Arcadis' Sustainable Cities Water Index explores water sustainability of global cities based on Resiliency, Efficiency and Quality

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 26 May 2016: Jeddah and Riyadh lead the region in water quality for its efforts in reusing wastewater, according to Arcadis' Sustainable Cities Water Index. Major cities in the Kingdom are in need of greater investment and prioritization to improve their resiliency due to its geographical location and increased urbanization.

The index, conducted by Arcadis in partnership with the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), explores water sustainability of 50 cities across the world based on its robust (resiliency), effective (efficiency) and healthy (quality) water environment. The report finds that cities in Saudi Arabia need greater investment when it comes to their ability to withstand storm water and drinking water shortages, with climate adaptation and resiliency being the most pressing issue for city leaders.

Sameer Daoud, Global Business leader - Water at Arcadis Middle East, commented: "Water demand is rising, aquifers are being depleted and the threat of extreme weather is increasingly real, meaning that cities in the region can be stressed without enough water. Our water index highlights the areas of opportunity for cities to inform decision-making around how they use and manage water, hopefully making them more sustainable economically, environmentally and for the benefit of the people."

The index underlines Saudi's rapid population growth creating further challenges in water stress and balance. Consequently, the Ministry of Water's increase on the water tariff intends to result in a significant reduction in water use across the country.

More information about the Arcadis Sustainable Cities Water Index can be viewed at http://arcad.is/asQHIn

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For further press information please contact:
Julie Nguyen
Global Corporate Communications Manager
Julie.nguyen@arcadis.com
+971 (0)56 188 2465

The research was conducted by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (www.cebr.com) and examines 50 cities from 31 countries ranking them across a range of indicators to estimate the sustainability of each city with regards to it water environment. The cities included within this report were selected to provide an overview of the planet's cities, providing not only wide-ranging geographical coverage, but also a variety of levels of economic development and an assortment of sustainability challenges.

A detailed, evidence-based metric is derived to quantify each city's performance. The headline ranking can then be divided into three broad subcategories: Resiliency, Efficiency and Quality. These correspond to three dimensions of sustainability - social, environmental and economic and can be described as the triple bottom line that improve the quality of life.

About Arcadis
Arcadis is the leading global Design & Consultancy firm for natural and built assets. Applying our deep market sector insights and collective design, consultancy, engineering, project and management services we work in partnership with our clients to deliver exceptional and sustainable outcomes throughout the lifecycle of their natural and built assets. We are 27,000 people active in over 70 countries that generate €3.4 billion in revenues. We support UN-Habitat with knowledge and expertise to improve the quality of life in rapidly growing cities around the world www.arcadis.com. Arcadis. Improving quality of life.

Rankings

The overall 2016 Sustainable Cities Water Index rankings are as below, with full details available at: http://arcad.is/asQHIn

© Press Release 2016