Half of the world’s population could be facing water scarcity as early as 2025, and global warming and associated changes in temperature, precipitation patterns and sea levels are projected to continue throughout the 21st century. We see a strong need for sustainable water practices, investments in infrastructure and international cooperation.
DHI has been committed to advancing and sharing knowledge of water environments for 60 years. Together with our clients and partners, we combine deep domain knowledge and advanced technology to innovate new ways to use, manage and live with water and protect water-related ecosystems. Our vision is to drive the agenda of the water business and significantly impact the sustainable development of our planet – through innovation, partnerships and an unmatched ability to model and forecast future scenarios.
Our strategy DHI+, launched in 2021, aims to realise this vision.
DHI+ is a growth strategy that fully integrates sustainability into business objectives and is built on the ambition to accelerate the realisation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Six clear commitments are integrated into DHI+ and its action plans:
Accelerate the realisation of the UN SDGs and make measurable impact, enabling a sustainable future for water
Invest in research and development, and advance new knowledge, methods and technologies for the benefit of our clients and society
Focus our efforts on selected business segments where we together with our clients and partners have the biggest impact
Continue to enhance our technology edge and deliver robust and differentiated business advice on the basis of superior scientific domain knowledge, modelling skills and continuous innovation
Unite the organisation and maximise the potential of our global competencies and skills
Increase ability to invest in innovation through growth in revenue and profit
Our commitments are reflected in three overall objectives, which drive our actions and priorities across the business.
Together with our clients and partners, increase our impact on the SDGs with specific focus on SDG 6, 7, 9, 13 and 14
Increase our ability to invest in research, development and innovation by growing revenue and increasing profitability
Create an attractive workplace with high employee engagement by actively facilitating and enabling personal and professional development and global collaboration
These objectives are achieved through three phases; ‘Connecting’, ‘Innovating’ and ‘Impacting’, each of them with defined initiatives and actions to support progress.
2023 key strategic initiatives
Over the course of 2023, we have specifically focused our efforts on the ‘Innovating’ phase and initiated multiple actions in implementing the strategy.
We launched a global 'Innovation Challenges Programme', spanning all geographies and markets, where in close partnership with more than 100 clients and stakeholders, we have discussed and defined the most impactful challenges that DHI should solve with our innovations and eventually let these discoveries turn into new solutions. Learn more on
page 32. Additionally in 2023, a 'ChatGPT Challenge Programme' investigating opportunities from AI and large language models resulted in the launch of ‘ChatDHI’, DHI's own AI-supported language and data model streamlining modelling and enhancing the processing of data.
We consolidated our launch processes aiming at bringing new products and digital solutions to the market more efficiently and effectively, enabling our clients to make an impact on their clients and to the communities they serve. Initiatives included updated internal training procedures and systemised customer feedback plans. We also launched a new DHI Customer Care Portal providing clients access to an extensive selection of online resources including product documentation, FAQs, video tutorials and user forums.
To further support an internal working environment that stimulates and unleashes the innovation potential in our organisation, we developed and launched in 2023 a new career path framework with clear and attractive career paths for development and individual growth for everyone at DHI. The design of the career path provides a structured roadmap for advancement, skill development and achieving the career goals of each individual. Learn more on
page 37.