Global environmental consultancy contributing applied infrastructure and water management expertise to climate adaptation and water quality research consortia.
Arcadis is a major global design and consultancy firm specializing in natural and built environments — water management, environmental remediation, infrastructure resilience, and urban planning. In H2020, they contribute applied engineering expertise to research consortia working on climate adaptation, water quality, and sustainable urban design. Their role is typically translating scientific findings into practical solutions for cities, water utilities, and land managers. As a large consultancy with real-world project delivery experience, they bridge the gap between academic research and on-the-ground implementation.
RESIN focused on climate-resilient cities and infrastructure, while SOLOCLIM (their largest funded project) addressed outdoor climate adaptation through urban design, facade materials, and vegetation.
SUBSOL tackled coastal subsurface water solutions, and NEWAVE addressed next-generation water governance and policy change for sustainability.
P-TRAP explored diffuse phosphorus input to surface waters, covering removal, recycling, and management across soils, groundwater, and lakes.
Across RESIN, SUBSOL, and SOLOCLIM, Arcadis consistently provided consultancy expertise on making built environments more resilient to climate and water challenges.
In the early period (2015-2018), Arcadis focused on infrastructure-level challenges: climate resilience for cities (RESIN) and coastal subsurface water solutions (SUBSOL) — practical, engineering-heavy problems. From 2019 onward, their focus broadened to include environmental science topics like phosphorus cycling in water bodies (P-TRAP), urban microclimate design with vegetation and building materials (SOLOCLIM), and water governance policy (NEWAVE). This shift suggests a move from pure infrastructure consultancy toward deeper engagement with environmental quality and policy dimensions.
Arcadis is expanding from infrastructure engineering into environmental science and policy advisory roles, making them increasingly relevant for projects that need both technical implementation and governance expertise.
Arcadis consistently participates as a partner rather than leading consortia — zero coordinator roles across all five projects. With 58 unique partners across 14 countries, they work in large, diverse consortia typical of MSCA training networks and major RIA/IA projects. This pattern reflects a company that contributes specialized industry perspective to academic-led research rather than driving the research agenda itself — a reliable consortium member that adds applied credibility and end-user validation.
Arcadis has built a broad European network of 58 unique partners across 14 countries, reflecting its participation in large MSCA and RIA consortia. The Netherlands serves as home base, but their partner network spans widely across the EU.
Arcadis brings something rare to H2020 consortia: the perspective of a large-scale environmental consultancy that actually delivers infrastructure and water projects commercially. While universities provide theory and SMEs provide niche technologies, Arcadis offers real-world implementation experience and market knowledge of what cities and water utilities actually need. For consortium builders, they are a credible "demand-side" partner who can validate research outputs against industry practice and help translate findings into deployable solutions.
