In July, the Board of Lovinklaan met in person in the United States for its second Board meeting of the year. Below is a brief recap of this meeting with all the relevant points that have been discussed during this meeting.  

A few weeks ago, the Lovinklaan Board had the pleasure of visiting the Arcadis offices in Seattle and Portland, as well as the CallisonRTKL office in Seattle. This was my second Board meeting since joining at the beginning of 2022, and it was surely one to remember! Local staff and management made it a priority to make us feel at home when we arrived at the offices, where we held staff presentations and engaged in productive discussions after each session. These feedback sessions provided us with valuable insights on how we can optimize our programs and address challenges and opportunities within the region. The overall awareness of Lovinklaan and engagement with its programs from Arcadians in the US is truly remarkable!  

Next to our visits to the Arcadis offices, we also received a warm welcome from CallisonRTKL to discuss how to better engage CRTKL employees within Lovinklaan. Going out for regular dinners with Arcadians and CRTKL allowed us to connect on a more personal level, leaving us with some special moments to look back on.  

DIVERSITY AND SUSTAINABILITY 

One of the most significant experiences during this visit was our conversation with the US Black and LatinX task force lead Ifetayo Venner, who shared the work that they have done to establish a baseline of the racial mix of the US business. It was impactful to hear about the experiences of people of colour in the business and gain further perspective on the topic of racial diversity within Lovinklaan and Arcadis, as this is a critical subject that must be addressed. 

LOOKING AHEAD 

In line with Arcadis’s long term strategy, Lovinklaan is committed towards furthering Arcadians knowledge and skills in the space of sustainability to future proof the business. To support this, the Board met with the Arcadis Global Sustainability team and committed to investing in a dedicated capability development program which will be launched in Q4 2022. Lovinklaan will also provide a one-off investment to support and accelerate the development of the Global Community Program which will provide opportunities for sustainability focused projects and skills-building for our people.  

In the upcoming months there will be quite a few exciting announcements about some of our existing program and new programs which will be introduced in the coming period. Stay up to date with our latest announcement by following our LinkedIn account and keep an eye out in your inboxes for an invitation to our September webinar!