“Greening yourself makes you credible”

Where do you stand on the road to net zero?

“We have already accomplished a lot internally. We were one of the first to electrify our entire lease fleet back in 2017 when electric cars had a range of only 162 kilometers (laughs). That helped us gain momentum because it gave us credibility. Since then, we’ve also addressed our operations, offices, and other forms of mobility, such as air travel. As an engineering and consultancy firm, I believe we have a duty to do this.”

What is the main driving force behind this?

“It’s our six thousand exceptionally well-educated employees with a strong desire for sustainability. They are our greatest asset. What they think of and discuss with clients drives acceleration. Our structure also plays a role. We are not publicly traded or owned by private equity. This allows us to work independently and freely on the transition. There’s more room for social impact, innovation, and professional autonomy than if we were governed by quarterly figures. The beauty of our model is the balance between commercial success and social impact. We call it steward-ownership, and this model is gaining more attention now. Hopefully, we inspire others with it.”

Do your clients generally share the same ambitions regarding climate, or is there a lot of debate?

“We prefer to work with clients who are ahead of the curve, and that’s often where we find ourselves. A great example is ARTIS. Director Rembrandt Sutorius was determined to make ARTIS climate-positive. I don’t envy you, with dozens of monumental buildings, aquariums, reptile enclosures, and the like. At ARTIS, the buildings have been made more sustainable according to our approach, which we call FastLane, and the remaining energy demand is now secure and CO₂ and emission-free.”

Do you take clients on a tour of the zoo now?

“Yes, we have done that.”

You also make large real estate portfolios more sustainable. How do you do that?

“Look, there are 150 types of measures you can take to make buildings sustainable. But if you are a municipality or an investor, you have limited time and money. You want quick insights into how to make progress regarding time, costs, and results. By combining data with our knowledge of buildings and installations, we have developed an approach that significantly accelerates the sustainability of large real estate portfolios.”
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Royal HaskoningDHV’s progressive clients also struggle with dilemmas, Hulshof acknowledges. For private parties, the biggest dilemma is usually whether there’s a business case for sustainability. “It’s very difficult to ask a company to make loss-making investments. That’s different from whether a business case can eventually work. You then try to find technical solutions together that make it feasible. Moreover, societal resistance creates dilemmas. Take CO2 storage: if you want to make a significant impact, that’s the method. But there’s a lot of debate about it, and our clients have to deal with that. Those are also two reasons they engage us: environmental permits and stakeholder management.”

What about the government—does it help accelerate sustainability?

“The government is one of our main clients. This includes Rijkswaterstaat, the Central Government Real Estate Agency, ministries, provinces, and municipalities. They are often launching customers, which makes them very influential in innovations. We are in an ecosystem with them and large market players, trying to innovate together. Many sustainability solutions require collaboration between private and public parties. Look at large interventions like CO2 storage. Governments can facilitate that significantly. At the same time, you see that the government and politics often struggle to provide clarity quickly. Take the interventions needed for the energy transition. Due to a lack of knowledge and capacity, as well as the fact that you’re doing things for the first time, obtaining a permit can often be a significant hurdle. I understand that. If you need to grant an environmental permit for something that doesn’t yet exist, what is the standard? We haven’t done CO2 storage on that scale yet. What is safe, and how do you prepare an environmental impact assessment?”

In terms of social involvement, you often need to lead clients, right? How do you ensure that?

“First, by setting a good example ourselves. Second, by fulfilling our mission, “enhancing society together”, as concretely as possible. To that end, we’ve developed a purpose matrix. The starting point is the seventeen sustainable development goals of the United Nations. We asked ourselves which of these we can influence. These are five areas: climate change, biodiversity & ecosystems, resources & circularity, social value & equality, and safety & well-being. We score all our proposals and projects based on that matrix. It’s a form of self-assessment that has been well-received within the organization. It makes it very concrete. What does my project contribute? And also: if I design wind turbines for the North Sea, what does that mean for biodiversity there? It also greatly aids discussions with clients. We’ve scored thousands of projects this way, allowing us to see how we perform in those areas. And it helps make choices.”

What are examples of difficult choices?

“Most of the discussion, both internally and externally, revolves around the speed of the transition. What projects do you still pursue, and which ones do you no longer engage in? For instance, will you still work on fossil fuel supply projects?”

Do you have clear answers on that?

“There are several projects we will not undertake. For example, we will not work on a coal-fired power plant on the Maasvlakte. But if you change the context and talk about a coal-fired power plant in South Africa in an area without electricity, you have a different discussion. Beyond clear yeses and noes, there’s a large gray area. That’s something we discuss a lot; it’s never static. Our order portfolio has changed drastically over the past ten years. We are truly leading in these types of developments.”

Do you dare to claim that you’ve helped accelerate the energy transition in the Netherlands?

”Yes, absolutely! With heart and soul. We have people with immense expertise who are passionately engaged in this, and it’s definitely benefiting the Netherlands.”

Can there be friction between accelerating social change and maintaining a stable work environment?

”There’s always a group that needs a bit more encouragement. But our engagement levels are incredibly high, around 83 percent. We score particularly well on engaged colleagues and trust in their own managers. People feel comfortable in their teams. That’s where the stability lies. As long as that exists, you can handle a lot. Because of that, we’ve navigated the crises of recent years, such as COVID-19 and the energy shortage, quite well. I’m convinced that our ownership structure contributes to that.”
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Engineering firms are also digitizing at a rapid pace. Currently, the introduction of AI is a hot topic. Royal HaskoningDHV has been working on this for some time. Hulshof sees AI as a potential accelerator of progress. “If you want to increase your societal impact, the speed and insight that AI provides can help. You can learn faster and unlock information that helps you take action.”

Is that the case in a 140-year-old company? That has built a strong tradition and culture. Isn’t embracing new technology more challenging?

“Of course, we’re structured differently than a scale-up with a few people in one room. We have 65 offices worldwide and a large number of nationalities. But I see tremendous willingness to experiment and interest among our people. It’s just a matter of facilitating teams in this.”

How have you done that?

“We put up a sign that says ‘No entry for ChatGPT’. The directive was: if you’re going to experiment with Royal HaskoningDHV data, do so in a Royal HaskoningDHV environment. We created a secure environment for this because our data doesn’t go out unprotected on the web. We’ve also offered workshops and training and shared best practices to help employees become familiar with AI and enjoy it. But at the same time, we’ve carefully monitored the process since we are a company that relies on independence and integrity.”

Besides making work processes faster and smarter, can you create new services and revenue models with it? Are you already doing that?

“Yes, especially in the mobility sector, where we are very active. We’re working on a network model called IVORY. With this, we integrate data science into traffic safety research and train a new generation of researchers to increase traffic safety. We also use AI in Flowtack, which has been on the market for some time. This system manages traffic flows via traffic lights, leading to faster movement in cities. It results in reduced emissions, fewer traffic jams, and increased safety. In Belgium, we are one of the market leaders, and we have dozens of clients in the Netherlands as well.”

Do you see any risks in implementing AI?

This is a phase of significant and rapid changes. How do you ensure that you bring employees along in this?

“The nature of our company contributes to that. Our people have a strong intrinsic motivation to make a positive impact and do things intelligently. Engineers quickly want things to go smarter and faster. We provide ample room for that, and they take it. We have a fairly autonomous population, which I appreciate. We also focus on this in leadership talks and management development programs. We appoint ambassadors within the group, organize learning weeks around best practices, measure how many digital tools are used in projects, etc. We are also actively bringing in people with different backgrounds, such as data scientists and enterprise architects. We have a significant influx of juniors, and they come with a different skill set than previous generations of engineers.”

Do you ask newcomers for different qualities, such as an entrepreneurial mindset?

“What we do is a mix of design, engineering, and consultancy. If you include master planning, half of the work is actually consultancy. It’s crucial that you truly understand what the client is dealing with, including their business and social challenges, both now and in the future. Therefore, we place great emphasis on client focus, account management, and consultancy skills. At Delft University of Technology, they refer to this as ‘the engineer in context’.”

Are you a true people manager?

“We are a people business; our people are the company. I worked for fifteen years as a consultant, tackling organizational and societal issues. Then, I was a “client” at the Ministry of Economic Affairs for five years. This position brings all those elements together. The combination of making a societal impact and working in, and on, a fascinating organization is something I truly enjoy.”

What do you consider essential qualities for a leader in this time of rapid change?

“That you ensure employees can shine optimally with clients. It’s about balancing giving space while simultaneously setting clear strategic lines. If I reflect on myself: I find it crucial to recognize people’s strengths and quickly provide them with support and a platform to do things I can’t (laughs).”

Can that create friction with business decisions?

“No. Caring for each other and for your clients goes hand in hand for me.”

Where do you see yourselves in five years?

“We are just starting on the strategy for 2030. Everything that can be automated, especially in design and engineering, will be automated by then. The expertise and human element will become increasingly important. Dutch engineering firms, including us, will be significantly influential in climate resilience. We anticipate growth in Asia, in countries like Vietnam and Indonesia, as well as in the Netherlands. Social impact is becoming increasingly important, so we are fully committed to that.”