Dutch companies are demonstrating it: Cradle to Cradle pays off!

Last tuesday may 24th, The Terrace and Agentschap NL presented the Cradle to Cradle (C2C) Learning Event at DESSO (C2C carpet production). CDA member of the Lower House Marieke van der Werf was the very first to receive the booklet ‘C2C pays off!’ with learning experiences of the C2C learning community by CEO of DESSO, Stef Kranendijk. 17 Dutch leading companies are sharing their experiences and expertise on the Cradle to Cradle topic put into practice. During the event the companies agreed that C2C means succesful business and great opportunities for innovation.

Stef Kranendijk (CEO DESSO) hands over the booklet 'C2C pays off!' 

to Member of the Lower House Marieke van der Werf (CDA)

Although Agentschap NL will no longer support the Learning Community in the future, The Terrace and the C2C leading companies have decided to continue their meetings and cooperate to develop new business models with the C2C philosophy in mind. They explain that the Learning Community is of great importance within innovation and transition processes like the implementation of Cradle to Cradle. It is useful and inspiring to see how other companies handle the topic and integrate it into their businesses.

The Learning Community has a proven additional value: all the members experienced positive results. They saw the opportunity to develop new products, enter new markets and meet new target groups. Also, they have the ability to make the Netherlands future proof! C2C offers solutions for the depletion of resources, accelerate innovations, and closing loops.

The Learning Community consisting of 17 leading companies

The Terrace is the facilitator of the Learning Community. Together with Agentschap NL they have collected the experiences and knowledge in their latest publication ‘C2C pays off!’. For a copy please visit www.theterrace.nl/nl/publications .

 by Fleur Embrechts, consultant sustainable strategies @ The Terrace

2008-2011: how do sustainability communications in the Netherlands compare?

When I arrived in the country almost 3 years, I was surprised by the lack of sustainability-related messages in media, especially in comparison to my home country of Canada. This phenomenon was so noticeable to a fellow student and myself that we decided to focus our final MBA thesis project on the topic of sustainability marketing in the Netherlands. Both coming from a North American context, from either side of the 49^th parallel, we were used to seeing sustainability topics present in all forms of marketing and communications. Though quantity does not necessary denote quality (the amount of ‘greenwashing’ in the world tells us there is still needed improvements), we were still interested to find our why there was such a dearth of sustainability coverage on this side of the Atlantic.

Though our final thesis project became primarily focused a range of companies in two industries, it became an interesting point of conversation with our Dutch counterparts, even after our thesis was delivered and defended. We heard all sorts of responses from the average Dutch professional, but they generally fell into two general categories: 1| we aren’t doing enough to talk about or 2| we don’t want to boast. That was almost 3 years ago- and huge changes are noticeable in the Netherlands.

Sustainability communications are becoming more common, as companies decide to communicate to the general public about what they have been doing, instead of just filling it quietly away into an annual corporate social responsibility report. What more, the overall quality of the communications, in terms of authenticity and honesty, at least from this North American’s perspective, seemed to have far surpassed those from my home continent. It could be that the very thing that was holding back Dutch professionals regarding marketing their sustainability initiatives is the very thing that brings an air of authenticity to them. 

Dutch companies are also becoming more committed to the sustainability initiatives, even if they are not yet communicating about them. And the rest of the world is noticing: Dutch organizations are introducing more then their fair share of Cradle-to-Cradle certified products, ISO 26000 (the international guidance on social responsibility) is quickly being integrated into Dutch business strategies and Dutch firms has the most top-ranking companies in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index.

As time goes on, there will be even more for Dutch professionals and consumers to celebrate: the sustainability movement in the Netherlands shows no signs of stopping anytime soon. For this North American who is working as a consultant on the topic of sustainability marketing and strategy, the Dutch market just keeps getting more interesting.

Keep up the good work, Holland!

Written by: Stefanie Beninger