Resilience
Performance in 2025
Resilience delivered strong performance in 2025 in advisory, energy transition, climate adaptation, and the US part of our water optimization offering – showing good growth. This was somewhat offset by a decline in our environmental restoration sector, as some large remediation programs progressed toward completion.
In addition, the UK market experienced softness, partly driven by the UK Spending Review and a delay in investment spending relating to the new AMP 8 cycle (Asset Management Period 8, the eighth five-year regulatory cycle (2025–2030) for the water industry in England and Wales, regulated by Ofwat.
In line with our strategic priorities, we adopted a disciplined and selective order intake approach focusing on higher margin projects, such as major infrastructure upgrades. Continued strong demand across a range of industries and sectors supported growth as we harnessed opportunities to support clients with energy diversification and grid readiness programs across US and Europe; ageing water and wastewater infrastructure; climate resilience and the increasingly complex field of environmental permitting; and approvals for capital programs, particularly in energy intensive industries.
Our operating performance reflected strong delivery and continued focus on project selection and profitable growth, while we adapted to uneven market conditions in select areas. Margin improved from 13.4% to 14.4% as a result of increased selectivity and shift towards high growth sectors and areas where we lead.
Digital and thought leadership in the global water space
Water, one of Resilience’s largest markets, was a key growth driver in 2025, particularly in the US. Utilities and municipalities continued to invest in system resilience, water quality, asset performance and capacity expansion, driven by regulatory requirements and long-term reliability needs. We progressed multiple programs including lead service line replacement initiatives and supported Henrico County, Virginia, delivering a long-term water supply solution that increases system capacity by nearly 50% while preserving the surrounding natural environment. In addition, we saw growing demand for industrial water design services, as energy, manufacturing and data driven industries seek secure, fit-for-purpose supply and treatment solutions to support industrial expansion and operational resilience.
Arcadis also strengthened leadership in innovative and digital solutions – applying AI and digital twins to support large utility clients. Our expertise was acknowledged by the American Water Works Association (AWWA), which invited us to chair and contribute to various AWWA committees focused on advancing AI, asset management and system modeling in the water industry.
In 2025, we launched the AI for Water Innovation Challenge as a way to connect our expertise – including in AI – with clients' needs. Clients were invited to submit their challenges, and Arcadians were invited to submit their ideas on AI applications in the water sector. Of the 40+ submissions, five were selected for co-development and piloting with clients, with Arcadis providing seed funding. These projects are focused on unlocking the potential of AI to help with leakage reduction, asset reliability, operational efficiency, climate resilience, and investment planning. The AI for Water Innovation Challenge will ultimately help us assess viability of AI-enabled solutions, establish proof of concept, and – where successful – scale.
Leading in energy transition and climate adaptation
In energy transition we performed well, particularly in Germany and the Netherlands, where Arcadis supports large transmission, distribution and grid readiness programs for leading stakeholders, including Transmission System Operators. These are large-scale multi-year projects that will drive sustained growth in this area.
In climate adaptation, we saw strong demand as a result of clients seeking to understand their asset and supply chain exposure to the impact of escalating weather events. Notably, our Climate Risk Nexus digital solution, supported by our partnership with Jupiter Intelligence, scaled from two pilots in 2024 to 20 active projects in 2025. This included work with the State University of New York (SUNY), where we are conducting a comprehensive climate exposure assessment across 64 campuses. Climate Risk Nexus combines predictive climate analytics with asset-level insight, giving clients a clear view of exposure and vulnerabilities to support investment planning and enable decisive action.
Investment in capability building remains a priority within Arcadis, especially in energy. Through Arcadis’ Energy Transition Academy, nearly 800 Arcadians participated in specialized learning pathways, with 143 participants for the Simulation Lab in Bangalore, strengthening readiness to deliver complex energy and climate-related programs.
Strengthening our permitting and regulatory and stakeholder engagement capabilities
A consistent client challenge across sectors remains securing the permits, approvals and funding required to proceed. Early planning and consenting are central to de-risking capital projects and driving strong economic value.
In response, we strengthened our permitting, regulatory and stakeholder engagement capabilities, including the use of digital solutions and AI-enabled tools, to help clients accelerate approvals and time to market. In addition, we support clients in navigating funding pathways by providing advisory support on grant and subsidy applications through dedicated teams in the US and the Netherlands.
Clients are facing greater complexity as they plan for climate impacts, modernize aging infrastructure and align with national agendas.
Heather Polinsky, Global President for Resilience and Mobility
These capabilities have helped us deliver strong outcomes that bring together permitting, advisory and technical expertise for clients. For example, Resilience specialists are supporting the Second Avenue Subway project in New York, focused on environmental permitting and climate-related considerations. And, in Arizona, Arcadis is supporting the Water Infrastructure Finance Authority to advance long-term water supply resilience proposals into a study phase, including desalination options, to inform future investment and delivery pathways.
Furthermore, demand for asset retirement and end-of-life planning continues to grow as clients seek to responsibly decommission legacy infrastructure, notably in Germany and the US. Building on our work with Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (NAM) in the Netherlands - where our team is engaged in planning, permitting, remediation and site restoration work for one of the largest gas infrastructure cleanup programs in the region. Arcadis is scaling its advisory and integrated asset retirement planning approaches more broadly to support energy and industrial clients through complex transition and closure of critical infrastructure.
Emerging opportunities in ‘powered land’ and nuclear energy
Recognizing a long-term market trend shaped by constraints in power availability and infrastructure capacity, particularly in energy intensive industries, Resilience is focusing on ‘powered land’ - advising clients on integrated land packages where energy availability, permitting, water and digital connectivity must align to support energy-intensive industrial and digital development. Our role is to identify, coordinate and prepare all activities required to deliver these projects - from site identification and consenting through integration of power, water and fiber, and into design, engineering and program delivery.
In addition, we also supported clients in navigating emerging energy security and diversification trends, including the evolving role of nuclear and Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) in national energy strategies. In 2025, developments in civil nuclear policy and investments decisions in markets such as the UK and Europe reinforced interest in new nuclear capacity. We saw demand in our advisory, validation and program readiness support for developers, strengthening demand for our advisory and program capabilities.
Priorities for 2026
Our focus continues to be on growth in structurally high growth markets, supporting continued demand across water optimization, climate adaptation, energy transition, notably grid modernization and nuclear energy. Arcadis excels in asset retirement and end-of-life planning, advisory on project planning, permitting and stakeholder engagement. We de-risk capital projects across our client portfolio. and accelerate schedules, strengthen the invest ability of projects, and move from concept to delivery. By maintaining a clear commercial focus, scaling integrated services from early planning and permitting through to delivery and operations, and applying targeted decision-grade digital solutions, we are strengthening Arcadis' role in de-risking capital projects and enabling long-term investment in resilience for clients, businesses and economies.
