Stakeholders

Top management provides and assures our strategic direction, leadership, and vision, while our employee community contributes with expert skills, knowledge, and dedication delivering services to clients. It pays specific attention to employee groups. New employees bring fresh perspectives, diverse skills, and new generational insights for us to address. Top management also regularly aligns with YOUNG Royal HaskoningDHV, an internal youth board comprising employees up to the age of 35. For a broader perspective it connects with general representative bodies such as our Works Council and Pension Fund in the Netherlands. The Works Council covers the interests of current employees, and the Pension Fund includes those of former and retired employees too.

Clients are primary stakeholders as they directly engage with our products and services. Their needs, satisfaction and feedback directly influence business success and are vital in safeguarding and shaping the continuity of our business. Engaging with our clients’ management and sustainability teams ensures alignment with their goals and values, fostering stronger partnerships and mutually beneficial outcomes.

These are organisations representing specific industries or causes, advocating for sustainability policies, practices and other causes that align with our company’s goals. We collaborate with industry associations and advocacy groups to strengthen our collective efforts towards setting common goals and promoting industry-wide (sustainability) standards. This way, we contribute to the overall growth and development of the industry. Collaboration with NGOs (including our own charity, BRiTE) provides us with diverse perspectives, expertise, and resources for addressing today’s complex challenges in knowledge creation, problem-solving, reputation enhancement, early access to trends, promoting responsible innovation, and contributing to societal challenges.

These are suppliers providing goods or services related to human resources, corporate services, office space and equipment, information technology, marketing, sales, and finance functions of our company. We promote strong relationships with our suppliers to mitigate risks, gain competitive advantages, support local economies, and jointly make sustainable choices in sourcing.

These are external parties who provide additional resources, skills, or services for specific projects. We engage with contractors and subcontractors on a project-by-project basis to evaluate future business relationships. For strategic partnerships, we establish a common way of working through MoUs and interactions on a Board level, depending on the relationship. Their contribution in project execution, cost management, quality control, supply chain management, and innovation plays a critical role in delivering projects effectively, maintaining a positive reputation, and achieving long-term growth.

These are entities and organisations that monitor and enforce environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards and regulations, financial and tax authorities as well as regulatory and compliance bodies ensuring adherence to relevant laws and regulations. Their oversight and guidance help us mitigate risks, drive innovation, and build trust. We also have a direct relationship with financial and tax authorities through our Finance department.

Collaboration with research institutions and experts enhances and supports knowledge exchange, innovation, problem-solving, talent acquisition, reputation, and credibility in sustainability efforts. We collaborate with academia on projects, on research related to our Water Technology business and our people combine their role at Royal HaskoningDHV with teaching in academia.

Being the natural surroundings and ecological systems that can be affected by our company's operations and decisions as well as the advice we provide our clients. We emphasise the importance of environmental sustainability in our projects by using the Purpose Matrix. We support governmental institutions in environmental policy development and execution. This involves making choices that ensure an equal, if not better, way of life for future generations. To fulfil our purpose to ethically serve all our stakeholders, it is crucial to extend this inclusivity to the environment and biodiversity.

That is the broader community and the general public influenced, directly or indirectly, by the activities, decisions, and impacts of our company. It encompasses diverse demographic, cultural, and economic stakeholders. The interests of society as a whole include considerations for ethical business practices, corporate social responsibility, and the overall societal impact of our operations. Society is at the core of our business purpose. It is about understanding our company’s impacts on society; and actively seeking to mitigate the negative impacts while enhancing the positive ones. The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), made specific for our business in the Purpose Matrix, are our guiding framework.