Janet

“It’s our ability to adapt to doing things differently. People are being pushed out of their comfort zones as we build the company of the future. The old ways are changing because the world is changing, and we adapt and move with the times in order to survive. We constantly reinvent and respond,” she says.

 Janet Loubser reflects on her nearly 15 years at Royal HaskoningDHV and why she believes the company is still going strong after 100 years.

 Janet believes that the company sets itself apart through its in-house skills and focus on skills development, understanding and appreciation of local knowledge, and the capacity required to execute and support environmental initiatives and services.

As Strategic Environmental Planning and Sustainability specialist, Janet describes her role as greatly satisfying. “The work is varied, interesting, and stimulating. I’m able to draw on my qualifications in both environmental management and urban planning, and experience to contribute to the ambition of creating a better world for all.”

What does ‘Enhance Society Together’ mean to you? 

“It has so much complexity and depth. It focuses our efforts to make a real difference in the world.”

One of the greatest highlights of Janet’s career was starting up and building the Strategic Environmental Planning & Assessment unit. The intention was to expand this to offer new service offerings such as environmental policies, strategies and guidelines, strategic environmental planning, spatial planning, open space planning and management, biodiversity planning and management, and development planning. Janet describes this as one of her greatest career challenges as one of her greatest joys.

 “We had to bring new people in, build new skills, build our reputation. We were starting from scratch in terms of the environmental planning work. It was a nice challenge, allowing us to push boundaries to get it going, secure work, and build our skills and experience.”

Another highlight was organising and hosting a conference on Strategic Environmental Assessments which was held at the Maropeng Centre at the Cradle of Humankind in September 2010. Representatives of the DHV Group from as far afield as Indonesia, Poland and Canada joined the group from SSI and DHV Netherlands as well as clients (including government departments, parastatals, research organisations and the private sector) discussed the concept and debate its application in the different regions. It was concluded with a business development workshop where collaboration and the sharing of expertise between the offices were discussed with specific reference to the environmental sector strategy and growing our market share internationally. It was a great time sharing professionally and personally!

Speaking of today's market shifts and challenges, Janet has noticed an increased focus on urban resilience, climate change, resource efficiency and nature-based solutions. “It’s pushing us to look at new ways of doing things. In the process, we’re building new skills and responding to challenges proactively.”

 This, she says, is easier to achieve at Royal HaskoningDHV, which encourages self-development through many upskilling and learning opportunities.

 She commends the weekly ‘Level Up’ sessions, which encourages employees to spend 50 minutes a week learning new skills and presenting what they’ve learned back to their colleagues. “It's absolutely amazing. It could be something like tips and tricks with Excel, or it could be project related, or how to win more work, or a new perspective on diversity and inclusion.

 I am extremely proud of the skills and experience we have in the preparation of State of Environment and Environmental Outlook Reports, as well as other strategic environmental planning tools such as Environmental Management Framework reports. Other projects that I’m proud of are the Green Economy and Action Plan for Nelson Mandela Bay, the Tshwane Open Space Framework, the four Local Open Space Plans for the City of Johannesburg, the Gauteng City Region Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan, the Coastal Infrastructure Development projects and a number of Master Plans/ Precinct Plans.

 “Our team is committed to contributing to the global sustainability agenda and to improving the quality of life of communities, without compromising the inherent thresholds of the natural environment,” she says.