-
Normal is Over: movement from a movie
Nyenrode’s Alumni Circle for Sustainability proudly presented its first movie night on September 20, 2016, featuring the award-winning documentary film: Normal is Over. A diverse crowd of students, alumni as well as other sustainability enthusiasts and professionals came to Nyenrode to watch the film together. Having the filmmaker – Renée Scheltema – present at the screening made…
-
Cli-fi book review: Solar leadership
Most of my book reviews are non-fiction, but my favorite summer fiction – Solar by Ian McEwan – fits right in. It’s actually a perfect follow up to the earlier post on leadership for sustainable change. This review focuses on analysis of the leadership displayed in this “cli-fi” book. Don’t worry if you’re planning to…
-
Leadership for positive sustainable change
What defines effective leadership to drive positive sustainable change? I asked this question to all people I interviewed for my blog in the past three years. This post builds on their collective wisdom, quoting some of the best-read interviews, supplemented with my own views on the topic. Personal commitment Leadership for sustainable changes starts with strong personal…
-
Offering solutions and hope through film
Meet Renée Scheltema, award-winning film and documentary maker. We met at the screening of her latest film, Normal is Over, in Amsterdam. By the time we could both make time for this interview, she was back in Cape Town, where she lives most of the year. Here’s what Renee shared during our Skype interview on…
-
Reinventing organizations for purpose
Early July, I had the opportunity to be part of a group of trainers for a full day workshop at Nyenrode Business University. The focus of the day was on so-called teal organizations and new ways of working, inspired by the book “Reinventing Organizations” by Frederic Laloux. The focus of my contribution to the workshop…
-
Recycling textile for a living (wage)
Meet Marc Vooges, Managing Director of Sympany, a textile recycling social enterprise. I met Marc at the ReBlend launch party. Shortly afterwards, I visited him at Sympany’s recycling center and offices in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Here’s what Marc had to say about textile waste, recycling and innovation. Environmental impact of textiles My focus…
-
Can sustainability sustain your brand?
Sustainability is becoming an imperative rather than an add-on for companies and brands. Nielsen research shows that brands with societal commitment grew faster than those without. In 2015, 50% of Unilever’s growth came from its “sustainable living” brands. In June 2016, I had the honor of presenting on sustainability contributing to marketing and brand value at the Wharton Global Forum.…
-
Brewing a better world by inspiring targeted action
Meet Jan-Willem Vosmeer, Corporate Social Responsibility Manager at Heineken*. On a sunny afternoon in Amsterdam, we talked at length about Heineken’s program “Brewing a Better World” and sustainability communications. Here’s what Jan-Willem had to say about water, co-creation and communication. There’s just one planet earth We don’t have an extra planet available. So we…
-
Integration of sustainability in education
The mission of Harvard Business School is to educate leaders who make a difference in the world. So how does sustainability fit into a mission like this? On May 19, 2016, I moderated a panel with professors from Harvard, Oxford and Cambridge on this topic. Here are the key outcomes of the discussion on integration of sustainability into…
-
Cool innovation to improve life in hot countries
Meet Maarten ten Houten, Founder and CEO of Coolfinity, a social enterprise that brings innovative and sustainable cooling solutions to countries with power infrastructure challenges. In 2015, Maarten and I worked together on crafting an ecosystem of many different organizations to ensure Coolfinity’s first product, the Icebank Cooler, can be used for food, beverages and…