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Why surfing the Patagonia way is so inspiring
So inspiring to read the history of Patagonia, the outdoor apparel company. The book’s title refers to the founder’s conviction that his people should spend time outdoors, as wilderness explorers and protectors, as users and inventors of Patagonia products. Book exchange for change In January 2016, Patagonia hosted a meeting for Dutch B Corps…
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Who needs aspiration? Start from where you are!
Meet Christo Nel, leadership development and change expert. I met him in 2014, when he was one of the international speakers on a panel on sustainability and governance. When I found out that Christo was stepping down as the MBA Program Director at Nyenrode Business University, I immediately reached out to interview him. Here’s what…
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Don’t just do something, stand there
Meet André Nijhof, Professor Sustainable Business and Stewardship at Nyenrode Business University. I interviewed André in the restaurant for faculty and execs, in which I worked many hours during my own time at Nyenrode. Here’s what he shared about his personal drivers, responsibility and intent. Connection to nature and other people We started the…
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A great journey starts with a single step
Many of us are inspired by this beautiful quote by Lao Tse. Sometimes great journeys may be scary at the start, but reminding ourselves that great things do start small helps us get started in the first place. In the past years, we’ve all seen (or even experienced) drastic natural disasters, caused by climate change. Initially,…
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Wayne’s World: the Sustainable Frontiers Forecast
In September 2015, I had the pleasure of attending a lecture by South African author Wayne Visser. The lecture started with an interesting timeline of the development of sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility. He then presented a model to create integrated value, his vision of the future of this movement. This blog post is about…
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A human narrative on sustainability
Meet Christophe Fauconnier, the CEO and co-founder of Innate Motion, a unique marketing agency that helps companies craft purpose brands and shared value strategies. In 2014, Christophe and I wrote a book together, Activists Dare to Care. To celebrate the second edition which was released as a hard copy in 2015, I interviewed him. Here’s…
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It all starts with the (wo)man in the mirror
Meet Marleen Janssen Groesbeek, Professor Sustainable Finance and Accounting at Avans University of Applied Sciences. She also is a member of the Sustainable Finance Lab and writes columns for CSR magazine P+. I really enjoyed her inaugural lecture at Avans University and followed up with an interview. On both occasions, she shared her views on…
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Sustainable food tastes like more!
On June 18, I had the pleasure to moderate an evening for alumni and students at Nyenrode Business University in the Netherlands, about creating a sustainable food value chain. Here’s what the event was all about. Creating a sustainable food chain is a continuous process. Whether you are a small local chocolate brand like Tony’s Chocolonely…
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Brands as activists for a better world
The book I co-authored is out! Thanks to all the people who sent in great cases – and supported me otherwise to see this project through. So what is it all about? An invitation: Dare to Care Do you think of activism as something that can attack and weaken a brand? It doesn’t have to…
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No one wakes up to destroy the world
Meet Adrie Heinsbroek, Senior Sustainability Advisor at ING. He is a true believer in the power of people. “No one wakes up to make the world a worse place”, he says, “but we can all get stuck in systems that don’t help to make the world any better.” Here he shares his belief in the…
