-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
Climate change: it’s not too late if we act now
Meet Marjan Minnesma, founder and director of Urgenda, an organization aiming for a fast transition towards a sustainable society with a circular economy using only renewable energy. On the day of the interview, the Dutch government announced it would consider closing two additional coal-fired power plants to meet its climate commitments. In between telephone quotes…
-
Reporting sustainability data for action
From May 18-20, 2016, I joined the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Global Conference. Here are my overall takeaways, highlights and concerns from this three-day event, focused on collaboration, the SDGs, big data and action for impact. A celebration of collaboration GRI’s Chair Christianne Wood opened the conference with powerful words to inspire collaboration. “There is no…
-
Naming, claiming, framing the S-word
On May 19, 2016, I will be moderating two sessions at the GRI Global Conference. The first one is a session called “Forget the S-word”. The panel consists of senior professionals from the advertising, apparel and defense industries. During the prep call, we already started an animated discussion about the many issues around the S…
-
The new space race for a better world
April 12 is the International Day of Human Space Flight. It marks the anniversary the first human space flight by Yuri Gargarin in 1961. What if we could repeat such a – previously deemed – incredible feat to apply our minds to help humanity thrive within the limits of our planet? We often hear astronauts talk…
-
Be the change you want to see
On April 6, 2016, BCorp Europe gathered hundreds of inspiring and inspired entrepreneurs in Amsterdam to Celebrate the Changemakers. I was a bit ambivalent about an earlier BCorp event, but this event showed what the power of purpose and change is all about. Facing the future of sustainability The opening keynote was by Rob Boogaard, the CEO…
