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Raising the chocolate bar for industry change
For years, I’ve been supporting chocolate – and change – maker Tony’s Chocolonely to create their annual report. My kids and my colleagues love that I work for them. Because I always return from meetings with their yummy chocolate in funky flavors. Their bars are a treat, but what inspires me most to work with…
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Driving change at Unilever through the power of purpose and film
What do Unilever Executive Hanneke Faber and documentary filmmaker Renée Scheltema have in common? For starters, they’re both Dutch women, with a journalism degree from an American university. They both have a strong conviction on how to create a better world. And the two of them met at the Ivy Circle sustainable movie night hosted by…
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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…
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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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Inspiring action before the flood
Watching movies or documentaries about sustainability by yourself can be quite daunting or even depressing. Nyenrode’s Alumni Circle for Sustainability organizes events in the Netherlands to bring people together to share insights and discuss sustainability topics. So on March 21, 2017, a diverse crowd of students, alumni, as well as other sustainability enthusiasts and professionals watched…
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Can the Netherlands lead the way in how the world eats protein?
Dutch food probably doesn’t conjure up images of very healthy eating. Lots of cheese, stroopwafels, chocolate sprinkles on bread, fried meat-based snacks and fries drowned in mayonnaise. And yet, the Netherlands might just be the country to lead the way to new eating patterns that are healthier for both people and the planet. In the…
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Sustainable cities for a positive future
“Cities are increasingly the home of humanity. They are central to climate action, global prosperity, peace and human rights.” — UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon October 31 is World Cities Day. Do we actually need such a day? I think we do need one, as today over half of the world’s population lives in…
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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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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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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…
