Delivering a Better World: AECOM's Contributions to the Overseas Territories Trade & Investment Dialogue

Delivering a Better World: AECOM’s Contributions to the Overseas Territories Trade & Investment Dialogue

Presented as part of a trade and investment study visit co-convened by British Expertise International and Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office

Speakers:

• Mike Whitworth, Technical Director, Ground Engineering
• Milica Apostolovic, Principal Consultant, Climate and Nature Risk
• Lucy Cooper, Senior Consultant, Transportation, UK&I
• Andy Wallace, Director of Water, England and Wales
• Jon Short, Technical Director, UK&I Coastal Lead
• Francesca Steeples, Engineer, Water, UK&I

AECOM is a global infrastructure firm solving complex challenges across water, the environment, energy, transport and buildings. AECOM partners with public- and private-sector clients to deliver innovative, sustainable and resilient solutions throughout the project lifecycle – from advisory, planning, design and engineering to programme and construction management. AECOM delivers major infrastructure programmes globally to enhance climate resilience, transport, water and the built environment.

By examining how proven solutions can be adapted to new contexts, AECOM led sessions on climate‑resilient infrastructure, coastal and water resilience, and the decarbonisation of transport systems. Highlighting AECOM’s expertise in the built environment, the sessions explored transferable lessons from UK experience across multiple key sectors.

Experiences in the Overseas Territories:

Previously, AECOM has worked on various projects across the Overseas Territories, including Montserrat, the British Virgin Islands, Bermuda, Anguilla, the Cayman Islands, and the Turks and Caicos, specifically on post-hurricane reconstruction following Hurricanes Irma and Maria, Coastal flooding, coastal erosion, and cascading hazards.

Drawing on AECOM’s international work, AECOM presented key considerations and principles:

Delivering Climate and Disaster-Resilient Infrastructure

As the UNDRR ‘Principles for Resilient Infrastructure’ (2022) highlights, climate- and disaster-resilient infrastructure is the timely and efficient prevention, absorption, recovery, adaptation, and transformation of the essential structures and functions of national infrastructure exposed to current and potential future hazards.

Additionally, resilience should be implemented across all phases of disruption through collaborative risk and uncertainty management, multi-hazard assessment, and methods that recognise the systemic nature of national infrastructure.

Investing in resilience delivers multiple returns on the initial investment. Some measures can be relatively inexpensive, yield significant cost savings throughout the operational lifecycle of infrastructure assets, and provide additional co-benefits.

Water Sector Case Studies and Managing Coastal and Flood Hazards

The island of Jersey and its coastal communities face a growing challenge from the predicted impacts of climate change, including rising sea levels and more frequent storms. Since 2018, Jersey has been engaged in coastal management policy planning and development. AECOM highlighted the progressive and ambitious plans to mitigate current and future coastal flood risk and enhance coastal communities on the Island. Key coastal management projects have also been initiated – key stepping stones in the implementation of comprehensive, integrated and progressive coastal management. These will ensure the island remains resilient and prosperous in the face of a changing climate and associated increases in flood risk. Effective interim flood preparedness plans and temporary defence solutions have also been put in place to manage and reduce risks in the interim whilst capital schemes are being developed.

Sustainable Drainage Systems – Key example: Mansfield

Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) take a holistic, surface-based approach to managing rainfall in towns and cities, replicating the natural water cycle. The aim of SuDS design is to maximise the benefits of surface water runoff while minimising negative impacts. SuDS should be designed to deliver benefits across all 4 pillars of SuDS: managing water quantity, improving water quality, enhancing amenity and supporting biodiversity.

New Mobility

AECOM highlighted key ways to transform transit and mobility. New mobility can help reimagine our streets, shifting the focus from car-centric corridors to inclusive, dynamic, and integrated decarbonised transport services that support better-connected, healthier urban and rural living. AECOM highlighted the benefits of various new mobility mechanisms, including ‘Micromobility’, Electric Vehicles, Mobility Hubs, Transport Data Hubs, and Mobility as a Service (MaaS).