Richard Koen RA/RC, Richard Koen RA/RC, business partner of Neste Dieselen on frying fat. Finland's Neste provides renewable diesel and sustainable kerosene.

RICHARD KOEN, FINANCE PARTNER NESTE:

Dieselen on frying fat

Richard Koen (RA/RC) is senior finance business partner at Neste, the world's largest producer of renewable diesel and sustainable jet fuel. The pure, renewable fuel has a similar chemical composition and just as high performance as regular diesel, but is fossil free and delivers up to 90% reduction in greenhouse gas (CO2) emissions. Richard provides insight into the world of 'green' fuel.

BY JAN VINCENT MEERTENS PHOTO PRIVATELY OWNED RICHARD KOEN

Neste was founded in 1948 and listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange in 1995.The company produces renewable fuels based on waste and residues such as used frying fat and animal waste fats.One example is Neste MY Renewable Diesel, which is suitable for all diesel feed vehicles and engines. For Richard Koen, it was not obvious that he would end up in this business. RK: "I started in 1998 as an accountant, 12 years at two of the big 5 then as head of audit at PepsiCo Netherlands and then Heineken in the Netherlands and Switzerland. With my move into finance I got closer to the business. My first non-audit job was as finance director for Heineken in Belarus and later I became head of reporting and accounting for Nigerian Breweries Plc, listed in Nigeria. It was a nice job that was a mix of the head office role, which at Heineken is mainly in Amsterdam, focusing on stock exchange activities and annual accounts, and at the same time I was close to the beer production. That's what I like best, being close to the operation. And now back in the Netherlands, and since Fall 2021 at Neste."

Close to the refinery?

RK: "I work for the head office but my workplace is on the Maasvlakte, at the refinery. With 5,000 employees worldwide, Neste is smaller than Heineken. But that does mean that I am now closer to the international operation. And because the organization is smaller, the lines of communication are also shorter. I am responsible for the business partnering (controlling) at Neste's Renewables Platform, in other words the production organization. We have three refineries: in Rotterdam, Finland and in Singapore. The latter is currently being expanded. We are also working on expanding our production capacities in Rotterdam. The locations have relatively small teams with whom I look back at the financial results of the past month and what the prospects are for the short and longer term. At Nyenrode I got a broader view of accounting and finance. The training there has helped me to develop a solid backbone that I can put to good use in the interaction between the various departments in the company. But entrepreneurship and thinking, along with others, is something you learn in practice, from 'it's not allowed' to 'is this an alternative?'"

What attracted you to Neste?

RK: "To help make the world a little cleaner. I became much more aware of that in Nigeria. I had a sailboat there, together with the neighbor, and when we went down the river, there was garbage and plastic everywhere. People would just throw bottles out the window of the car. The painting that hangs here behind me keeps bringing that to mind: all those people, that traffic, the mess. After a training day, back in the Netherlands, I once had to write a letter to our children, as if it were ten years later and your child asks, "What have you done in the past 10 years to improve my living environment? That day and actually before, in Nigeria, the will to contribute to a better climate was born. Neste is in the business of combating climate change and promoting the circular economy by converting waste into renewable fuel. And that really appeals to me."

What would you like to discuss with the Minister for Climate and Energy, Rob Jetten?

RK: "We need stability, clear objectives and clear long-term policies. You build a refinery for the long term with substantial investments. So I do want to talk to Jetten about: how do we achieve acceleration, stability together and also make maximum use of the solutions we already have?"

How do you procure the raw materials?

RK: "We purchase our raw materials worldwide. Sometimes in large quantities and sometimes in small bits collected from restaurants and other users. The market is very sensitive to the price. but the expectation is that there are more than enough raw materials available to significantly increase the use of renewable fuels."

The European Commission states that electrification for European freight transport is still a long way off: by 2030, 9 out of 10 trucks will still be running on diesel. Do you offer the solution?

RK: "Yes. By using renewable diesel, transport companies can effectively reduce their emissions right now. The CO2 emissions when using it are equal to zero. We produce on the basis of almost all types of vegetable oils and animal waste fats, so without adding one drop of petroleum. Our renewable fuel can therefore reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of diesel vehicles by up to 90% during its life cycle compared to fossil diesel. Because it does release additional CO2 during production and transportation, the gain is not quite 100%. But reducing emissions by up to 90% gets us a long way. And we continue to work to increase that further. We were able to read that Heineken is transporting more by water. That saves many road kilometers and reduces traffic congestion, with beneficial effects on CO2 emissions. But road transport cannot be avoided; I would like to point out to all major transporters that you can apply the use of renewable diesel immediately. It is a simple and convenient 'drop-in' solution for all diesel engines and also requires no modifications to the vehicles. No new infrastructure is required to use this fuel because more than 111,000 filling stations in Europe can offer it today." ♦