last year, several environmental impact studies began for the production of the so-called “fuel of the future” in the northern part of the country. 

The document systematizes the company's work in 2023 and its performance in the area of sustainability. It also projects its main goals for 2024 with a clear focus on a positive future. Among the main aspects, it highlights the creation of an internal sustainability committee focused on deepening this topic in its projects and services for industries such as mining and energy.

Arcadis also highlighted the growing momentum of services and solutions focused on climate change adaptation and water management. Soruco stressed that, in this regard, they would continue to promote early engagement between interested parties to reach solutions at early stages, visualizing and increasing the resilience of strategic infrastructure and production systems to the effects of climate change.

The presentation of Arcadis Chile's fifth sustainability report took place in a webinar called “Decarbonization and Resilience in Industry in Chile,” which included talks by Rebeca Poleo, Director of Hydrogen Projects at Engie and President of H2 Chile; James McPhee, professor at the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Chile; and Alexander Fischer, global sustainability impact assessment manager at Arcadis.

Resilience in the face of crisis

At the corporate level, the local operation migrated in 2023 to a new business area within the multinational called “Resilience,” through which it deepened its “sustainability commitments” and its contribution to “projects and solutions for the most complex challenges facing humanity,” said Luis Soruco, BA director of Arcadis Chile-Peru.

The executive added that this process was carried out in a “harmonious, progressive and participatory” manner and will continue in 2024. The company also detailed its internal initiatives to reduce its carbon footprint (mainly through carpooling), volunteering, and promoting diversity in its workforce, which consists of 420 people in Chile.

On a global scale, Arcadis is present in 30 countries. In its 135 years in the market, it has executed 40,000 projects in design, engineering, digitalization, and consulting for natural and built assets. It currently has more than 36 thousand collaborators, and its vision aims to create long-term value for all stakeholders. In its 43 years in Chile, it has collaborated on more than 3,500 engineering projects and consulting studies.