Motivation to make the world a more beautiful place

ustainability When people hear that word, they think, ‘that takes a lot of effort’ or ‘what’s the point of my contribution?’. If we keep thinking like that we’ll get nowhere. These kinds of responses really motivate me and I go all out. That’s because I believe every step we take, no matter how small, creates a change.

Outside

As a child, I was always outside. Playing in the park for hours, wandering the Veluwe with grandma and grandpa and skating through the polders. For me, sustainability is about making that outside world – nature – just a little bit better. I kept that drive even while studying Facility Management. While many fellow students didn’t get beyond solar panels or LED lighting when it came to the subject of sustainability, I wanted to do more, to really make an impact. I’m also the one who keeps telling her friend about recycling when she just stuffs the waste paper in the bin.

Fresh energy

Project Manager Corporate Social

Making that impact was something I thought I could do mainly at a creative start-up. I had no desire to work at a large corporate organisation. No bureaucratic systems or drowning in strategic plans for me. A little more action please; improving the world can’t wait. Until I realised during my internship at Sodexo that I could truly make an impact at exactly such a large facility services provider. Because major service providers are drivers that make the whole chain more sustainable, from supplier to client. They can combat food waste on a large scale and shape zero waste through circular initiatives. But they do need the fresh energy and innovativeness of those creative startups. It is precisely these collaborations that create real impact and vigour.

Apple tarts

I see it at the Participation Kitchen, which uses compost from the composting machines of Shell’s company restaurant for apple trees and herbs. Which they then turn into delicious apple tarts and sell to Shell. At Leanpath, begun as a start-up with a scale to make kitchen waste transparent. This collaboration led to the WasteWatch that Sodexo now uses worldwide. Or creative companies like Copper8, which help us with CO2 impact measurements for our clients. These kinds of examples really motivate me!

Paper bin

So yes, it is true that sustainability takes a bit more effort. These collaborations require patience; sustainable changes at a large company simply take longer. But if we keep motivating each other to make the world a little nicer, change will come naturally. Just like with my friend. She now faithfully walks to the paper bin with her bag. Now I just need to make sure she also separates the glass.