Climate change, biodiversity loss, water scarcity, pollution, food insecurity and infrastructure resilience are increasingly connected, with impacts felt across economies, industries and communities worldwide. Observed annually on 5 June and led by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), World Environment Day serves as a global reminder that environmental challenges are no longer isolated concerns.
For Elisabeth Nortje, Director – Environment at AECOM, this year’s World Environment Day arrives at a particularly reflective moment. With Sir David Attenborough’s 100th birthday celebrations on 8 May 2026, Nortje found herself thinking about the environmental transformations witnessed over the past century and what the next century may hold.
“I was reflecting on what changes he saw in his lifetime,” she says. “From the rise of the environmental movement to climate warming, biodiversity impacts and growing environmental awareness. Then I thought to myself what are we going to see in the next 100 years?”
For Nortje, the timing of Attenborough’s centenary while the Artemis II mission renewed public fascination with seeing Earth from space offered a powerful reminder of the planet’s interconnectedness. “We cannot afford to be disconnected from our fellow people and from the rest of the planet. Our water, food, energy, air and environment all come from interconnected systems.”
From environmental compliance to climate resilience
According to Nortje, one of the most significant shifts in environmental management is that organisations are no longer only considering the impact they have on the environment but must also assess the impact the environment will have on their operations.
“Traditionally, environmental work focused on a client’s impact on the environment and the approvals or legislative requirements attached to that,” she explains. “But increasingly the question is what impact is the environment going to have on your business?”
This is particularly evident in sectors such as infrastructure, mining, energy, manufacturing and digital infrastructure. Using the example of a proposed data centre, Nortje explains that environmental planning now requires a dual lens of understanding both operational impacts and climate vulnerability.
“You assess what impact the project will have on the environment, but you also need to ask: what happens if there is flooding? What happens if there is insufficient water supply? What happens during extreme weather events?”
These risks are no longer hypothetical. Around the world, climate-related disruptions are affecting supply chains, operations, water security and infrastructure reliability. “More and more businesses are being impacted by the environment because of their impact on the environment,” says Nortje.
The challenge of interconnected risks
This aligns closely with AECOM’s 2025 Sustainability Report, which emphasises climate resilience and adaptation as central to future infrastructure development. The report notes that adaptation is critical for safeguarding communities from environmental risks and highlights the importance of integrating resilience into operations, supply chains and long-term planning.
Nortje believes one of the biggest environmental challenges facing organisations and governments today is the interconnected nature of environmental risk. Reflecting on the environmental trajectory of the next century, she refers to likely intensifying climate impacts, escalating biodiversity crises, interconnected global risks, food and water insecurity, and emerging diseases.
“That idea of interconnected global risks is something I always encourage my team to think about,” she says. “Climate change, biodiversity loss, water insecurity and social vulnerability do not exist independently from one another.”
AECOM’s own sustainability strategy strongly reflects this systems-based approach. Through its Sustainable Legacies programme, the company aims to embed sustainability and resilience across all areas of work, while advancing nature-positive infrastructure, climate adaptation and decarbonisation initiatives.
Growing investment in nature-based solutions
The company’s 2025 Sustainability Report also highlights growing investment in nature-based solutions, biodiversity uplift and climate resilience strategies, including tools that help organisations assess nature-related risks in infrastructure planning.
While climate impacts affect businesses and infrastructure globally, Nortje stresses that vulnerable communities continue to bear the greatest burden. “People will always settle close to water because they need water, even if those areas are within dangerous floodplains,” she says.
“When extreme weather happens, those communities are always the most affected.” She points to recurring flooding events in vulnerable communities as examples of how environmental risks intersect with poverty, infrastructure inequality and urban planning challenges.
“Where we should be investing in long-term planning and resilience measures, financial and political pressures often make that difficult,” she notes. AECOM’s Sustainable Legacies strategy recognises this challenge directly, noting that sustainability must support the well-being of all communities, especially those in vulnerable areas.
Sustainability amid global uncertainty
Nortje also acknowledges that environmental priorities continue to shift globally due to political and economic cycles. Recent changes in international policy environments, particularly around renewable energy and climate-related programmes, have created uncertainty across parts of the environmental sector.
“It shows how quickly focus can change,” she says. “Environmental planning and climate resilience require long-term thinking, but political cycles are often much shorter.” Despite these challenges, demand for sustainability, resilience and environmental advisory services continues to grow globally.
AECOM’s 2025 Sustainability Report notes that “demand for sustainability and resilience has never been greater” as organisations respond to worsening climate impacts and societal pressures. The report further highlights AECOM’s focus on helping clients embed sustainable development and resilience into infrastructure, operations and long-term strategic planning.
A century of possibility
For Nortje, World Environment Day is ultimately about recognising both the scale of the challenge and the possibility for meaningful action. “What we are confronting is a century of loss and a century of possibility. Because despite everything, there is still enormous opportunity to make different decisions and create more resilient, sustainable futures.”
Through its environmental services offering and Sustainable Legacies strategy, AECOM continues to support clients across sectors with climate resilience, environmental advisory, nature-positive infrastructure, biodiversity, water security, decarbonisation and sustainable development solutions.
“As engineers, scientists, planners and environmental professionals, we have a responsibility to think long-term,” says Nortje. “The decisions we make now will shape the resilience of communities, infrastructure and ecosystems for generations to come.”
Learn more about AECOM’s Environmental Services and Sustainable Legacies strategy.
Ends
Notes to the editor
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About AECOM
AECOM is the global infrastructure leader, committed to delivering a better world. As a trusted professional services firm powered by deep technical abilities, we solve our clients’ complex challenges in water, environment, energy, transportation and buildings. Our teams partner with public- and private-sector clients to create innovative, sustainable and resilient solutions throughout the project lifecycle – from advisory, planning, design and engineering to program and construction management. AECOM is a Fortune 500 firm that had revenue of $16.1 billion in fiscal year 2025. Learn more at aecom.com.
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Elisabeth Nortje, Director – Environment, Africa at AECOM - Building resilience in an interconnected world_approved
Building resilience in an interconnected world_approved
