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Will we run out of food before we run out of oil?
When I was growing up, people used to worry about running out of oil. That has changed, as many of us now worry about whether we can keep enough of those fossil fuels in the ground to limit the dangerous effects of climate change. We also worry about the effects of climate change on our ability…
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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…
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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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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…
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Dare to care about what you wear
Meet Anita de Wit and Joanneke Lootsma, the executive board driving ReBlend, a Dutch upcycling startup that turns non-wearable clothes into new textiles and fashion. I recently met them at a B Corp event and was so inspired by their fabrics and story that I planned this interview with them. Here’s what they had to…
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Key steps to integrate sustainability into your career
Looking for top tips on how to make your next career move more sustainable? Here are the key pointers from a workshop I organized at Nyenrode University. The workshop was expertly led by Annick Schmeddes, founder of sustainable career agency Sustainable Talent. Create you own role Research shows that less than 2% of vacancies have a link to sustainability,…
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If business needs to integrate sustainability, so should business schools
On October 10, 2014, I chaired a workshop at Business University Nyenrode to further integrate sustainability into Nyenrode’s core business: its programs. A diverse group of alumni, students and faculty members worked together across three areas: Degree Programs, Executive Education and Research. Leadership – Entrepreneurship – Stewardship Dean Leen Paape kicked off the workshop through the…
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Able to reduce plastic in my life – but not completely…
ZeroPlasticWeek 2014 is over, so it’s time to look back at my results and learnings. Overall, it was an effective way to make me aware how much plastic is used in our daily lives – and how much of that only is used for a few days or even hours. Plastic Recycling A few years ago, my…
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My drinking challenge during ZeroPlasticWeek
The first couple of days of Zero Plastic Week went well – but I was unprepared for a quick day trip to London. Lots of drinks available in glass and cartons, but water was hard to come by without plastic. Fortunately, the place where I bought water as part of my on-the-go lunch had a recycling…
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The experiment with women in management
Flashback to 1993: I left immediately after a (French) general manager answered my question about women in management positions. It was a cold day in Chicago as I rode the train back to campus to file a complaint at the Kellogg Graduate School of Management career office against this man and his company. This company invited…
