OUR STAKEHOLDERS AND HOW WE ENGAGE

We seek to make the world a better place through co-operation. We combine our data intelligence and ideas with our clients and many other stakeholders, sharing knowledge and expertise, working together to see exciting developments emerge. It is an integrated, open and collaborative approach which recognises that we are stronger together. Our main stakeholders are:

Clients

We work for private companies of all sizes, from multinationals to small and medium-sized enterprises. We work for national, regional and local governments across the world, as well as for international semi-governmental organisations, finance institutes, and not-for-profit organisations. 

Our clients’ overall satisfaction is an important indicator of our performance as a company and is measured, amongst others, via client satisfaction surveys on completion of a project.

Comments from clients who scored us 10 on overall project satisfaction include: 

Partners and associations

Our collaboration with partners and associations supports the active role we play at the forefront of key global trends.

Strategic partnerships

We are accelerating our ability to guide businesses in the digital transformation of assets. Our new Digital Business Line brings strategic digital consultancy and software solutions together for increased focus on implementing digital transformations to create value for clients across the world. It unites more than 250 digital experts, including our software development teams and colleagues from high-profile acquisitions including Lanner, Ambiental, Ynformed and, most recently, Novius. Our strong partnerships with leading engineering software providers, Autodesk and Bentley, assist developments in digital engineering across our business, providing support as we adapt and innovate in the way we work.

Increasing demand on mobility networks around the world requires fresh thinking, from strategic consultancy and digital services to technical engineering. This was a driver for joining forces with ITP, a sustainable transport planning consultancy. ITP’s strong track record, together with our complementary expertise in active travel, smart mobility, development planning and engineering, creates a team with the capabilities to intelligently address 21^st century mobility challenges.

Technology development partners

We are teaming up with captains of industry to bring in the innovative concept that is resulting in a revolution in bridge design and construction. This was started together with industry leader DSM Additive Manufacturing and moved to the next stage in 2020. We are working with the city of Rotterdam on a project to design and build a new circular composite footbridge for a city park. It will be the world’s first lightweight 3D-printed fibre reinforced footbridge and heralds the transition towards the next generation of bridges, offering high performance with extreme versatility, circularity and sustainability.

Networks and partnerships continue to be central to the growing number of installations of our revolutionary waste water technology Nereda^®, and to further innovation. The Nereda^® community now includes 13 licensees and five preferred suppliers and is active in research consortiums. Currently 84 Nereda^® plants are in operation or under construction worldwide which, on completion, will bring high-quality waste water treatment to more than 10 million people across 21 countries. Further developments connected to our Nereda^® technology are described in the Sustainable Management section.

Business partnership

Close partnership with clients in off-shore wind energy - including SSE and Vattenfall - has led to our role in delivering 12GW of consented capacity in the United Kingdom. Over the past decade, we have supported 20 projects from early stage feasibility through Environmental Impact Assessment and consent. Three projects under SSE leadership have reached financial close and are poised for construction. Vattenfall’s Norfolk Vanguard offshore Wind Farm has also been awarded permission to proceed to construction. A recent new offshore wind project at North Falls Offshore Wind Farm in the United Kingdom builds on a decade of success with SSE and RWE Renewables and will provide an important contribution to the ambitious target for offshore wind to power all homes in the United Kingdom by 2030. In the building arena, our insight and expertise in hospital and care home buildings is being shared through a business partnership with insurance cooperative Achmea to enhance the sustainability of its care and cure real estate.

Knowledge networks

Our links with knowledge institutes remain vital for the progress we are making in addressing the major challenges governments, businesses and individuals are facing. Our employees have contacts with more than 80 universities across the world. In 2020, we renewed our three-year memorandum of understanding with Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), one of the leading innovation ecosystems in Europe. The unique partnership supports our strategic ambition to invest in innovation and co-creation to deal with global challenges - like climate change, urbanisation & mobility, health & care, energy transition and digital society - and to bring innovations and technology developed by TU Delft to market. We will focus on collaboration in areas including: research and education; institutes and field labs for prototyping and testing, like the Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions, the Green Village and its Co-Creation Centre (opened in 2020); co-innovation initiatives, start ups and spin outs. Another partnership focused on entrepreneurship and innovation is with Yes!Delft, a tech incubator helping entrepreneurs to turn innovative ideas into successful businesses.

We are connected to networks in real estate, asset management, energy transition, structural design and the built environment through, for example, Eindhoven University of Technology, the Institute of Asset Management and De Bouwcampus – a non-profit network driving transition within replacement and renovation infrastructure and sustainable buildings. We are members of the Dutch Green Building Council and, in 2020, announced our commitment to its Paris Proof initiative for a sustainable built environment (more information appears in the Sustainable Management section). We are among the initiators of the Structural Safety knowledge portal which recognises the role played by various chain partners in safeguarding structural safety in construction projects, and are represented on the board of the foundation. We are the only private sector partner in the Netherlands Land Academy (LANDac) working on land governance for equitable and sustainable development, and are members of the social advisory board of the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development. We have a representative on the board of COB (Centrum voor Ondergronds Bouwen), the knowledge centre in the Netherlands for underground construction and use of space.

Associations across industries

We free up time and space to contribute ideas and experiences to achieve our vision to enhance society together. We do this by playing an active role in industry associations, attending conferences and collaborating on themes such as circularity and the energy transition.

Universal standards – at global, European and country levels – enable the exchange of data by the use of taxonomy and regulations, and are useful for benchmarking and analysis purposes. We contribute to standards in many of our markets. As chair of the Dutch Committee Structural Eurocodes 0 and 1 at NEN, a colleague is guiding the committee through the development of reliable and economic structures for buildings and other engineering works in Europe. We also contribute to standards through presence on the board of the Association of Structural Engineers in the Netherlands (VNconstructeurs) and Ketenstandard, a foundation that develops, manages and promotes standards for the construction, real estate, maintenance and installation chain. Other committee memberships include PACO (Performance Appraisal Cost Operation), Royal Netherlands Standardisation Institute (NEN) life cycle costing and the European Supply Chain Forum.

Our relationship with the industry-driven organisation buildingSMART, dedicated to open BIM and interoperability standards and processes, continues to develop. We are involved in the development of the digital twin agenda by leading the Digital Twin Working Group. We play a leading role in the end-user focused airport domain, ports and waterways, and participate in buildings, rail, and other infrastructure domains. We chair the buildingSMART chapter for the United Kingdom and Ireland. We are part of the MERGE European Network of Consulting Engineers collaborating to offer engineering design and advisory services to clients across borders.

The dialogue with the water sector in the Netherlands continued through 2020 with a set of Water Transition webinars. We also launched a webinar series on how Aquasuite’s virtual operator can help solve key challenges in water and waste water management. A client seminar organised at the start of the year on the role of anaerobic waste water treatment in industry included a keynote speaker from Delft University of Technology. Several webinars on the theme of healthy cities took place to aid understanding of nature-based solutions and their importance in urban areas, especially for developing climate resilient pathways and planning sustainable, resource efficient environments. We ran a webinar series on sustainable real estate, looking at strategy and solutions which extend beyond energy reduction.

Publication of the European Commission’s new Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability as part of the European Green Deal provides opportunities and challenges for producers and importers of chemicals and for other industrial sectors. We are providing our own interpretation of the various aspects of the strategy through discussion and comment in a series of blogs.

Shareholders

Koninklijke HaskoningDHV Groep B.V. has two shareholders: Stichting (Foundation) HaskoningDHV that holds all A-shares (representing at least 75.5% of the entire issued share capital) and Stichting Administratiekantoor (Trust Office) that holds all B-shares (representing 24.5% of the entire issued share capital at max) for which depositary receipts (certificates) have been issued which can be purchased by employees in various countries all over the world. Through these certificates, employees can share in the results of Royal HaskoningDHV. The certificate holders choose the board of the Trust Office HaskoningDHV. 

The Board of the Foundation consists of five members. One is appointed by (not out of) each of the Supervisory Board, the Executive Board and the Works Council. One member is appointed by and out of the depositary receipts holders. The fifth member is the Board’s chair and is an independent external individual appointed by the four other members.

The Board of the Trust Office manages the B-shares in Koninklijke HaskoningDHV Groep B.V. and issues and administers the depositary receipts for shares to eligible HaskoningDHV staff members. This board consists of three members and is appointed by and out of the depositary receipt holders. 

The annual Shareholder Meeting is attended by the Board Members of the Foundation HaskoningDHV, the Board Members of the Trust Office HaskoningDHV, the Supervisory Board, the Executive Board, the depository receipt holders and (on invitation of the Chairman) the representatives of the Works Council. This enables a dialogue between the Executive Board and various groups of stakeholders.

Suppliers

We have high standards when it comes to our suppliers and aim to develop lasting relationships with reliable partners. Our suppliers can expect clarity, transparency and honesty from us and, in turn, must comply with our Business Principles for our Partners and Suppliers.

Governments and International Institutions

We engage with governments and international institutions sharing insights, expertise and information to support the international trade and sustainability agenda. In 2020, opportunities to participate in trade missions, round tables and collaborative ventures were curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, some activities took place online. To mention one example, at a very early stage in the COVID-19 crisis, we joined a virtual meeting with the Netherlands Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management and other parties. The input contributed to the government’s shared vision to continue with the tendering programme and projects. It included the intention for projects to be started earlier, where possible, to boost the economy and efficiently use the temporary reduction in traffic.

Our CEO Erik Oostwegel was among more than 1,000 signatories of the CEO statement for renewed global cooperation developed by the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), reaffirming business support for international cooperation across borders, sectors and generations to adapt to changing circumstances. The statement was presented as part of commemorations for the UN’s 75^th anniversary. We have been committed to the UNGC since 2008. We joined celebrations of UN Day in October by emphasising the importance of contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals. The challenges the world faces, as captured in the goals, can only be tackled by working in partnership. We participated in a panel contributing to a discussion about the most recent Rebuilding Better Webinar of the Green Growth Knowledge Platform. The event was moderated by a director connected with the United Nations Environment Programme and explored the economic and social challenges around sustainable sand governance.

Communities

Communities are important stakeholders in many of our projects and we seek to make positive impact where we work. Our 3D visualisations and other digital tools are enhancing the ways in which we engage and connect with stakeholders, giving them more insight and understanding of plans. We also support the communities in which we work through individual and corporate initiatives to enhance society together. Information highlighting activities in the communities where we work appears in the Sustainable Management section.

Employees

We are a people company and the intelligence, innovation and passion of a diverse and inclusive workforce is at the heart of our success. In 2020, support for the health and wellbeing of our people throughout periods of working from home was an important focus. We also made progress on building skills needed to achieve our ambitions with the launch of new learning academies, new learning paths and a future leadership programme.