ARCADIS
Defining impact in practice Mark’ s starting point was deceptively simple – define the fundamentals that every sustainable project should measure. Arcadis settled on five impact areas:
• Carbon Impact
• Nature Impact
• Water Impact
• Circularity Impact
• Social Impact
“ If we can get really clear on the baseline for those five impacts, we can have a much clearer discussion about how to improve outcomes,” Mark says.
Choosing those impacts was the result of extensive internal and external consultation. Arcadis drew on subject matter experts across the business, while reviewing major global frameworks for natural and built assets – from building certification schemes to infrastructure rating tools.
“ These five areas just kept coming up again and again,” Mark recalls.“ They consistently rose to the top when we looked at live projects and global frameworks.”
The decision was not without debate, however. There were discussions, for example, about whether climate should stand alone as a category, rather than being treated as an outcome of nature and decarbonisation.
58 March 2026