Already as a child, I came up with all kinds of “inventions”. Some trivial, like (what I thought was) a banana peeler, and some that I hoped could change the world, like an energy-creating machine, that I eventually learned was a perpetuum mobile.
Like so many of us, I wanted to make the world a better place. On this ambitious journey, the most polarizing concept for me was capitalism: imposing and powerful, yet also destructive and exploitative.
With my mother being the artistic optimist and my father being the rational pessimist, I developed into an optimistic realist. The way I was raised kept my feet on the ground thinking a complete reboot of the system might be out of reach, but my head in the clouds, daring to dream that our, and our following, generations will change some key rules of the current system and steer it into a sustainable direction. I dream that we use the enormous power of capitalism and create an economic system which is good for the environment, society, and the economy!
The key to getting there I believe, is the circular economy because it “muti solves” at so many levels. I work for a Dutch company with a global network at the forefront of the circular transition. We developed a business game that makes people act to go circularly in a team. How? We put them in charge of managing the circular transition of a company themselves. Thereby they experience the circular advantage firsthand, rather than just being aware of it!
This work has enabled me to collaborate with many inspiring and ambitious people. It gives me hope and energy and I discovered that I have an immense power when building something I believe in. The flourishing number of green fielding projects show that working in a circular way can be more profitable than traditional business practices. I dream that those projects develop into proven concepts and with the right legislative framework, make us reach a tipping point, where circular strategies become the mainstream way of working.
I am grateful to have been born in one of the wealthiest countries on Earth. Not using this privilege for the better, would feel wrong. I want to contribute to a sustainable world, no matter how big or small that contribution will eventually be. Join me!