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Giving back vs paying it forward
Early May 2024, I addressed my class at our Northwestern University – Kellogg School of Management reunion. On a panel about the road less traveled by MBAs, focused on my role as a lecturer at UPEACE and Nyenrode Business University. I was honored to be on stage with impressive gentlemen: Milton Liu who leads the…
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Key skills for sustainability
Whether you want to become a sustainability manager or contribute to a sustainable future in another role, there are key skills you need to master at three different levels. Ethical leadership The individual level is the starting point. You must understand your own values and motivations to contribute to a better world. This self-awareness helps…
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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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Enriched in Costa Rica
Teaching in Costa Rica keeps me updated, challenged, refreshed, connected and practiced.
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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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Bursting social media bubbles for social change
What if you could use the power of communications to drive change for a better world? Meet Kajsa Rosenblad, a Swedish-Dutch communications student at the University of Amsterdam. Over a cup of tea at my dining table, here’s what she shared about the better world she wants, the role of politics and her generation. …
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Why change is all about curves, choices and chaos
Meet Rob Wetzels, an inspiring and highly dedicated coach, teacher, and expert on sustainable development. Rob and I met on the day he retired from Nyenrode’s Center for Sustainability. It was odd that we’d not before, but since then, we – unsurprisingly- keep running into each other at events related to sustainable business. I interviewed him…
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Shared learning and action to reduce plastic waste in Amsterdam
On Tuesday, May 23, 2017, The Terrace hosted a diverse group of people to talk about plastic waste and the circular economy. The evening kicked off with an interview with Leontine Gast, founder of The Terrace, followed by a roundtable discussion on plastic waste in our lives, led by Nelmara Arbex, CEO of Arbex &…
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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…
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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…
