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Royal recycling
Usually I cringe when journalists comment on what women wear, but this time I cheered when the news broadcast that Queen Maxima of the Netherlands chose to wear her coronation dress a second time. Of course for fashion magazines that is the topic to talk about, but in most other media, it is completely irrelevant information…
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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…
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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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Sustainability belongs in the boardroom
On October 1, I had the honor to moderate an excellent panel on Sustainability and Governance. The internative evening was organized by the Alumni Circle for Sustainability at Nyenrode University in the Netherlands. International perspectives Carlos Eduardo Lessa Brandao leveraged his unique background in governance roles the Global Reporting Initiative and the Brazilian Institute of Corporate…
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Can accountants save the world?
Meet Wim Bartels, Global Head of Sustainability Reporting and Assurance at KPMG. “Accountants will save the world”, said Peter Bakker, president of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). If all accountants were as knowledgeable and passionate as Wim, that could really happen. Here’s what he told me about sustainability and change. Recognizing…
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The shots are overshouting the overshoot
August 19, 2014 was Earth Overshoot Day, the date when all people living on planet Earth exhausted nature’s budget for the year. In less than eight months, we have depleted the natural resources that our planet is able to renew in twelve months. For the rest of the year, we are running on red, stealing from the…
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Patents to protect or drive innovation?
What are patents all about? According to Wikipedia, a patent is a set of exclusive rights granted to an inventor or assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for detailed public disclosure of an invention. The exclusive right granted to a patentee in most countries is the right to prevent others from commercially…
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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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We are all astronauts of Space Ship Earth
On May 18, 2014, the Netherlands lost its first astronaut, Wubbo Ockels. All Dutch news networks reported extensively on his life – as an astronaut and as a sustainability pioneer. He does not seem to be well-known outside of the Netherlands, as most posts in English are about his 7 days in space. Looking upon Planet…
