-
Talent, transition, and time to think big in retail
Everything we buy has an impact on the planet, on society. Perhaps you already eat as much organic food as you can find and only use renewable energy sources to heat and light your house. For other categories – such as fashion, lifestyle and beauty – it is more challenging to find sustainable, circular options…
-
Enriched in Costa Rica
Teaching in Costa Rica keeps me updated, challenged, refreshed, connected and practiced.
-
The chicken and the egg of the food transition
On June 6, I visited Kipster, the most animal, environment and people friendly poultry farm in the world. Inspired farmer and co-founder Ruud Zanders told a diverse group of Nyenrode Business University alumni all about global food production issues and the downs and outs of farmers and chicken. The poultry farmer’s dilemma His story started just after…
-
Top tips for greenwashing: communicating sustainability in horticulture
In October 2017, I was invited by the MPS-group to lead a workshop for and with leading growers of flowers and flowering plants from the Netherlands. This was part of event in preparation for an international horticulture trade fair. The focus of the workshop was on how to best communicate on sustainability in the horticulture sector.…
-
Empowering talent to tackle humanity’s challenges
Meet Annick Schmeddes, the founder of Sustainable Talent, the leading sustainable career agency in the Netherlands. Early 2016, she led a workshop for Nyenrode alumni and we’ve kept in touch since. As talent increasingly includes sustainability performance as a factor in deciding where they want to work, it was high time for an interview about her drivers…
-
Starting small to build trust and to inspire big change
Meet Andrea van der Graaf, managing director of renewable energy company Tegenstroom and of sustainable investment fund Meermaker. Andrea and I used to work together at Greenpeace in the late ‘90’s. After a recent event about climate change, which we co-hosted at Nyenrode Business University, it was high time for an interview with her. Here’s…
-
How will you contribute to the energy transition?
In June 2017, I had the honor to co-host an event about the energy transition at Nyenrode Business University. The event drew alumni interested in sustainability and/or market & government matters. The main speaker, Ruud Koornstra, captivated the audience with his call to action about the transition to renewable energy. Here’s what he had to…
-
The power of purpose in value-driven companies
Value-driven entrepreneurship was the theme of the 2017 edition of Nyenrode Business University’s Henk van Luijk lecture. This lecture, in memory of Nyenrode’s first ethics professor, is organized annually in close collaboration with VNO-NCW (the Dutch employers association) and MVO-Nederland (CSR Netherlands). Here are my key takeaways from the inspiring session. Back to school –…
-
In search of purpose for Fairphone
To really connect with consumers, brands can no longer present a facade and sell. To thrive, brands need to create an emotional connection with people, stemming from a clear brand purpose. A purpose that addresses a real societal issue and that strives to create a movement to resolve this issue. In May 2017, we organized…
-
Mastering sustainability research at Nyenrode business university
In April 2017, three recent graduates of Nyenrode Business University jointly presented the key highlights on their sustainability-focused master’s theses. With stewardship as one of Nyenrode’s core values, it’s great to see students research and explore such sustainable topics. Value chain transparency and customer engagement to attract new customers Marjolein Bakker focused on attracting…
