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Making Dutch trains ride like the wind
Meet Carola Wijdoogen, Corporate Sustainability Officer of the Dutch Railways. Carola and I met each other decades ago when studying business at Nyenrode University. Little did we know that we’d end up working in the field of corporate sustainability. When Carola recently published a book to share her experience and tips with other CSR managers,…
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Top tips to cut the crap in reporting
In the last decade, transparency and corporate reporting progressed tremendously, allowing society access to performance information that is usually not available in financial reports. Sustainability (or non-financial) reporting enable stakeholders – like investors, regulators, employees, NGOs, communities, partners, etc. – access to information about a company’s social, environmental and economic impacts, directly from the source.…
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Empowering women to rethink periods
Meet Wendelien Hebly, one of the co-founders of Yoni, a company urging women (and men) to rethink periods. I recently watched her present at an event about the purpose economy. She made the audience feel uncomfortable; initially because of the topic of menstruation. As she continued, she took some of that discomfort away and replaced it…
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How to avoid the materiality traps
This time of year, the materiality marathon is on. Companies and consultants are on a journey to define what topics should be included in the upcoming sustainability or non-financial report. Materiality analysis can be an extremely useful and strategic exercise, with  value far beyond reporting. However, the many definitions and adaptations to the concept can…
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Psychology for sustainable change
Meet Vincent de Klerk, founder of Comm&Sense, using psychology to support teams and individuals through change. As sustainability always calls for change within organizations and teams, I was very keen to learn more about his vision on sustainable change. Over a fantastic home-made lunch, we talked about psychology and leadership for sustainable change. Striving for…
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Building a transportation business hunting for air
Meet Erik Roelevink, founder of airhunters, a company offering transport solutions that aren’t just more sustainable, but also considerably cheaper. I met Erik earlier this year, when we were both part of the same panel on sustainable innovation. When we found out we were both attending the 360 inspiration event with Richard Branson and Al Gore, we met for drinks…
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Sustainable cities for a positive future
“Cities are increasingly the home of humanity. They are central to climate action, global prosperity, peace and human rights.” — UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon October 31 is World Cities Day. Do we actually need such a day? I think we do need one, as today over half of the world’s population lives in…
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Changing fashion from within for success
Meet Willa Stoutenbeek, founder of W.Green, a branded communication agency focused on sustainable fashion & lifestyle. In 2013, I saw her on stage at TEDxAMSWomen. Her rallying cry to clean up the fashion industry by changing our own shopping behavior really resonated with me.  “Just because we’re not willing to pay more for the clothes we buy, doesn’t mean…
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Have a bath before you open your kimono
Is your company ready to open its kimono? In 2010, South African corporate governance expert Mervyn King made the audience laugh at the GRI conference. “If you’re going to open your kimono, you better have a bath first.” I really like his analogy for sustainability reporting and performance. And for companies with more than 500 employees in the EU,…
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Materiality: the pain of choices
In search of the right topics to include in their sustainability or integrated report, many companies use the materiality principle. The Global Reporting Initiative placed more emphasis on materiality when it last updated its sustainability reporting guidelines. Dutch sustainability magazine P Plus, recently interviewed me about transparency and materiality. Here’s a summarized translation of the Dutch article. Materiality…