STRATEGIES
“ I WOULD HOPE THAT THE C-SUITE IS MORE ACTIVELY AND VOCALLY COMMUNICATING WITH MUNICIPAL AND NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS ”
ALEXIS OLANS HAASS CHIEF SUSTAINABILITY OFFICER , ARCADIS
Savvy businesses are already aware that this transformation is underway , and how it may benefit them . The only question is what role businesses could and should play in helping bring it about . What could they do to align their commercial , sustainability , and built environment strategies to ensure the right city developments are done the right way at the right time .
Take the example given by Alexis Haass , the Chief Sustainability Officer
at Arcadis . The Dutch global design and engineering firm is actively embedded in the infrastructure conversation . Haass describes a scenario whereby communication between corporates , and local and national authorities , is crucial to determine the commercial success of a strategy , such as electric vehicle ( EV ) fleet adoption .
“ EVs , especially at the fleet level , can provide significant lifetime savings for their owners , and the cost curve on electric vehicles is continuing to rapidly decline ,” says Haass . “ So from a company ’ s investment standpoint , the transition to EV fleets is inevitable – however a significant variable in determining their immediate payback is the availability and intelligence of the grid infrastructure , along with the distribution and availability of charging points .”
Delays in governmental action to deliver much-needed charging infrastructure , or the technologies to smartly allocate energy across vehicles and fleets will only result in over-stressed energy networks in cities later down the line . sustainabilitymag . com 123