Green as a Service: Focus on the effect, not the project itself!

The ambitions in greening our cities and projects are great! We want to have 30% canopy cover, sponge cities to adapt to climate-change and healthy, green neighbourhoods and industrial areas. That’s because we know that green is a great solution to face climate-, biodiversity- and health-challenges. In reality, we see projects starting with high ambitions but ending in traditional projects who must be maintained with as low costs as possible. These projects will never achieve the ambitions set in the initiation phase.

Too often we see that projects and processes are cut into different parts with different teams. And all teams do have a different focus and interests. Initiative, design, engineering, construction and maintenance are separated steps in the process. With these fragmented processes, it’s difficult, if not impossible, to ensure ownership throughout the entire process. Each step is shifting slightly away from the ambition and the original concept.

After so many steps, how can we expect the person responsible for managing a particular project to feel responsible (and receive the resources) for achieving the ambitions set in the initiative phase? Involvement from the beginning is essential for this. Moreover, green spaces can only fulfill their intended purpose after several years. Unlike fixed forms of development like roads or sewers, green spaces need time to provide the desired ecosystem services. So, after construction, we must first guide green spaces to achieve the desired effect. Only then, once they fulfill their function, can they be transitioned to management.

In this presentation, I’ll take you through our project approach. Using practical examples, I’ll show you how we’re truly applying green as a solution. Focusing on the impact rather than simply completing a project. We’ll provide green as a service.