Arcadis: Why Nature-Based Solutions Benefit Construction

As construction faces rising climate and biodiversity risks, Arcadis is putting nature-based solutions at the  project delivery. Global Subject Matter Expert for Nature and Biodiversity Daisy Hessenberger outlines how working with nature can cut carbon, build resilience and add community value.

From urban wetlands that treat wastewater in Belem, Brazil, ahead of COP30 to scalable rainwater re-use systems, Arcadis is translating science into practical design.

With experience across policy and disclosure frameworks, including TNFD and CSRD in partnership with WBCSD, Hessenberger shows how contractors and clients can integrate nature into the brief from day one to deliver measurable outcomes.

1. What are nature-based solutions? 

Put simply, nature-based solutions (NbS) are approaches that work with nature to address very human challenges. They are designed and implemented in a way that benefits both nature and communities, whatever challenge they are addressing from disaster risk reduction to human health. The type of NbS might vary but the question for each remains the same - how can we, by helping nature, help ourselves and vice-versa? 

The UN puts it a little less succinctly but much more accurately; NbS' are “actions to protect, conserve, restore, sustainably use and manage natural or modified terrestrial, freshwater, coastal and marine ecosystems, which address social, economic and environmental challenges effectively and adaptively, while simultaneously providing human well-being, ecosystem services and resilience and biodiversity benefits.” The very definition of NbS already signposts one of their unique attributes – their ability to provide additional economic, social and environmental benefits compared to traditional purely grey engineered solutions.

Read more here.

2. What are not nature-based solutions?

In the past many approaches have mistakenly been labelled as NbS. A simple distinction: NbS must benefit biodiversity. They only work by promoting the health of the ecosystems on whose services they depend. 

For example, nature-inspired solutions such as biomimicry, or nature-derived solutions such as biofuels - while important in addressing global challenges - do not inherently benefit nature itself. A marine wind farm, for instance, is a nature-derived solution to the energy transition, but unless it is also designed to restore surrounding oyster reefs, it would not meet the NbS criteria.

If NbS must benefit biodiversity, they must also do so at scale (this is to do with how natural systems operate). 

For example, a green roof in isolation is not an NbS. It might be designed to cool the building, however, unless it links to a greater ecosystem it is unlikely to provide biodiversity benefits. If features like green roofs are purposefully connected to broader ecosystem strategies or integrated into larger NbS frameworks, like Birmingham’s City of Nature Plan Arcadis consulted on, they can become valuable components of a holistic solution.

3. What do nature-based solutions look like in the sectors where Arcadis works?

Arcadis applies NbS to deliver sustainable, resilient outcomes in water management, infrastructure, urban development and energy sectors. Whatever the sector, NbS combine natural processes – like restoring wetlands and floodplains for flood management and water treatment – with engineered ‘grey’ infrastructure, creating greater value for clients. 

In cities, we manage urban heat, improve air quality and create recreational spaces by incorporating green infrastructure alongside the grey. Parks, green buildings, and sustainable drainage systems can be designed to support biodiversity as well as improving health and well-being for residents. 

These hybrid NbS approaches contribute to sector innovation, transform industry practices, and generate valuable data to strengthen the business case for future NbS.

Increasingly, NbS for Arcadis is recognizing nature as our strongest ally for protecting our client's infrastructure from damage and downtime. Along coastlines, using mangroves and living shorelines protects assets from storm surges while enhancing habitats and sequestering carbon. 

Across sectors, NbS deliver multiple benefits—such as wetlands that filter water upstream of treatment facilities while supporting stormwater management for highways— demonstrating how working with nature safeguards vital infrastructure and builds resilience regardless of the sector.

4. Can you share the impact of a recent nature-based solution that Arcadis has delivered? 

Our urban wetland solution for COP30 infrastructure in Belém, Brazil is an example of how working with nature can transform urban environments and provide additional benefits. 

In preparation for COP30, we partnered with local authorities to integrate advanced wetland technology directly into the city’s fabric. This resulted in the creation of 260,000 square meters of new green areas and the planting of more than 2,500 native trees. 

The innovative wetland system treats up to 118 cubic meters of sewage daily, using 10 native plant species to purify effluent on site. Beyond improving water quality, the wetlands reduce pollution and provide vital flood protection, making the city more resilient to climate impacts. Importantly, we designed these features to be multifunctional. 

They also create valuable public spaces for recreation, education, and community wellbeing. By harmonizing technology, ecological design, and urban planning, this project demonstrates that cities do not have to choose between progress and the planet. It stands as a living legacy for COP30 and a model for how NbS can deliver environmental, social, and economic benefits for communities.

5. Why are nature-based solutions critical in helping slow down and adapt to the impacts of climate change?

Both the UNFCCC and IPCC have acknowledged NbS as one of the top strategies for addressing our climate emergency. For mitigation, healthy ecosystems such as forests store substantial amounts of CO2. 

In the land-use sector alone, NbS could draw down around 10 Gt CO2 by. While this potential is still much smaller than what can be achieved through decarbonisation of the global economy, it is a significant contribution considering every fraction of a degree matters for humanity’s future. 

What makes NbS unique is that they address mitigation and adaptation at the same time. Restoring a wetland enhances carbon sequestration while protecting a local community for salt encroachment or flooding. 

The very approach of NbS, as defined in the IUCN Global Standard for NbS, is designed to account for climate change impacts, both for the communities and the ecosystems they rely upon. By integrating NbS, we not only address immediate climate risks but also build long-term resilience for people and the planet, making them a critical component of any effective climate strategy.

6. How do nature-based solutions benefit clients and communities?

By definition, NbS deliver economic, social and environmental benefits. In addressing a specific challenge, they can be designed to deliver substantial additional benefits for both clients and communities, with their value extending far beyond traditional infrastructure. 

For clients, NbS can provide cost-effective and resilient alternatives to conventional approaches, often reducing lifecycle costs through lower maintenance requirements, less downtime and improved asset durability. They also support regulatory compliance and enhance reputational value by visibly contributing to sustainability and climate goals. 

For communities, NbS improve quality of life by creating green spaces, enhancing air and water quality, and reducing risks from flooding, heatwaves, or other climate impacts. 

These solutions foster social well-being, encourage recreation, and often stimulate local economies through increased property values and tourism. By integrating natural processes into project design, NbS deliver co-benefits such as carbon sequestration, ecosystem restoration, and health improvements, creating long-term, sustainable value for our clients and communities. 

7. How does Arcadis ensure the long-term success of nature-based solutions projects, especially at a landscape scale?

We take an integrated systems approach to design effective NbS. Nature is complex and working with it can have unintended consequences, so the success of NbS relies on deep, site-specific ecological knowledge. 

At Arcadis, we combine the technical expertise of our ecologists with holistic planning and ongoing stewardship to ensure NbS deliver long-term value. Considering entire ecosystems in social and economic landscapes rather than isolated project sites, and collaborations across disciplines like ecology, hydrology, and engineering allow us to design solutions that function at scale. 

Technology is a key enabler in designing NbS. In Germany’s Donaumoos region, our digital modelling platform helped us develop and visualize targeted water management, ensuring this moorland continues to provide flood protection for local communities.

At Arcadis, we believe that “what gets measured, gets managed.” That is why we are embedding standardized, robust measurement frameworks into our key projects, tracking environmental, social, and economic outcomes with internationally recognized metrics. 

This data-driven approach enhances informed decision making to design effective and resilient solutions for our clients, embedding sustainability measures now that will deliver cost savings, and environmental and social enhancement across future decades.

8. What is the biggest challenge of implementing nature-based solutions, and how can it be overcome?

The biggest challenge for implementing NbS in our sectors is demonstrating and accounting for their full value. 

Unlike conventional “grey” infrastructure, the environmental, social, and economic benefits of NbS are often undervalued or overlooked, which can limit stakeholder buy-in and make funding harder to secure within traditional financial models. Complications to realising the value of NbS include land availability, uncertainty over long-term performance, and the need for ongoing maintenance and governance. 

Exacerbating this NbS operate on different timescales and spatial scales than engineered solutions. Success often depends on broader ecosystem health, not just individual sites (e.g., the water filtration capability of the wetland you have restored may depend on soil run off upstream).

To overcome these challenges, we need to collaborate across landscapes and ensure the value of NbS is accurately measured and accounted for.  A Natural Capital assessment for financial clients may help them focus their NbS activities while a biodiversity net gain assessment of a client's operational site can help to plan where NbS can give the greatest additional benefits to local communities. By integrating context-specific design, early measurement, and cross-sector partnerships, we can unlock funding, build broader support, and ensure NbS deliver what our clients and communities need – both now and for the future.

9. Where it is not yet possible to implement an NbS, what approach does Arcadis take to support their implementation in the future?

Where possible, Arcadis seeks to ensure that NbS are utilised to their fullest extent. In cases where it is not possible to implement a complete NbS, we implement targeted ecological interventions to maximize environmental benefits. 

This might look like ensuring that native species are used instead of ornamentals or incorporating pollinator habitats and nesting features into early designs. It might even look like an isolated green roof in an urban grey landscape or using green infrastructure for sustainable urban drainage solutions. 

These “nature-based units” act as important stepping stones, not yet acting at a scale big enough to be a NbS but rather parts of a puzzle which later could culminate in a NbS.

We aim to integrate nature-based thinking from the earliest planning stages regardless of whether a NbS is being implemented. And this approach is integrated with our other sustainability approaches on carbon, energy, water, circularity, and social impact. 

This allows us to develop strong business cases that quantify environmental, social, and economic benefits, and advocate for supportive policies and updated standards. NbS are one aspect to achieving a nature positive future by 2030 (in line with the UN global goal for Nature) and other holistic strategies such as circularity will be just as critical.

10. How is Arcadis driving the adoption of nature-based solutions globally?

Arcadis is recognized as a global leader in delivering NbS for sustainable development and climate adaptation. This started from our strong history of working in water management in the Netherlands. 

From designing world-class dikes and storm surge barriers to restoring wetlands and re-naturalizing river systems, our work here set the benchmark for integrating engineering and ecology.  

Our legacy continues as we work closely with clients, local authorities, and communities to co-create solutions tailored to local contexts, drawing on global best practices and our international knowledge network, to share innovation across markets. Drawing on our ecological expertise, our teams combine advanced scientific understanding with hands-on experience in ecosystem restoration, biodiversity enhancement, and sustainable landscape design. 

We advocate nature-based approaches in industry forums, and through key partnerships such as the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, where we helped develop the Nature-based Solutions Blueprint. We contribute to global and national policy discussions, invest in capacity building, and prioritise inclusive stakeholder engagement. 

By scaling NbS, Arcadis is helping clients and communities contribute directly to the global goal for nature, delivering measurable progress towards halting and reversing biodiversity loss by 2030.