Samenvatting

The internship takes place in the department of technique Randstad, being involved in various projects related to the ground, infrastructure and water sector. Together with other public and private organizations Sweco agreed to work towards a sustainable sector by signing the Greendeal sustainable GWW 2.0. How to achieve this is the big question of which a small team within the department is tasked to figure out. This is the basis for the idea of the opportunity map, which summarizes possible (innovative) measures relevant for the projects execution, operation and end of life. Besides this the process side of the project is included to guarantee sustainability becomes a standard part of the project. The ambition is to make it ‘business as usual’ with this as background the following research question was formulated: How can environmental sustainability be improved within the services/products of the technical department of Sweco?

This research combines the perspective of the project leaders from within the department and their clients being in most cases municipalities. Aim is to gain insight about the current thoughts within the department and the public client circle of Sweco. A division is made between obstacles, which hamper the current implementation within projects. The ambition level within projects but also within the clients organization and identified sustainable themes in which opportunities may be found. The research is based on qualitative input derived from questionnaires held within the department and clients to identify the most relevant input for the map.

The results show a clear link between the traditional execution of projects and the interaction between client and engineering firms which form the obstacles for innovation. Leading are monetary based obstacles in which the available budget for the project is decisive, but also making accurate cost estimations proofs to be a challenge. The later one is also related to knowledge on what is available on the market and ways to innovate, as the majority of the respondents within the department indicate that they see no applicable measures.

It must be stated that sustainability is partly embedded in the day to day project tasks and that in most cases it is seen as ‘common sense’. But that attitude will not lead to the higher ambitions such as becoming climate neutral, circular and energy neutral as most municipalities have devoted themselves ‘on paper’ to those goals. Some are more advanced than others but none have clear policies regarding tender requests, translation specifically for the GWW projects and standard approaches for projects. There is more awareness being raised within most organizations for which the map may be useful.

The bases for the identified opportunities are derived from the vision city of the future and the literature study about environmental. The on theory based opportunities where reflected by the department based on relevance for the GWW sector to identify the key opportunities. Clear was that the department saw the most relevance in CO2 reduction and circular design. Indirect results where aspects such as heat stress and biodiversity as those are rarely mentioned in projects.

From the clients perspective it was more about how to realize it in the projects and what information was desired at what moments. In general there was less need on what is possible, something that within the department was clearly desired. Clients are more looking for ways to translate the sustainable possibilities into tenders and how the guarantee the realization.

The function of the map is clear, it will be used to support the conversation to translate the theory based applications into practical implementations into the project process. The map offers handles indicating what is from a sustainable point of view needed to realize the future ambitions and the possibilities are to realize it. But it requires action to be undertaken by the users of the map and the results derived from it cannot be taken for grantend. Succesfull results mean user must have a personal ambition towards sustainability. As sustainability is an ever changing topic with new methods, theories, tools etcetera there is need to update the map in the near future to maintain its relevance.