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Teaching for positive change
For the fifth consecutive year, I had the opportunity to teach a course on Responsible Management at the University for Peace (UPEACE) in Costa Rica. Here are my learnings from this year in the Responsible Management of Sustainable Economic Development Master Program. Focus is key – in teaching and organizations To make it more useful…
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Corporate governance for a sustainable future
“The debate on corporate governance is often deeply conservative and backward-looking. Yet in the future, companies that orient themselves to engage with an environment that will be significantly affected by systemic risks will fare best. A key aspect of enabling company leaders to do so is to rethink what corporate governance is. But changes in…
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4 ingredients for business as a force for good
“Degrowth is not the solution I see for a more sustainable future. Instead, I really see the companies of the future as a force for good. Companies exist to create value. Unfortunately, in many cases, this is focused on just one kind of value-creation: financial value for shareholders. This might still be viable in the…
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Patagonia’s tips for better business models
“We need to move away from extractive capitalism, which only takes and does not give back to our one and only planet. In some ways, we are like Eric Carle’s Very Hungry Caterpillar. We’re insatiable in our need to collect more than we really need. In the past, it was normal to have just one…
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Enriched in Costa Rica
Teaching in Costa Rica keeps me updated, challenged, refreshed, connected and practiced.
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Balancing science with art for sustainable change
“Can we make this analysis more scientific?”, a client asked the other day. And of course, there’s always more data and science that could be used for target-setting and analysis. But data and science aren’t always the best ingredients to create impact. Instead, art could be just what you need to drive positive change. Art…
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Sustainable leaders provide perspective
The transition to sustainable energy is central to both his job and his supervisory board role. The difference in scope of these two roles makes it so interesting, says Jan Engels: “In my job as policy manager cooling at the Climate Coalition Netherlands, I’m very focused on the content. As a supervisory board member at…
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Purpose and the art of long term value creation
To drive change towards long-term, societal value creation, corporate boards need more creativity and diversity, perhaps even an artist. Many artists are frontrunners in society. They look at the world in a different way and find different ways to express what they see. Their perspectives may challenge us and cause fierce reactions. And that’s exactly…
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Supervisory board member serving young and old
In the supervisory board portfolio of Afien Spree, societal value creation is all about people. She serves on the supervisory board of BrabantZorg senior care and regional education and training center ROC Midden Nederland. Purpose is key The purpose of BrabantZorg is to make every day as nice as possible. How does the supervisory board…
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Connection and diversity for long-term value creation and impact
When asked why she serves on supervisory boards, she is quick to answer. Petri Hofste wants to be involved with organizations in a broad strategic way, to have an impact, to make this world slightly better. After a role as supervisor of financial institutions at the Dutch National Bank, serving on supervisory boards was a…