On April 26, AmCham and its Sustainability & Innovation Committee hosted a company visit to Deltares, where Toon Segeren from Deltares, Arjan El Fassed of Google and Piet Dircke of Arcadis talked with moderator Jenny Davis-Peccoud of Bain & Co. about the role of technology and innovation in adaptation and mitigation of water-related climate risks.
Toon Segeren, Director Deltares International / Director Marine and Coastal Systems at Deltares provided insights into the different types of water-related challenges we face and future solutions for mitigating both floods and droughts. He emphasized the importance of integrating landscape reorganization and effective storage solutions to manage various water risks in the Netherlands and worldwide. The success of these solutions is closely linked to a country’s knowledge of its own water risks.
Arjan el Fassed, Head of Public Policy & Government Relations at Google shared the company’s vision on sustainability. He gave an example of how Google deploys water to minimize energy usage and cool data centres. In Finland, the company has gone a step further by utilizing seawater to cool its data centre. Google is also partnering to make global water data available for better monitoring.
Piet Dircke, Global Director Climate Adaption at Arcadis highlighted innovative solutions for making coast lines more resilient and constructing dikes. He explained that each coastal village in the Netherlands has developed its own unique approach to managing water and implementing tailored solutions. The town of Katwijk, for example, has constructed its own parking garage with flood control measures. As an engineering company, Arcadis strives to achieve the ideal fit for constructing a protective barrier, where possible incorporating nature-based solutions.
The afternoon was concluded with a tour of the Deltares research facilities by Toon Segeren and Antonio Moreno Rodenas – an absolute highlight for the participants.
AmCham cordially thanks Deltares for the hospitality, and Toon Segeren, Arjan El Fassed, Piet Dircke, Jenny Davis-Peccoud and Antonio Moreno Rodenas for their contributions.
