NETHERLANDS

APRIL 2016 

IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE NETHERLANDS CIRCULAR HOTSPOT 

sharing innovation 

BILL MCDONOUGH ANDRÉ KUIPERS NEELIE KROES EBERHARD VAN DER LAAN HANS DE BOER ANDY RIDLEY ELSE BOS JOS NIJHUIS 

AHMED ABOUTALEB PETER BAKKER SHARON DIJKSMA CHEN XU WIEBE DRAIJER COERT ZACHARIASSE JASPER SNOEK ERIKA KOEHLER GUIDO BRAAM

advertorial 

The Netherlands Circular Hotspot is a campaign that is supported by the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment and 31 

organizations that are committed to realizing a circular economy. Each of them has offered a statement to underline that commitment. 

‘Royal HaskoningDHV is about enhancing society together. The Circular Economy movement contributes to a 

true sustainable future. The transition is essential and can also provide business opportunities. We have initiated 

the Green Fund, Zero Emission City Logistics; with partners we work together in e.g. Take Back Chemicals, 

Park4 all, a manure valorization project with FrieslandCampina: CODE ® and the reclamation of an organic soil 

fertilizer during the drinking water process with Vitens. Initiatives we are very proud of.’ 

Erik Oostwegel - CEO Royal HaskoningDHV 

‘In the coming decades, transition will be key for the port of Rotterdam, in which an important element is the 

stimulation of a circular economy. This means: using much less raw materials, maximizing their yields and, especially, 

reusing them, creating opportunities that will enhance our current mode of production by attracting new business 

activity. That way, we will ensure that – also in the second half of the century – the port will remain a pillar of 

Dutch prosperity.’ Allard Castelein - CEO Port of Rotterdam 

‘Banks play a crucial role in driving economic growth and progress, and it’s our duty to ensure they are sustainable. 

Global challenges such as climate change and resource scarcity require us to rethink current economic systems and 

find solutions. The circular economy, which decouples economic growth from resource use, is one such solution. ING 

proudly plays its part by leading the thinking on the role of financial services in the circular economy and by empowering 

clients to make the transition to circular and sustainable business models.’ Ralph Hamers - CEO ING 

‘The activities of Deltares are at the service of the sustainable development of delta areas, coastal regions and river 

basins. We have a leading position in the field of environmental issues relating to soil and water. We develop innovative 

and sustainable solutions to enable delta life. It therefore goes without saying that we keep the environmental 

impact of our own business operations to a minimum. And we want to help and inspire others to do the same.’ 

Maarten Smits - Managing Director Deltares 

‘Rabobank believes it can make a substantial contribution to welfare and prosperity by promoting a circular economy. 

We’re also convinced we can in this way improve our customers’ competitive position and resilience and as a result 

their financeability. Circular enterprise furthermore lends itself extremely well for our role as financial linking pin. 

Rabobank offers customers circular economy challenge programmes as an opportunity for them to turn an idea into 

an action plan.’ Wiebe Draaijer - CEO Rabobank 

‘Our ambition at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is to become the world’s most sustainable airport. That means a 

commitment to zero waste by 2030, increased innovation, like our Blueveyor baggage belt and ‘light as a service’ in 

our new Departure Lounge 2. It means striving to design and building our new pier and terminal according to circular 

principles. It’s part of our commitment to transform the way we operate and develop our assets – for the next 100 

years and beyond.’ Jos Nijhuis - CEO Schiphol 

‘The Chemical Industry is a key enabler of the manufacturing industry. The expertise of chemical; engineers is exactly 

what is required to design basic materials in such a way that they can be used in multiple lifecycles. Circular use of 

basic building blocks provides a huge opportunity for radical resource efficiency and for a vital circular economy. A 

precondition to ensure that by 2050 9 billion can enjoy decent living standards within the boundaries of One Planet. 

Planet Possible!’ Andre Veneman - Corporate Director Sustainability AkzoNobel 

‘The circular economy represents a massive opportunity for the Netherlands, a country with the right conditions 

and necessities to create a luminous example of business as an engine for change. Delta Development Group leads 

the way worldwide in the built environment towards the circular economy. With the development of Valley, our 

national hub for the CE, we aim to create a catalyst that will inspire, accelerate and develop the circular economy 

in the Netherlands and beyond.’ Coert Zachariasse - CEO Delta Development Group 

‘Amsterdam has a leading role in the transition to a circular economy because of the innovations of the research 

institutes, businesses and start-ups in the city. We have a strong creative industry, necessary for, for example, circular 

(re)design of products. For now, it is important to gain a shared understanding of the opportunities that the circular 

economy has to offer, and when the government has to act and when it has to take distance in order to foster the 

development thereof.’ Abdeluheb Choho - Alderman Municipality of Amsterdam 

‘PGGM believes that the financial sector must accelerate the transition to a circular economy. We also seek partners 

outside our sector to stimulate this transaction, such as designers, governments, policy makers, legislators, business 

leaders and consumers. I am convinced that the transition we are seeking will only be realized if all private and public 

stakeholders work together. Finances will be an important instrument to accelerate this deveopment, but we also 

need a disruptive change. In the real economy ánd in our financial sector.’ Else Bos - CEO PGGM 

ALL THINGS BRIGHT 

AND CIRCULAR 

Rarely have I been prouder than I am now, to share this magazine with you, its readers. 

We live in an era where the challenges facing us worldwide are at times simply 

overwhelming. Struggle and conflict dominate our news headlines. But the following 

pages will play you an uplifting tune, and paint a vision of a new era using brighter 

colours. Because that is what a circular economy has to offer: responsible and sustainable 

growth for a society in which people, businesses and our planet can flourish. 

It has been truly inspiring to meet with the visionary personalities whose views and 

insights you are about to read. Although very different in background and profession, 

they are all focussed on finding solutions. 

Circularity is all about optimism, 

ingenuity and common sense 

Numerous discussions and visits to projects have strengthened my belief in the role the 

Netherlands can and should play in boosting the circular economy across the globe. 

Optimism, ingenuity, adaptability to change and a deeply rooted compass of common 

sense are all strong Dutch characteristics. The latter being the first core value of the 

circular economy: it just makes sense. 

Over the past few years more and more Dutch companies and entrepreneurs, together 

with local and national governments, institutes, universities and NGOs have made 

impressive steps in the transition towards a circular economy. It is an exciting journey 

that generates a positive flow of energy throughout the country, and indeed is turning 

the Netherlands into a circular hotspot. 

I have no doubt that you will find inspiration, new insights, and new questions in this 

magazine. Please consider it an invitation to join us – any of us – on this promising 

journey. 

H.R.H. Prince Carlos de Bourbon de Parme 

Chairman of the campaign The Netherlands Circular Hotspot 

Preface 

3. Mgmt. Scope

Contents 

6. ICONIC PROJECTS 

There are already hundreds of circular 

projects in the Netherlands. We made 

a subjective selection of eleven ‘iconic’ 

projects and asked photographer 

Barbara Kieboom to visualize ten of 

them in a personal interpretation 

(p. 9, 13, 16, 24, 31, 32, 35, 40, 43, 48). 

10. ANDRÉ KUIPERS 

The man who left earth and came back 

an environmentalist. 

14. MONEY 

Circular business models have a great 

impact on finance. 

18. NEELIE KROES 

Lady Europe is now the mother of 

innovation. ‘If we do nothing, we’ll 

be dependent on others for our raw 

materials in 20 years’ time.’ 

21. COLUMNS 

Peter Bakker, Else Bos (p. 39) and 

Erika Koehler (p. 50) weigh in on 

the importance of circularity. 

26. A TALE OF 

TWO CITIES 

Eberhard van der Laan and Ahmed 

Aboutaleb, mayors of Amsterdam and 

Rotterdam, on how to change everyday 

behaviour and create opportunities for 

circular businesses. 

36. JOS NIJHUIS 

The Netherlands’ main air hub 

has grand circular ambitions, says 

Schiphol’s chairman. ‘We want to be 

one of the world’s greenest airports.’ 

FRONTRUNNER 

Our planet and our economy cannot survive if we continue with the ‘take, make, use 

and throw away’ approach. We need to retain precious resources and fully exploit 

all the economic value within them. The circular economy is about reducing waste 

and protecting the environment, but it is also about a profound transformation of 

the way our entire economy works. I am happy to see that the Netherlands are a 

frontrunner in rethinking the way we produce, work and buy. This will generate 

new opportunities and create new jobs. Also at the European level, we are working 

to set a credible and ambitious path for better waste management in all our Member 

States with supportive actions that cover the full product cycle. This mix of smart 

regulation and incentives at EU level will help businesses and consumers, as well as 

national and local authorities, to drive this transformation. 

Frans Timmermans 

First Vice-President European Commission, 

a.o. responsible for sustainable development 

COLOPHON 

17. TESTIMONIALS 

Bill McDonough, Sharon Dijksma 

(p. 34), Chen Xu (p. 42), and Andy 

Ridley (p. 47) share their vision. 

22. THE VALLEY 

An international showcase and nerve 

center for circular business. Near 

Amsterdam Schiphol Airport arises the 

most sustainable working environment 

in western Europe. 

44. HANS DE BOER 

The chairman of VNO-NCW 

employer’s organizations sees lots 

of commercial prospects in waste. 

‘We ought to have a kind of recycling 

‘bank’ for raw materials.’ 

4. Mgmt. Scope 5. Mgmt. Scope

Photography Barbara Kieboom 

‘Visiting the farm for the FrieslandCampina project, I realized that cows are as Dutch as windmills, 

tulips and cheese. Maybe that is why they inspired this particular innovation: to process cow’s manure 

into valuable end products does not just make ‘circular sense’, it is also illustrates typical ‘Dutch sense.’ 

Iconic Project 

A DAIRY TALE 

Circular hotspot project: A process solution to digest or 

renew cows’ manure into valuable end products such as 

biogas, recycled minerals and compost. FrieslandCampina 

is building the first dairy plant that partly runs on biogas 

from manure from its own farmers. 

Organizations involved: In this innovation, Friesland- 

Campina collaborates withmany different actors within 

and outside the dairy value chain: businesses, technology 

providers, knowledge institutes and (local) government. 

Iconic because: The Dutch livestock sectors annually 

produce a volume of 74 million tons of manure. Wasted 

manure is a significant cost for farmers. 

A sound business case can be made for ‘fractionating’ 

manure into valuable components that can be brought 

back into the agricultural process, for example as a 

source of renewable energy. Collaborating with partners 

on manure digestion will help to develop the market 

for circular products like minerals, compost and 

biogas. 

TO THE NEXT PHASE, 

AND BEYOND 

EIGHT STEPPING STONES TO CIRCULAR PROGRESS AND SUCCESS 

When cities, companies, governmental ministries, 

branch-organizations, NGO’s and researchers who 

already started to shape a circular economy come 

together to share their experiences, something 

exciting happens. The result of several ‘round table’ 

events that were held last year: eight stepping stones 

to the next phase in circularity. 

The industrial Henry Ford said: ‘Coming together is a 

beginning; keeping together is progress; working together 

is success’. He perfectly described the three stages the 

Netherlands is going through in its journey to a circular 

economy. In 2016, the year of the Dutch EU Presidency 

and also the year after the launch of EU’s Circular Economy 

Package, Dutch ‘circular frontrunners’ finished their 

years of ‘beginning of coming together’ and started the 

next phase: progress. 

Our current economy is a ‘take-make-waste’ model. It is a 

‘linear’ and finite system. A circular economy is a regenerative 

system in which infinite reuse of resources is the 

norm, but not at the expense of economic growth. The 

popularity of this transition is not surprising. Calculations 

by consultancy firm McKinsey indicate that a circular 

economy can lead to earnings of $340-630 billion per 

year in Europe alone. The Dutch research institute TNO 

concludes that a circular economy could deliver earnings 

of € 7.4 billion per year and 54,000 new jobs in the 

Netherlands alone; opportunities no country should ignore 

and the Dutch strive to play a major role in this challenging 

transition. The Netherlands as a circular hotspot. 

All over the Netherlands the circular economy is fuelling 

new business cases, technical and social innovations, 

investments and policies. It is also an economic 

ánd social transition that generates new challenges. The 

frontrunners in the Netherlands are discovering them 

through trial and error. 

ROUND TABLES 

Starting in 2014 and inspired by the then upcoming 

Dutch EU Presidency in 2016, no less than 56 companies, 

3 governmental ministries, 3 cities, 4 public 

organizations, 6 branch-organizations, 5 research institutes 

and universities and 5 NGOs came together 

in several ‘round table’ events and openly exchanged 

thoughts and experiences on what they had learned 

so far. Their ambition: two assess the status of circular 

economy in the Netherlands, in order to distil the most 

important lessons learned and use these as stepping 

stones into the next phase of progress. 

They proudly share these stepping stones, so other 

countries, companies and organizations can equally 

benefit from what a circular economy has to offer. 

Tekst Peter Gersen 

Circular Hotspot 


All over the Netherlands the 

circular economy is fuelling 

new business cases 

From a linear system... 

INNOVATION HAS BEGUN, NOW IT NEEDS LARGER 

SCALES FOR PROGRESS 

Pro-active government: governments (national, regional, local) 

are a pro-active stakeholder in a circular economy. They 

actively stimulate innovation and circular business models, 

for instance through policy and their procurement. 

Living labs: companies and municipalities jointly create circular 

hubs and living labs, where for instance start-ups and 

larger corporations can connect and develop projects together. 

PROGRESS MEANS MORE AND LARGER 

INVESTMENTS BY BANKS AND PENSION FUNDS 

New financial game plans: banks and funds have learned 

that the financial structure of circular business models is far 

from ‘business as usual’. The current situation, in which they 

have to develop a custom made set of rules for each project, 

prevents progress to larger scales. It is imperative that banks, 

funds and government jointly work on new financial game 

plans. 

WORKING TOGETHER IS NOT JUST AN OPTION, 

IT IS MANDATORY 

New rulebooks for partnerships: the success of circular projects 

depends on how well parties work together. A new rulebook 

includes an analysis at the start of a project: who needs 

to sit at the table? Take the time to understand each partner’s 

interests and their challenges. Share successful experiences as 

well as failures and create mutual trust. 

THE AMOUNT OF PROGRESS EQUALS THE AMOUNT 

OF FINANCIAL INCENTIVES 

Update the tax system: current tax systems are based on a 

linear economy and put extremely high taxes on labour and 

hardly any on use of natural resources. The majority of ‘linear’ 

companies will only reconsider their business models and 

choices when confronted with different fiscal incentives and 

the same dynamic applies to consumers. 

Create a level playing field: governments also play in important 

role in creating a level playing field in which circular 

business models do not suffer from, for instance, subsidies for 

fossil fuels. 

Take social and ecological values into account: accountancy 

firms play an important role in making standards and monetizing 

the so called ‘true costs’ of products and their processes. 

RENEWABLE ENERGY IS THE ONLY FUEL FOR 

PROGRESS 

Fossil fuels are an obstacle for a circular economy. In addition, 

companies don’t like volatility, and if anything, the price of oil 

is volatile. This year so far oil prices and the broader financial 

markets have suffered from acute bout of volatility, with no signs 

of letting up. 

THE PROGRESS IS IN THE PUDDING 

Assemble and show as many business opportunities as possible: 

it is one thing for frontrunners to conclude that the 

Netherlands has enough circular cases to claim it’s a hotspot for 

the circular economy, it is another thing to make it known to 

others, in and outside the Netherlands. Focus on showing ánd 

sharing. 

STUDENTS ARE THE AGENTS OF PROGRESS, 

SO TEACH THEM WELL. 

Include circular economy in different curricula: over the last 

decade there has been more interest in sustainability from students 

at Dutch universities and colleges. The upcoming circular 

economy seems to build on that interest. Since it is an interdisciplinary 

development with economical, technical and social innovations, 

the curricula should not be limited to business schools. 

RESPECT THAT CONSUMERS ARE CONSERVATIVE 

IN THEIR CHOICES. 

Make ‘circular’ the easy, fun and smart choice for consumers: 

accept that the general public does not change its behaviour 

based on only the incentive of doing the ‘right thing’. Make circular 

innovations tangible, practical: what is in it for him or her 

and not (just) the planet. Don’t bother them with morals, but 

make the new, circular choices easy and affordable. 

Already stakeholders in the Netherlands are acting on these 

stepping-stones: authoritative ministerial departments and 

councils have published thorough reports and studies to steer 

circular developments. A new study by the Social Economic 

Council is in the making. Captains of Dutch industries issued 

their visions, new coalitions of public and private organizations 

and NGOs joined forces with ministries to assemble circular 

frontrunners and their cases. Circular ‘hotbeds’ and expositions 

are being realised and trade missions organized. Major cities are 

implementing circular principles in their short and long term 

plans. The Netherlands is making progress on its circular way, 

encouraging others to work together for success. Just like Ford 

envisioned. 

THE BEAUTY OF TAXES 

Circular hotspot project: Researching the fiscal possibilities 

of a fundamental tax shift from labour to the 

use of natural resources; a precondition for a successful 

circular economy. 

Organizations involved: Deloitte, EY, KPMG Meijburg, 

PwC, The Ex’tax Project Foundation, DOEN, Adessium 

Foundation, MAVA Foundation. 

... to a circular system 

Iconic because: The fundamental value of the project 

and the cooperating organizations. All reports and studies 

on circular economy agree that some of the current 

incentives at systems levels are perverse—for example, 

taxing labour instead of material. This seems like common 

sense, but the complexity of our tax systems is a 

formidable barrier. In The Netherlands, the mentioned 

organizations joined forces, and together they are working 

together on feasible fiscal possibilities and solutions 

for this tax shift. After finishing the Dutch case study in 

2014, in 2016 the modelling of the tax shift for all EU 

countries will be finalized and available: sharing innovation. 

Iconic Project Illustration Frank Paats 

8. Mgmt. Scope 

9. Mgmt. Scope

Interview Carlos de Bourbon de Parme 

Text Irene Schoemakers 

Photography Kick Smeets 


THE MAN WHO 

FELL TO 

A DIFFERENT EARTH 

Dutch astronaut André Kuipers went into space 

an ordinary man but came back a committed 

environmentalist. With so many people demanding 

ever more from the Earth’s resources, cradle to 

cradle is our only way forward, he believes. 

‘Up there, we are recycling all the time.’ 

Early in the morning of 19 April 2004, Dutchman André 

Kuipers, together with one Russian and one American 

colleague, was launched into space from Kazakhstan. 

Almost eight years later, on 21 December 2011, he 

went back to space. Once again a Soyuz rocket took him 

up to the ISS international space station for a mission 

that would last more than six months. Today, however, 

André Kuipers – who now has a planetoid named 

after him – is no longer known simply for being an astronaut. 

Since his space missions he has also become 

a serious advocate for technology, science, nature and 

the environment. One of his roles is as ambassador for 

Techniekpact (technology pact); a project that the 

Dutch government hopes will encourage young people 

to study technological subjects. His other activities include 

making appearances on TV science programmes 

and travelling around the country to give lectures and 

raise awareness of sustainable development. 

Is saving the planet something that has always 

been a major concern of yours? 

‘No, certainly not. I have a brother who’s a biologist 

and, when I was young, he was always very pessimistic 

about humanity’s negative impact on our world. He was 

fairly radical. He even thought we should stop having 

children and stop using cars. He has, by the way, since 

had his own children and he’s got a car, but he was fairly 

fanatical about all this back then. In that respect he was 

my conscience, because I actually looked at things from 

a totally different perspective. I had an optimistic outlook 

on life. While my brother could only see problems 

ahead, I thought: it’ll all be alright in the end.’ 

When did your attitude change? 

‘That happened during my space missions. I’d often go 

and sit by the window to enjoy the view, and when you 

look down on the earth you see two things: on the one 

hand it’s a fantastic, beautifully-coloured ball in space. I’d call 

it awe-inspiring. But as soon as you look past it, out into space, 

that feeling quickly fades away. Suddenly you notice just how 

thin the atmosphere is. Now the earth seems more like a single 

living cell surrounded by a paper-thin membrane that’s only 

about ten kilometres thick. That’s where the oxygen, wind and 

clouds are. That’s where it all happens. All our lives are played 

out in that narrow space. When you look at it from that kind 

of distance, you get the feeling you could just blow it all away 

with a single breath. It was then that I became really aware of 

the truly fragile nature of life on earth. That opened my eyes 

for good. If our atmosphere is ruined and we screw things up 

down here, we’ve got nowhere else to go. That’s the end of 

everything.’ 

Your views literally changed right then? 

‘Yes, that was how it happened. I can clearly remember flying 

over India and realising that one billion people live there. Moments 

later we’d left India behind, but less than one and a half 

hours later we were over it again. Besides the fact that I suddenly 

became aware of how vulnerable the earth is, it also became 

clear to me how limited our space is down here. Our planet 

isn’t actually that big at all. One minute you’re flying over the 

Amazonian rainforest and a couple of seconds later you’re over 

the Brazilian coast. When you’re down on the ground, standing 

in the jungle, it all seems to go on forever. But when you look 

down from up above, you feel and see just how small the earth 

really is. All of us down here are like astronauts living in a small 

spacecraft with only a limited supply of resources. That’s all we 

have. Straight after my first space flight I got in contact with 

the World Wide Fund for Nature. I offered to help them make 

people aware of our planet’s vulnerability. Since then I’ve also 

gone on to do other things to promote sustainability, science 

and education.’ 

‘If all these people 

want to live like us 

in the Netherlands, 

then we’d need 

3.5 planet earths’ 

ANDRÉ KUIPERS (57) 

Education 

Medicine, University of Amsterdam 

Career 

1991 - present day 

Member of the European astronaut corps of the 

European Space Agency (ESA) 

1987 - 1990 

Medical doctor, Royal Netherlands Air Force 

Other positions 

Chairman - André Kuipers Foundation 

Ambassador - WWF 

Ambassador - Emma children’s hospital 

Ambassador - Airsmiles Foundation 

Ambassador - WE Foundation 

Advisory Board member - Nemo Science Center 

Supervisory Board member - KNMI 

Board member - Space Expo Noordwijk 

Interests 

Flying, diving, skiing, trekking, travel and history 

Private life 

Married, four children. 

10. Mgmt. Scope

‘We even collect urine and process 

it to make drinking water’ 

NET EFFECT 

Circular hotspot project: Local fishermen collect discarded 

nets, that wreak havoc with the marine ecosystem, 

and sell them back into a global supply chain 

– giving those destructive, broken nets a second life as 

long-lasting carpet tile. 

What causes you the most concern? 

‘Humanity’s own impact on our future here. It was something I 

paid conscious attention to during my space missions. You could 

see the white trails left by airplanes. I could clearly see cities on 

the ground, and Dubai’s palm-tree islands. But, unfortunately, 

the air pollution was also clearly visible, especially over cities 

in China. I also saw columns of smoke all over the place, and 

bare patches on the ground – all the result of deforestation. 

Madagascar, for example, where the mountains are crumbling 

away because of the enormous quantity of trees being felled 

there. There was also the astounding number of fishing boats 

in the South China Sea. These enormous fleets - thousands of 

ships - suddenly make overfishing a very tangible thing. You 

can see man’s impact particularly well at night, when the earth 

is cloaked with millions of tiny lights. It’s like flying over a 

black carpet covered with a myriad golden stitches.’ 

What do you regard as the greatest threat posed by 

man? 

‘There are many, but overpopulation is one of the most worrying. 

A lot of people aren’t aware that no fewer than 200,000 

new people join us on this planet every single day. And that’s 

just the total left after you subtract the number of deaths each 

day. In other words, that’s a daily increase equal to the size of a 

city like Eindhoven. Every single day! If all these people want 

to live like we do here in the Netherlands, then we’d need 3.5 

planet Earths to achieve that. If everyone wants to live like the 

Americans, that goes up to 4.5 Earths. So, that’s clearly impossible. 

We can’t keep on continually growing without adopting 

a sustainable approach to our resources. In short, we have to do 

things differently.’ 

Where do you think we should be looking for the 

solutions? 

‘Fortunately, I can think of many solutions that keep me hopeful 

about the future. Take food technology. Numerous scientists 

are working on things like using algae and insects in the food 

industry. Technological innovations in the field of sustainable 

energy also keep on coming. Wind and solar energy, for example, 

and the use of alternative fuels for things like cars. Those 

developments are coming at lightning speed.’ 

What did you think when you first heard about the 

circular economy? 

‘My immediate thoughts were about the cradle-to-cradle principle 

and the fact that we really could be recycling much more 

than we are. It’s something we do all the time in space. After 

all, we only have limited room and resources up there, so we’ve 

got no choice. For example, we recycle our water. It costs 

€15,000 to launch a single kilo of weight into space, so we 

take as little water as possible and we recycle it. That means 

we also trap all the moisture in the air – whether it comes 

from perspiration or wet towels. We even collect urine. We 

use special equipment to remove the actual waste material and 

then process it to make drinking water. It’s often even cleaner 

than tap water. But we also need to keep extracting CO 2 

from 

the air. We don’t have any trees or plants to do that for us. 

And we use it too. If you mix hydrogen and CO 2 

you get water 

and methane. We take the water and dispose of the methane. 

You could also use these techniques on earth. We could, for 

example, store wind energy and use it to remove CO 2 

from 

the atmosphere. The wind energy could be stored in the form 

of the residual methane, providing a kind of battery that can 

produce energy when there’s no wind. That would save a great 

deal of energy.’ 

The United Nations’ 21st annual climate conference, 

COP21, was held in Paris at the end of last 

year. What impression did it make on you? 

‘It clearly showed that countries across the world are finally 

taking climate and the environment seriously – and with good 

reason. We have in fact already passed the ‘point of no return’. 

Climate change and global warming are already happening. 

We can’t turn back the clock. But, naturally, I’m also a bit 

wary. We can’t really expect any great changes to happen until 

the parties concerned realise that they are going to benefit 

financially by taking action on sustainability. There again, climate 

change isn’t seen as a threat by everyone. It opens up possibilities 

too. For example: as the polar ice in Greenland melts 

away, governments are suddenly realising that this is opening 

up the possibility of starting mining activities there. 

Finally, what’s the Netherlands’ role in all of this? 

Are we a frontrunner? 

‘Definitely. There’s a lot of high-tech know-how here in the 

Netherlands and we can use that to make a more sustainable 

world. We need to spread that technological know-how even 

more than we’re doing now. We shouldn’t be wagging our finger 

at others, but coming up with solutions. That’s something 

the Netherlands excels in.’ 

Organizations involved: Interface, the Zoological Society 

of London (ZSL), Aquafil (together the ‘Net-Works 

programme’). 

Iconic because: Interface, ZSL and Aquafil are creating a 

solid business solution with long-term positive impacts on 

marine and freshwater ecosystems while also providing financial 

opportunities to some of the poorest people in the 

world. So far over 80.000 kilograms of discarded fishing 

nets have been collected in the Philippines – in Danajon 

Bank, the Bantayan Islands and Northern Iloilo. If not 

collected, these nets can persist for centuries, taking a toll 

on the environment and marine life. 


‘The fisherman just hád to be in this photo. Because while I was feeling the new nylon thread for the 

carpet tiles between my fingers, in my mind I backtracked to when the fishing nets were still used. 

That was such an inspiring ‘journey’!’ 



13. Mgmt. Scope

JASPER SNOEK (46) 

Circular Hotspot Interviews Carlos de Bourbon de Parme Text Irene Schoemakers Illustration Yvonne Kroese 

A GRAND 

FINANCIAL DESIGN 

In a circular economy, business models will 

change radically. Fortunately, there is growing 

momentum within the finance market, say 

Wiebe Draijer and Jasper Snoek. 

Few people are likely to doubt the importance of 

the circular economy. If humanity continues on 

its current path, our resources will go on diminishing 

and the environment will grow ever more 

polluted. Circularity will put an end to this downward 

spiral. In a circular economy the process of 

value creation can be repeated over and over 

again into infinity, without harming the environment. 

Not only will the world will become a better 

place and the earth more habitable, there will 

also be opportunities for business and commerce. 

To reach that stage, however, a massive transition 

must take place – and this applies equally to 

the area of finance. Business models will change 

radically in a circular economy. If, for example, 

a manufacturer stops selling products to ‘buyers’, 

and leases those products to its customers instead 

– because that reduces waste production and also 

means more is re-used – this will have a major 

impact on the company’s balance sheet. 

Fortunately, there is growing momentum within 

the finance market for the transition to circular 

business models, as witnessed by the enthusiasm 

voiced by two influential figures in this field. 

Jasper Snoek is Financial Director of DOEN, a 

foundation that finances social and sustainable 

initiatives. Wiebe Draijer is the ceo of Rabobank, 

one of the four major Dutch banks, which 

plans to do a lot in the field of circular enterprise. 

WIEBE DRAIJER (50) 

‘The term ‘re-use’ now crops up in almost 

all growth-related business and government 

plans. So there’s a solid basis for 

Rabobank’s belief that circular enterprise 

is the number-one business model of the 

future. That’s the reason behind us doing 

things like launching the Rabobank Circular 

Economy Challenge in which we’re 

encouraging our customers to come up 

with ‘circular’ business opportunities. 

The world needs a circular economy, not 

only because of the economic benefits 

but also to ensure that, in the future too, 

there will be enough food and energy for 

everyone. What this issue really needs is a 

‘grand design’. The momentum’s already 

there, now it’s time for government, the 

business world and social organisations to 

take action and make cross-sectoral plans 

for a circular economy. 

Rabobank, together with the other major 

Dutch banks, has recently taken 

the first steps in this direction. We may 

compete with each like crazy, but we as 

a sector can also join forces when it’s 

necessary. But that’s not enough. We 

will also need things like new financing 

structures for circular business models, 

and new chain designs. That calls for a 

master plan that spells out which chains 

we’re going to prioritise for the radical 

changes needed to make them circular. 

Make no mistake, the Netherlands has 

the potential to take the global lead on 

this issue. We’re a small country where 

a circular economy should be fairly easy 

to organise compared to larger countries. 

Relatively speaking, we aren’t overly dependent 

on raw materials and, on top of 

that, we’ve got enormous amounts of expertise 

in this country. You could see that 

at the World Economic Forum in Davos. 

The ‘food agenda’ there was almost totally 

dominated by Dutch companies like 

Unilever, DSM and Rabobank. 

That expertise is also recognised internationally. 

We often underestimate our 

own potential. But we as a country now 

have a real opportunity to set the global 

agenda. And let’s be clear about it, the 

circular economy isn’t at all the same 

thing as ‘sustainability’. That’s why it 

needs its own, separate agenda. The time 

has arrived, we have the expertise. Let’s 

do it.’ 

‘The circular economy 

is coming 

closer to being a 

reality. Using funds 

from the Dutch 

National Postcode 

Lottery, we support 

initiatives that truly 

dare to lead the way in this area. Think 

of examples like Ecovative, which makes 

degradable alternatives for packaging 

materials. A growing number of businesses 

are moving away from the traditional 

manufacturing principle and coming up 

with new, circular initiatives. We are 

also seeing an increasing number of large 

businesses taking a more serious approach 

to the concept of the circular economy. 

Not just making it an issue for their corporate 

social responsibility departments, 

but actually making it an integral part 

of their business operations. This could 

speed things up considerably. 

It’s exciting to see how financial processes 

and systems will change as a result. As it 

is, a large amount of financing takes place 

on the basis of assets. This system is going 

to change radically in the new economy. 

The sale of products to consumers won’t 

be the core business any more. Instead, 

consumers will hire products from suppliers 

and manufacturers for a certain 

time. This means it will take longer to 

earn back the initial investment, and 

so businesses will need a larger amount 

of pre-financing. The demand for capital 

will increase. At the same time there’ll be 

a steady stream of income from consumer 

subscriptions. So, that provides a certain 

form of security. 

Whatever else happens, the corporate 

balance sheet of the future will look completely 

different. We’ll find the right ways 

to do this by businesses coming together 

and doing the necessary pioneering 

work. We at DOEN are posing questions 

to banks about this. For example: if we 

support an innovative circular-economy 

initiative in the initial phase, what needs 

to be done in order to ‘transfer’ the party 

concerned to you at a later stage? In this 

way we can both ensure that circular initiatives 

really have a chance to succeed, 

to ensure life on our planet becomes truly 

sustainable.’ 


15. Mgmt. Scope

THE FUTURE OF FURNITURE 

Circular hotspot project: Use-It-Wisely: a programme 

to develop tools and a design structure in which office 

furniture can be re-used or remanufactured, thereby reducing 

environmental impact, creating new business and 

contributing to the circular economy. 

‘WE NEED A DIALOGUE ABOUT 

HOW WE ARE LIVING’ 


‘I’ve always felt a special connection with designers; they look at the world and everything in it with 

different ‘lenses’.. The circular designs at Gispen seemed to be crying out to me: we love our work. 

Every piece of it.’ 


Organizations involved: Gispen, TNO. 

Iconic because: Without new designs, there will be no 

circular economy. Currently most products in office interior 

are designed, manufactured and sold to the end-user. 

In case of malfunction, changing functional requirements 

or trends, a new product is designed, produced and sold 

again. Gispen and TNO are exploring ways to ‘close’ 

the lifecycle of office furniture. Next steps for TNO and 

Gispen are the further integration of the circular economy 

into Gispen’s daily business, with the design of a circularity 

checklist and circular design framework that can 

be applied to different products and services. 

NAME WILLIAM MCDONOUGH 

FUNCTION ARCHITECT AND THOUGHT LEADER 

COMPANY WILLIAM MCDONOUGH + PARTNERS 

Architect Bill McDonough builds ideas as well as 

buildings. The central idea behind his work is his 

Cradle to cradle philosophy of rethinking design as 

a positive regenerative thing, instead of a negative 

or destructive one. The Dutch concept of a Circular 

Economy helps us, he says. ‘It sets the stage for a 

dialogue about how we are living. After all, recycling 

poisonous things and calling it circular is still 

poisoning.’ 

McDonough, who spends a lot of time in the Netherlands, 

believes the key to reshaping the world is innovation. 

‘Commerce is the engine of change. Saying 

we want a thing that purifies the world and heals it, as 

our platform behaviour, leads me to innovate into that. 

People who get into sustainability and think, ‘My job 

is to select green looking things so I can join the 

train’ quickly discover that what they thought was 

a shopping cart exercise is not. It actually requires 

innovation. The great thing 

about the Dutch economy is you 

have a culture of sharing – you 

can’t create a polder unless you 

work together. You live in a 

state of awareness of the global 

forces of nature. You’re under 

water. I think the Dutch are in 

a very good position to take 

stock of everyone’s experiences 

and realize that we are now 

in a moment of the commoditization 

of renewable power and say, 

what does that mean, and design 

into it. The Dutch are in a unique 

position and that’s why I work here. 

Leibniz said If it’s possible, show it exists. 

My job is to make it exist, so that 

we can show that’s it possible. And I think 

the Dutch have a unique moment of alignment 

and a strong convening power. 

All this is going to take forever. That’s the point. But 

remember, humility is important for us as designers. We 

went to the moon before we put wheels on luggage. 

We’re not that smart but we’re working on it.’ 

Text Richard Walker Photography Lynne Brubaker 

Testimonial 


17. Mgmt. Scope


Text Hans Pieter van Stein Callenfels 

Photography Lex Draijer 

NECESSITY IS ONE 

MOTHER OF INVENTION 

‘If we do nothing, 

we’ll be dependent 

on others for our 

raw materials in 

20 years’ time’ 

THE OTHER IS NEELIE KROES 

In the past ‘Everything is speeding up’ was a phrase 

to describe computer processing speeds and sports 

cars on Top Gear. According to former European 

Commissioner Neelie Kroes, it also now refers to the 

pace at which young companies in the Netherlands 

turn ideas into valuable circular business practices. 

You’ve got a great deal of experience with large businesses. 

What’s your view of how they’re reacting to 

all the new developments with startups? 

‘Some of them are playing a positive part and reaping the benefits 

of all these innovations. There’s a good example in Eindhoven, 

where one major company is surrounded by a cluster of startups 

which, in turn, are fed by the research conducted at the university. 

Large companies that have the right kind of focus on the 

future – think of DSM, for example – often take a highly intelligent 

approach when it comes to working with smaller partners.’ 

NEELIE KROES (74) 

Education 

Economics, Erasmus University Rotterdam 

Career 

2015 - present day 

Special Envoy Startup Delta 

2009 - 2014 

European Commissioner Digital Agenda 


When asked what she regards as the essential importance 

of sustainability, Neelie Kroes quotes the advertising slogan 

of a well-known wristwatch brand: You never actually 

own it, you merely look after it for the next generation. 

Ms Kroes says, ‘It’s our duty to make sure we pass the earth 

on to our children in a way that won’t cause us to hang 

our heads in shame.’ It’s a question of shouldering responsibility, 

not standing on the sidelines, and of taking action. 

If one thing characterises Neelie Kroes it’s her drive. 

For the past 18 months she’s been campaigning on behalf 

of StartupDelta, a project that’s put the Netherlands on 

the world map as an attractive location for startups. New, 

innovative businesses in the fields of technology, finance, 

healthcare, and education want to grow rapidly in a climate 

that encourages enterprise, and to establish ties with 

larger companies, research institutes and financiers. No 

one could be better qualified than Ms Kroes to be StartupDelta’s 

special envoy. As a former Dutch government 

minister and ex-European Commissioner (Competition 

and, later, Digital Agenda) she has a large network, and 

her words carry weight. At the core of StartupDelta’s efforts 

lies innovation in business and industry, and innovation 

nowadays almost always goes hand in hand with 

sustainability and socially responsible enterprise. This is 

why Neelie Kroes was happy to speak to Prince Carlos 

de Bourbon de Parme, who – as chair of the Netherlands 

Circular Economy Hotspot campaign – is working hard 

on initiatives aimed at giving the Netherlands a circular 

economy. 

With you as ambassador for StartupDelta, the 

Netherlands has moved up into the top 5 of 

the Global Startup Ecosystem Ranking. How 

do you see the role of innovation in the Dutch 

economy? 

‘Innovation is essential when it comes to maintaining 

your ability to compete, to keep on staying ahead of the 

game. Innovation means you have to ask yourself: what 

will tomorrow’s earnings model be, how will the coming 

generation do things? It also means looking at all kinds of 

different scenarios, including the social and climatological, 

as well as economic ones.’ 

Has the business climate for innovation changed? 

‘Of course, there have always been inventors who’ve come up 

with brilliant ideas, but they were often the ‘absent-minded 

professor’ types, working on new inventions in the attic or in 

their garage. Nowadays the system is much more open. It’s much 

easier to find the money needed to finance innovation, and the 

resulting know-how and knowledge are now shared much more 

quickly. The driving principle today is that we’ll all be better off 

as a result.’ 

What’s Europe’s role? 

‘Well, naturally, innovation doesn’t suddenly stop at the border. 

It would be shortsighted of us not to regard Europe as one single 

digital market. However, in reality we are still living in a world 

of borders: physical, fiscal and political. Say, for example, you’ve 

got a great startup here in the Netherlands. The business is doing 

well and you want to expand into Belgium or Germany, you’ll 

still have to hire a lawyer or tax advisor first. The system isn’t 

fully geared up for this kind of thing yet. But we do have a gold 

mine at our door: an enormous economic market. We really need 

to make the very most of that.’ 

2004 - 2009 

European Commissioner Competition 

1991 - 2000 

President Nijenrode University 

1989 - 1991 

Advisor to the European Transport Commissioner 

1977 - 1989 

Vice Minister (until 1981), Cabinet Minister of 

Transport, Public Works and Telecommunication 

1971 - 1977 

Member of Parliament 

1969 - 1971 

Member of the Rotterdam Municipal Council 

1965 - 1971 

Ass. Professor Transport Economics, Erasmus University 

Other positions 

Special adviser Bank of America Merril Lynch 

Director Salesforce 


Private life 

One son

‘Inventors used to be absentminded 

professor types 

in the attic. Not anymore’ 

... OLD MATERIALS, NEW PROFITS 

Making money and making the world more sustainable 

aren’t mutually exclusive anymore. Have you 

seen examples of this in practice? 

‘We organised a breakfast meeting recently, and Boyan Slat was 

there. He’s the young man behind the Ocean Cleanup campaign. 

It was fantastic. He’s not only thought up a clever way of cleaning 

up all the plastic in the oceans, he’s also got plans for a whole 

chain of operations to put that plastic to use and also to ensure 

that the entire process runs on a sound business footing. The 

level of energy and leadership he displayed there made a deep 

impression on me. There are very many more initiatives like that 

out there.’ 

What surprises you the most when you look at the 

these startups and the work they’re doing? 

‘Two things: there’s much more happening than is generally 

known – in fields like the biotech industry, life sciences, and the 

list goes on. Secondly, and this is connected with the first aspect, 

the speed of development is without parallel. Once a concept 

has been developed it’s on the market in no time. That used to 

take years. It’s forcing large businesses to stay on their toes, and 

to keep looking at what’s going on around them. Incidentally, 

when you’re talking about the interaction between the world of 

business and industry and the sustainability sector, I think the 

latter could look to the it industry for an example in terms of the 

speed they need.’ 

In what way? 

‘In the sustainability sector, innovation and processes move more 

slowly than in the it business. It would be a good thing for the 

two sectors to support each other more. In the case of it, they 

have to act extremely quickly just to keep up with the game. 

In that respect, there’s less pressure on the sustainability sector. 

Communication also plays a role here. Amazing things are happening 

in the fields of innovation and sustainability here in the 

Netherlands. They could act as a driving force for the rest of the 

sector, but often we’re much too modest about these things.’ 

We’re paying the Chinese to recycle our batteries, 

adding valuable raw materials to their resources. 

Why aren’t we doing that ourselves? 

‘There’s no short-term benefit to be gained from doing so. That’s 

the point. We tried to address issues like this, with the help of 

big business and industry, during my time in Brussels. At that 

time many businesses said: the market prices are fine, we don’t 

need to recycle that particular kind of waste here in Europe. But 

I agree with you that this isn’t a sustainable position. If we go 

on the way we are now, we’ll be totally dependent on others for 

our raw materials in 20 years’ time. And, indeed, this needs to 

happen at the European level. If you set up a programme for the 

Netherlands alone, that will be much more expensive than if you 

were to invest in three modern processing plants across Europe.’ 

Should the Netherlands be taking the lead on issues 

like this – in partnership, for example, with two or 

three other European countries? 

‘We should. If you work bilaterally or as a group of three and can 

come up with three examples of working projects, the rest will 

soon join in as well. We in the Netherlands could lead the pack 

in that regard. However, these circular initiatives will also need 

the support of our Ministry of Finance, and we’ve noticed with 

StartupDelta that they aren’t the most progressive of organisations.’ 

In your opinion, why do we need to move towards a 

circular economy? 

‘My feelings on the issue are two-fold. Firstly, we can’t continue 

as we are now, because everyone knows that the system isn’t sustainable. 

In the past, it was perhaps possible to close your eyes 

to the situation, but things like climate change are now having 

a concrete impact. In the future, how will we be able to explain 

to our children and grandchildren that we made a total mess 

of things even though we knew exactly what was happening? 

Secondly, there’s a global economic process going on in terms 

of sustainable development which you not only need to join in 

with, but which also offers a whole range of possibilities for you 

to stand out from the crowd.’ 

The system will have to change radically. How do 

you, as a former politician, think it will be possible 

to get the general public to support and participate 

in that change? 

‘It involves forcing people to make difficult choices. I recall from 

my time as a government minister (Transport and Public Works, 

1982-1989) that we had initiatives to get people to use their cars 

less. That created something of a dilemma because car ownership 

was finally something almost everyone could afford. It was the 

same with air travel. Is the answer to force people to change? 

Nowadays you see that the sustainable alternative – whether that 

is transport, or food, or drink – is often the more expensive option. 

You need to take this social factor into account. People’s 

first priority is to earn a living. In terms of the political debate 

about these issues, however much you stick to the facts, you simply 

can’t ever afford to ignore people’s feelings.’ 

In September of 2015, world leaders adopted the Sustainable Development Goals 

(SDGs) that aim to eradicate poverty, promote peace, fuel inclusive growth and 

protect the environment. At last, the world has a holistic agenda for development 

by 2030 that addresses the critical social, environmental and economic challenges 

our societies face. 

There are solutions for many of those challenges, and business holds the key. By 

using resources efficiently and sustainably, we can benefit our economies, societies 

and the environment. Business must shift away from the traditional linear model 

of ‘take-make-dispose’ towards a circular, closed-loop model, where the concept of 

waste becomes obsolete. 

The end of the take-make-dispose 

era has arrived 

A circular economic approach includes new business models that incorporate different 

value-chain networks and opportunities for co-innovation. We have to rethink 

material use and product design to deliver service-based function rather than 

the traditional ownership model. Used products and materials, including wood, can 

be re-engineered and used again, or reduced to raw materials to manufacture other 

products. The input costs saving on materials could be as much as 20 percent or US$ 

700 bn per year. 

At the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), we work 

with the world’s leading companies to accelerate the transition to a sustainable 

world. To advance the circular economy, we have developed a Horizon2020 proposal 

for a large-scale system change in the EU’s secondary raw materials market. Developed 

in partnership with Lancaster University, a new digital platform coupled with 

eco-innovation hubs will direct materials that are not easily reused or recycled. It 

aims to improve resource productivity and significantly reduce residual waste. 

We believe in the potential of business innovation to improve lives across the planet 

and help protect our environment. Business has a responsibility and a key role to 

play in the transition to a sustainable economy. The end of the ‘take-make-dispose’ 

era has arrived. Sustainable profits call for a circular future where waste becomes the 

new engine for value-creation. 

Peter Bakker 

President & ceo of the World Business Council 

for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) 

Column 


21. Mgmt. Scope

Circular Hotspot Interviews Carlos de Bourbon de Parme Text Hans Pieter van Stein Callenfels Illustration William McDonough + Partners 

THE VALLEY 

AN INTERNATIONAL SHOWCASE 

FOR CIRCULAR ENTERPRISE 

The most sustainable working environment in 

western Europe: this is the ambition of The Valley, 

350 hectares of land currently being turned into a 

circular business nerve-centre and showcase. 

The Valley, part of Schiphol Trade Park, is a collaborative 

effort by project developers, sustainability organisations, 

Amsterdam Schiphol Airport and the municipality 

of Haarlemmermeer. A place where businesses, research 

institutions, logistics partners and sustainability organisations 

all come together in a green, park-style environment. 

The aim is to take the very best circular principles 

and apply them to the creation of a climate where business, 

skills and know-how can flourish. The Valley will 

act as a kind of test lab where sustainability and innovation 

can come together – an international showcase for 

successful circular projects and initiatives. 

Grand ambitions maybe, but – according to Coert Zachariasse 

and Guido Braam – not a moment too soon. These 

two men, both involved with The Valley project from the 

outset, think it’s high time the Netherlands showed the 

world how it’s blazing the trail on the path to the circular 

economy and sustainable enterprise. Coert Zachariasse is 

director and owner of Delta Development Group, a project 

development business that has embraced cradle-to-cradle 

principles since its foundation. Guido Braam is a social 

entrepreneur, a partner in Kirkman Company, a former 

director of Circle Economy, and responsible for the first 

‘circular’ international trade mission, due to visit the 

Netherlands in April. 

THE VALLEY 

Zachariasse: ‘’There are loads of people and businesses 

who can’t wait to get going on circular projects, but they 

aren’t sure where to start. We want The Valley to provide 

a central location where innovative businesses with circular 

ambitions can respond to regional demand. A collection 

of ‘stories’, where we have concrete business cases 

that allow us to show the kind of energy this issue is generating. 

People need to be able to touch it, see it, taste it.’ 

Braam: ‘The Valley will be the epicentre of circular innovation 

in the Netherlands. The circular economy is in the 

exciting phase where new concepts surface all the time, 

but too often they do not have a proper place to land, or 

a haven to develop and grow. This is exactly what The 

Valley has to offer. In one location you will be able to 

find multinationals, SMEs and policymakers working independently 

and in groups. Projects will be born there, 

but also developed and eventually realized, with an Expo 

to showcase the latest successes.’ 

Zachariasse: ‘What we have at the Valley is a fantastic 

place to show the world just exactly what we can do. 

There’s a wide demand for circular projects here – from 

places like the municipality of Haarlemmermeer to the 

Flower Auction in Aalsmeer. We’re turning those wishes 

into deeds. The scariest thing we could do right now 

would be to stay where we are and do nothing.’ 

THE IMPORTANCE OF CIRCULARITY 

Zachariasse: ‘Our world can’t continue to exist if we keep 

going the way we are now, that I’m sure of. If we keep on 

using our natural resources and turning them into waste, 

we face a double hazard: more pollution and an end to 

our supplies of raw materials. The principles on which the 

circular economy is built are very simple – it’s basically a 

question of closing cycles. Just look at nature, it’s been going 

on there for billions of years, right in front of our very 

noses. Each of us human beings has an intrinsic desire to 

leave the world behind in better shape 

than they found it. If you get someone to 

look at two pictures – one showing a child 

at a filthy garbage dump, the other with a 

child standing next to a pristine lake – and 

then ask, ‘which of these two worlds do 

you prefer?’ everyone will choose the last 

one. But once we’re part of the ‘system’, 

start wearing a suit and carrying business 

cards, suddenly it’s ‘Yes, I really do want 

to, but I can’t’. We have to change that.’ 

THE NETHERLANDS 

Braam: ‘The Netherlands is an ideal 

country for experiments or pilots, which 

is why the transition to a circular economy 

is such a natural fit. Systems don’t 

change overnight; it’s a lengthy process 

of trial and error. And it’s not just about 

technology and economics, but also about 

process: companies, national and local 

governments, the academic world, they 

need to work together. In this respect 

the Dutch have the advantage that they 

do not value hierarchy very much, which 

makes it relatively easy to create unusual 

partnerships and coalitions. 

In 2014 The Dutch Social Economic 

Council organized two meetings with 

over forty representatives of a wide variety 

of businesses and organizations. Multinationals, 

SMEs, NGOs, municipalities, 

and representatives from every corner of 

government, gathered in one room, with 

a Dutch Prince as chairman. Within the 

hour everybody was discussing the opportunities 

and challenges of the circular 

economy, without any acknowledgement 

of hierarchy whatsoever. These meetings 

quickly led to concrete actions. I don’t 

think there are many countries in the 

world where a process like this could take 

place.’ 

BUSINESS 

Zachariasse: ‘The circular economy is essentially 

about collaborating on the basis 

of shared values. The construction industry 

has always been transaction based, i.e. 

it has to cost as little as possible and ‘your 

loss is my gain’. But that’s turned upside 

down in the circular model where you say 

to your partners, ‘this is our budget, let’s 

share our thoughts and ideas about what 

your role could mean for the total quality 

of the project’. In that way everyone ultimately 

benefits. 

Take Mitsubishi, who manufacture lifts 

for big buildings. When they do business 

with a building contractor they really get 

squeezed. The price must be as low as possible 

and quality suffers as a result. Consequently, 

the lifts are worn out within 

seven years, yet lifts like that could have 

a useful working life of at least 40 years. 

So Mitsubishi are now experimenting 

with leasing out their lifts. They remain 

the property of the manufacturer, who 

will supply a top quality product and also 

ensure it’s regularly serviced and maintained. 

At the end of their useful lives the 

lifts all go back to Mitsubishi to be re-cycled. 

That’s circular: spreading the usage 

costs and maximising residual value. And 

COERT ZACHARIASSE (49) 

GUIDO BRAAM (38) 

it’s cost-effective: the new ‘lease-based’ 

method makes a difference of €15,000 on 

a lift worth € 80,000.’ 

Braam: ‘The Netherlands holds the EU 

presidency in 2016. We took this opportunity 

to organize a very special ‘incoming 

trade mission’. No less than 130 guests 

from all over the world will participate 

in a three-day programme that will show 

them the most prominent and inspiring 

circular projects and activities in the 

Netherlands. We have people joining us 

from countries like Luxembourg, Taiwan, 

England and several South-American 

countries. In addition to the many businesses 

and organizations they’ll visit, we 

will also encourage them to share their 

knowledge and networks with each other. 

That is one of the most fascinating things 

about the circular economy: it is all about 

new partnerships and cooperation.’ 


23. Mgmt. Scope

CIRCULAR LIVING 

Circular hotspot project: The City of Amsterdam is 

facilitating the development of the district Buiksloterham 

into a sustainable and circular district, inviting individual 

self-builders to make a contribution. The ‘Circular Buiksloterham 

option form’, supports these self-builders in 

realising a sustainable home with circular elements. 


‘Maybe it’s because it’s in Amsterdam, but these houses in Buiksloterham just seem to want to have 

fun. And kids intuitively feel that. I felt like I had taken a step into the future, where this new generation 

lived exactly the way they wanted to.’ 

Organizations involved: In 2015 more than twenty 

different organizations and companies signed the Circular 

Buiksloterham Manifesto. Together they are working to 

transform Buiksloterham into a sustainable and circular 

district. 

Iconic because: The circular city and sustainability are 

broad ideas. They embrace themes like energy, intelligent 

use of materials, recycling, climate resilience, and sustainable 

mobility, as well as the shift from ownership to usership 

and the development of new models for production, 

consumption, distribution and logistics. Buiksloterham 

Amsterdam Municipality is a great example of how also 

citizens can get involved in these themes. 




Text Paul Groothengel 

Photography Marco Bakker and Marc Nolte 

AMSTERDAM AND ROTTERDAM 

A TALE OF TWO 

CIRCULAR CITIES 


Amsterdam and Rotterdam lead the pack in the 

pursuit of a circular economy. The cities’ mayors 

– Eberhard van der Laan (Amsterdam) and 

Ahmed Aboutaleb (Rotterdam) – open up about 

the innovative power of circular businesses, how 

to change everyday behaviour, and the switch 

from owning to sharing. 

Their backgrounds couldn’t be more different. Whereas 

Ahmed Aboutaleb was born the son of an imam in Morocco’s 

Rif mountains, Eberhard van der Laan is the son 

of a GP and grew up in a protestant family in Rijnsburg. 

Yet the two mayors also have a lot in common. For example, 

neither of these social democrats entered politics 

until late in their careers. Mr van der Laan began as a 

lawyer, Mr Aboutaleb as a journalist. But politics soon 

beckoned both men. Mr van der Laan became a member 

of Amsterdam’s city council for the Dutch Labour Party 

(PvdA) in 1990. Just two years later he was party leader 

in the council chamber. In 1988, Mr Aboutaleb became 

director of the Forum Institute, an amalgamation of various 

organisations in the field of immigration and multi-cultural 

affairs. He moved to the Labour party in 2003, 

becoming an Amsterdam council executive board member 

one year later. Both men then joined the national 

government for a brief period. In 2007, Mr Aboutaleb became 

State Secretary for Social Affairs and Employment. 

Just two years later, he was sworn in as mayor of Rotterdam. 

Mr van der Laan became the government minister 

for Housing, Communities and Integration in 2008. He, 

too, became a mayor just two years later, in Amsterdam. 

Something else the two mayors have in common: they 

speak their minds and make no attempt to hide their enthusiasm. 

Mr Aboutaleb, for example, advised Muslim 

extremists ‘to shove off’ and said he ‘would like to destroy 

Isis, root and branch’ following the attacks in Paris. And 

four years ago, Mr van der Laan described the cuts on the 

national culture budget as ‘a grim attack on our city. Cuts 

are necessary, vandalism isn’t’. 

A SHARING ECONOMY 

Speaking to Prince Carlos de Bourbon de Parme about 

Eberhard van der Laan (60) has been Mayor of 

Amsterdam since 2010. After studying law at university, 

he became a lawyer and later co-founded the legal firm 

of Kennedy Van der Laan. In 1990 he won a seat on 

Amsterdam’s city council as a member of the Labour 

party. Three years later he was leading his party in the 

council chamber. Mr van der Laan was the government 

Minister for Housing, Communities and Integration 

from 2008 to 2010. 

AN ENTIRE PHILOSOPHY 

Rotterdam, together with The Hague, has asked Jeremy Rifkin, 

the well-known ‘future economy’ expert, to draft a ‘development 

philosophy’ for the two cities as they move further down 

the road to sustainability. Mr Rifkin, who also advises the European 

Union and the Chinese government in this area, has 

already said that within fifteen years the port of Rotterdam 

could be fully automated, manned only by robots controlled via 

a ‘super internet’ without human intervention. He has also said 

that oil will have lost most of its importance by then, because 

homes and businesses will be generating their own energy with 

solar panels. According to Mr Rifkin, in the future instead of 

handling fossil fuels, the port of Rotterdam will bring in things 

like powder for use in 3D printers. 

Jeremy Rifkin is drafting a Next Economy ‘road map’ for the 

Rotterdam-Hague metropolitan region in which he will specify 

the investments needed to bring about this transition. Mr 

Aboutaleb insists this will be an entire philosophy, not just anthe 

circular economy, the two mayors demonstrate their enthusiasm 

as they talk about promoting initiatives in their respective 

cities. The city of Amsterdam wants to adopt a more 

intelligent and responsible approach to energy, water, raw materials 

and food, says Mr van der Laan. ‘We want to be part of 

an economy where waste is treated as a resource and where 

we generate the energy we need from renewable sources. And 

we want to do that by applying circular principles wherever 

possible – recovering raw materials and using them again to 

create new things.’ That requires new models for production, 

consumption, distribution and logistics: ‘The movement that’s 

already under way, the one that’s leading us away from owning 

goods to leasing goods, that’s something we want to get going 

faster. Onwards and upwards to the sharing economy. When I 

was eighteen, people would almost commit murder, so to speak, 

to get a driving licence and own their own car. People in their 

twenties nowadays aren’t obsessed with that at all. They’re 

quite happy to share a car with other road users. In their eyes, 

owning a car is a thing of the past.’ 

Aboutaleb points to the importance of public and commercial 

awareness: ‘In the case of Rotterdam, the circular economy isn’t 

just a question of us using as little energy as possible or cutting 

back on the amount of waste we produce. First and foremost it’s 

Ahmed Aboutaleb (54) started his career as a reporter 

with broadcasting organisations Veronica, NOS Radio 

and then RTL News. He went on to be a press officer 

at the Ministry of Welfare, Public Health and Culture 

and then for the Social Economic Council. He became 

director of Forum in 1998, and joined the PvdA Labour 

party in Amsterdam in 2003. He became an Amsterdam 

Council executive board member in 2004. Three years 

later he was appointed government State Secretary for 

Social Affairs and Employment. Mr Aboutaleb’s term as 

Mayor of Rotterdam began in 2009. 

about being very aware of how we use our raw materials, the 

importance of insulating homes and reducing fine-dust emissions, 

and so on. We need to become a city that, on balance, 

isn’t an energy user but an energy producer.’ 


27. Mgmt. Scope

EXAMPLES OF CIRCULAR ACTIVITY IN 

AMSTERDAM 

Buiksloterham 

a ‘circular’ residential area 

North Amsterdam’s Buiksloterham district 

is set to become a model example of how 

‘circular’ towns of the future could look. This 

is where raw materials, foodstuffs and water 

will be re-used, and energy generated from 

renewable sources, as much as possible. More 

than 20 organisations, including the City of 

Amsterdam, water company Waternet, the 

Amsterdam Economic Board, energy company 

Alliander and Amsterdam University of 

Applied Sciences, are supporting sustainable 

projects here, as well as developing new ones. 

This district will become a ‘living lab’ where 

new innovations, such as self-sustaining 

communities, can be tried out in practice. 

Buiksloterham is already home to a number 

of sustainable and innovative projects. These 

include a large number of ‘self builders’ who are 

constructing their own homes from recycled 

materials. From bricks to window frames, 

everything is recycled. Another example 

is De Ceuvel, a fertile haven for creative 

entrepreneurs which is itself largely selfsupporting 

in terms of energy and materials. 

Port of Amsterdam 

a breeding ground for circular enterprise 

Amsterdam’s port and harbour area is growing 

into a breeding ground for businesses in 

the circular and bio-based economy. These 

include Orgaworld, which uses organic waste 

to produce green energy and other products; 

Waternet, which is processing wastewater to 

make phosphates; and Chaincraft, which is 

developing techniques to produce bio-based 

products for the chemical industry. The 

presence of strong base-clusters for things like 

energy, food, agricultural bulk commodities 

and recycling puts the Amsterdam port area 

in a strong position in terms of developing a 

bio-based economy. Agricultural activities in 

the immediate vicinity of the port, such as the 

flower auction and local horticulture, mean 

there are ready supplies of organic material. In 

addition, re-usable organic materials and waste 

flows are plentiful in the Amsterdam region. 

other of many plans: ‘I’m quite capable of drafting a plan too, 

but that wouldn’t be enough. A plan usually focuses on just 

one direction. A philosophy entails a complete, comprehensive 

‘story’ where the elements needed to achieve sustainable 

development and a circular economy all come together and 

form a whole.’ 

CHANGING BEHAVIOUR 

The mayor of Rotterdam wants to involve many parties in 

developing this philosophy – government, business, and the 

general public. ‘Obviously, you simply have to make a clear distinction 

between these groups, because this can’t all come from 

government.’ In contrast, Mr van der Laan says he wouldn’t 

necessarily use the word philosophy. He would rather speak 

about people’s attitudes - garbage is an issue for each and every 

citizen, for example. ‘Last November I was in Tokyo, one of 

the cleanest cities in the world as far as I can see, and while I 

was there I noticed something that both surprised and inspired 

me. In this city, with its population of no fewer than 37 million 

people, you can’t find any waste bins at all in public areas!’ 

This came about as a result of the chemical attack on the Tokyo 

subway system in 1995. The city government took away all 

the public waste receptacles and told the city’s inhabitants that 

they shouldn’t pass their rubbish on to the community, but take 

care of it themselves. ‘And their message was accepted too. 

What can we learn from that? That you can indeed radically 

alter people’s behaviour.’ But would that work in Amsterdam? 

Mr van der Laan says, ‘Why not? In the 1980s one of the biggest 

irritations in our city was dog excrement. Who would have 

thought back then that the problem would have disappeared 

totally by now, simply because all our dog owners trail after 

their pets with a small plastic bag in their hands?’ 

THE POWER TO ATTRACT 

Both mayors say that the circular economy fits Rotterdam and 

Amsterdam like a glove. But why is that? Mr Van der Laan: ‘We 

have enormous innovative strength in Amsterdam because of 

the combination of startups, established business and industry. 

Startup Delta - which aims to bring startups, government, 

knowledge institutions, business and financiers together - isn’t 

based here for nothing. Our harbour district is already home to 

a range of businesses that are operating in the circular and biobased 

economy. And we have the requisite spinoffs from our 

universities, such as Photanol, which is located in Amsterdam’s 

Science Park district. This company aims to use bacteria as part 

of a process that will turn CO 2 

and sunlight into chemical products. 

We have a strong creative sector that’s well positioned to 

develop products for the circular economy. And, last but not 

least, Amsterdam is a city of entrepreneurs. When I talk to 

young entrepreneurs it strikes me again and again how they regard 

the circular business model as the logical way to go.’ More 

broadly, this also applies to the Netherlands as a whole, Mr van 

der Laan continues: ‘We’re an enterprising little country. Look 

at the creativity going on in our towns and cities. That attracts 

foreign businesses, and intelligent people too. Once all these 

elements come together, all kinds of things start happening. 

They trigger each other in a good and positive way.’ 

Mr Aboutaleb points to the innovative strength of Dutch businesses 

in the food industry: ‘Not only because we manage to 

produce such enormous amounts of food per square kilometre 

– and with limited water use, by the way – but also because 

we’re really good at coming up with innovative, sustainably-produced 

food products. Know-how of the kind we’ve built 

up with our cattle industry – with things like cheese, milk and 

meat production – that’s a first-class export product too.’ 

MORE JOBS? 

When the need for the circular economy is discussed, one of 

the arguments often raised is that one of its logical side effects 

will be large numbers of new jobs. Consultancy firm McKinsey 

has calculated on behalf of the Ellen McArthur Foundation, 

for example, that a circular economy in Europe could generate 

additional added value worth around €500 billion per annum. 

And the TNO research institute has calculated that, in the case 

of the Netherlands, this will work out at around €7.3 billion in 

extra added value, and approximately 54,000 jobs. There are 

great opportunities here, particularly in the construction industry 

and in food chains, both in terms of creating added value 

and additional employment, as well as limiting CO 2 

emissions 

and reducing the use of raw-materials. Mr van der Laan: ‘We’ve 

also been doing the sums for our city. Just suppose that we apply 

circular design and construction methods to all 70,000 of 

‘We have 

enormous 

innovative 

strength’ 

EBERHARD VAN DER LAAN 

the new homes we’re planning to build right now. That would 

generate €150 million per year in additional net added value, 

as well as 700 extra jobs. And if we started collecting all our 

vegetable and fruit waste separately, that would generate an 

additional €150 million per year, and 1200 new jobs. But we 

shouldn’t get fixated on those figures. You need to be cautious. 

You never know in advance whether those jobs will actually 

materialise.’ 

In this connection, Mr Aboutaleb mentions Bill Clinton: ‘He 

had some research carried out at one point and it showed that 

while building a new power station would create 2,000 extra 

jobs, retrofitting buildings to save an equivalent amount of energy 

would generate 4,000 new jobs. In short, it’s demonstrably 

better in economic terms to insulate existing buildings than to 

create additional energy-generating capacity.’ 

INTER CITY COOPERATION 

Towns and cities both in the Netherlands and abroad are becoming 

increasingly open about sharing their knowledge and 

experiences in the field of circular activities. That’s really improved 

in recent years, says Mayor van der Laan: ‘We, together 

with Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht, form what’s known 

as the G4. That used to be a club that wrote nagging letters to 

the cabinet, but now we’re really trying to help one another. I 

travel abroad a good deal and colleagues from the other cities 

very often go with me. As far as people abroad are concerned, 

that’s only logical. To the average person in China, Amsterdam 

and Rotterdam are two centres within one urban area, and The 

Hague and Utrecht are part of that too. To them, our “Green 

Heart” looks like some kind of oversized Central Park.’ This is 


EXAMPLES OF CIRCULAR ACTIVITY IN 

ROTTERDAM 

‘Our know-how 

is a first-class 

export product’ 

Heat from Rotterdam’s refuse 

Using residual heat from industrial processes to 

heat homes and business – this is now a reality 

in Rotterdam. Construction of a warm water 

transport system - known as the Northern 

Pipeline and almost 17 kilometres in length 

– has connected Rotterdam’s entire urban 

heating network to a supply of excess heat from 

the city’s port. The use of residual industrial 

heat is cutting CO 2 

emissions by 60 per cent, 

as well as reducing the amount of fine-particle 

pollution in the atmosphere. Work on this 

pipeline network started in 2013 in Rotterdam, 

Rozenburg, Vlaardingen and Schiedam. Energy 

company Eneco is also using this system to feed 

residual heat from AVR’s (a waste-processing 

company) waste and energy plant in Rozenburg 

into Rotterdam’s city heating network. This 

renewable source now accounts for 80 per cent 

of the heating energy formerly generated by 

gas-fired power plants. 

This pipeline network is the first step in what 

should ultimately be a much larger ‘heat 

roundabout’, a large heating network in and 

around Rotterdam, which will supply heat from 

industry and underground sources to urban 

areas and horticultural greenhouse operations. 

Shipping switches to cleaner 

shore-based power 

Vessels waiting to be loaded or unloaded 

in the port of Rotterdam often leave their 

heavy, diesel-fuelled engines running while 

anchored. For some time now, the port has 

had a generator ban in place for inland 

waterway vessels tied up at public moorings. 

The port now offers an alternative in the 

shape of cleaner shore-based power. This cuts 

CO 2 

emissions and reduces the local impact 

of nitrogen and fine dust particles. It also 

means that the surrounding area no longer has 

to endure the irritating sounds of on-board 

generators and engines. ‘Green’ vessels also get 

a discount on the harbour fees charged by the 

port of Rotterdam. 

AHMED ABOUTALEB 

the scale that business parties abroad are used to dealing with. 

‘This is why we like to present ourselves abroad as a combination 

of four cities: Amsterdam as the creative hotspot where 

foreigners and their businesses want to be located; The Hague 

as the city of peace, and Rotterdam with its amazing port.’ Mr 

van der Laan smiles broadly as he reveals how his own civil 

servants sometimes question the compliments that get paid 

to the Port of Rotterdam, pointing out to him that the port 

of Amsterdam is equally fantastic and also good at things like 

transhipping cocoa and petrol. ‘I tell them that this isn’t the 

point, and that we all need to give each other a share of the 

limelight. Our city isn’t in competition with cities like Rotterdam 

or Eindhoven, but with major metropolitan areas like 

London and Paris.’ 

JUSTIFIED PRIDE 

Mr Aboutaleb brings up the C40, the global network of towns 

and cities that are focussing on the move to sustainable development 

and working closely together to tackle the effects of 

climate change. Representatives from these cities also attended 

the UN Climate Summit in Paris in December. Mr Aboutaleb 

was invited to speak there about sustainable transport in the 

port of Rotterdam. Invitations to speak publicly about his city’s 

progress are nothing new. A couple of years ago he was invited 

to New York by the Clinton Global Initiative. Bill Clinton 

and New York’s then mayor, Michael Bloomberg, were among 

the people he spoke to. ‘They’d asked me to talk about the 

impact of climate change on coastal and shoreline cities. This 

was prompted by Hurricane Sandy, the disastrous storm that 

caused considerable damage across parts of the United States. 

They were really eager to know how Rotterdam protects itself 

against flooding. This international interest in Rotterdam’s story 

is really great. It’s a promising sign for us, and something we 

as a city can be proud of.’ 

BOTTLED UP 

Circular hotspot project: Producing fully transparent 

PET-bottles from old PET-bottles. 

Organizations involved: Port of Rotterdam, SUEZ, 

Ioniqa (a spin-off from the Eindhoven University of 

Technology and the Dutch Polymer Institute) and 

plant One. 

Iconic because: In its vision document the Port of 

Rotterdam defined many pathways to a circular economy 

in the Rotterdam/Delta region, including recycling 

plastic waste to higher value applications. The successful 

industrial symbiosis between Port of Rotterdam, 

SUEZ and Ioniqa, is an iconic example of a ‘new pathway’, 

as is the technology involved. 

A true circular economy is about infinitely closing the 

loop, which is especially crucial for plastic waste. SUEZ 

and Ioniqa are doing just this. SUEZ by collecting and 

sorting out the monostream PET and closing the loop 

with partners. And Ioniqa through a treatment which 

results in virgin quality PET/Polyester that is identical 

to the current quality produced from fossil fuels. 

It’s completely colourless and fully reusable. A game 

changing innovation. 


‘Plastic is the most colourful and cheerful waste I’ve ever seen. Makes it hard to realize that it creates 

major problems. So typical for ‘Rotterdam’ to roll up the sleeves and start solving them: process it 

and make new colourless PET bottles out of them. It’s just how this city, its people and its Port roll.’ 



31. Mgmt. Scope


‘Visiting the water… of Vitens, it struck me how the visual beauty of the unique Dutch fusion of land 

and water also offers such amazing possibilities for better use of the most precious resource we have.’ 

MAKING EVERY DROP COUNT 

Circular hotspot project: The water supply company 

Vitens developed a production method whereby humic 

acid can be put to use as a high-quality soil improver. 

Organizations involved: Vitens, University of Wageningen, 

RoyalHaskoningDHV. 

Iconic because: Annually, Vitens produces 350 million 

m3 of drinking water. This releases about 60,000 tons of 

by-products, such as calcium, iron and humic acid, which 

are expensive to separate. The company discovered that 

these by-products could be used effectively in other sectors 

and even be sold at a profit. This innovation is a big 

circular step forward, because for a long time, the agricultural 

industry which shares Vitens’ catchment areas has 

pursued its own, sometimes conflicting, agenda. Now that 

the company can produce such natural soil improvers as 

humic acid and chalk pellets, they are able to cooperate 

productively and complement each other’s objectives: 

better crop yields and high-quality drinking water. 



‘CIRCULAR MEANS GLOBAL, 

NOT JUST LOCAL’ 

Text Irene Schoemakers Photography Kick Smeets 

Testimonial 

NAME SHARON DIJKSMA 

FUNCTION STATE SECRETARY FOR INFRASTRUCTURE 

AND THE ENVIRONMENT 

The circular economy is about to enter into a period of 

amazing growth. If Sharon Dijksma gets her way, it will 

become a truly global movement instead of a scattered 

collection of individual initiatives. 

Dijksma: ‘The circular economy is generating a lot of enthusiasm 

among the public, businesses and in government 

circles. It’s not seen - as environmental policy once was 

– as a threat, but as an opportunity. That’s a good thing. 

And it’s an opportunity we should all be seizing together. 

Countries, businesses, or private individuals – everyone 

can make their own contribution. All the lights are green. 

This is why we’re currently working on a nationwide programme 

involving all the government departments and 

ministries. 

We’ve asked the Social and Economic Council to give us 

its recommendations, and it should be issuing concrete 

proposals in the second quarter of 2016 about using economic 

and ecological opportunities. The government 

is going to set out a common vision on this issue. This 

should ensure it becomes a fixed item on the political 

and democratic agendas. 

If we really want to take the circular economy to the 

next level, then government, private citizens and the 

business world need to work together on this issue – 

both at home and internationally. The great thing 

is that we can actually achieve extremely good cooperation 

where this issue is concerned. Parties are 

increasingly speaking the same language, because 

everyone stands to benefit. As a result, some great 

initiatives have already been launched. The Netherlands, 

United Kingdom, France and Flanders, for 

example, recently signed an international raw materials 

agreement with the business world and environmental 

organisations. This Green Deal for the 

North Sea Resources Roundabout makes it easier to 

market and re-use the raw materials recovered from 

waste incineration. 

But great things are also happening on a much 

smaller scale. Take the group of women in Groningen 

who are making boxer shorts from old 

shirts, or G-Star’s trendy jeans made out of plastic 

recovered from the sea. We as a society now face 

the challenge of making sure the circular economy 

becomes a true movement and not just an array of 

fantastic but scattered initiatives.’ 

FOREVER IN BLUE JEANS 

Circular hotspot project: Don’t buy jeans. Lease them 

from MUD jeans for a fixed period, then decide whether 

to keep them or send them back for upcycling into socalled 

vintage models. Recycling is also an option; the 

fibres of the denim fabric are used to make other products. 

Organizations involved: MUD Jeans, and among others 

DOEN Foundation, Social Enterprise NL, Max Havelaar 

Fair Trade. 

Iconic because: The fashion industry is in urgent need 

of circular business models. It is the third most polluting 

industry in the world, cotton being the most pesticide-intensive 

crop grown on the planet. MUD Jeans 

shows that jeans brands can be hip, happening ánd circular 

at the same time. Even the labels are made from 

waste cotton and printed in organic ink. All products 

are made from organic cotton only by fair-trade organizations. 


‘I don’t know what is is about blue jeans, but they always make me feel so alive! At Mudjeans they told 

me they dream of a world without waste. I couldn’t help but think that a blue world is a happy world…’ 



35. Mgmt. Scope



Photography Marco Bakker 


PLANES, BRAINS AND 

ELECTRIC AUTOMOBILES 

Air travel is never going to win any green earth 

awards but at Amsterdam Schiphol airport 

sustainability initiatives are the norm; from recycled 

luggage belts to electric transfer buses. Ambitions 

are high, says Schiphol’s ceo Jos Nijhuis. ‘We want 

to be one of the world’s greenest airports.’ 

Jos Nijhuis smiles as he taps on a grey and red lacquered 

coffee table – made from a pallet previously used at Amsterdam’s 

Schiphol Airport. Mr Nijhuis, president and 

ceo of Schiphol Airport since 2009, explains: ‘This is 

increasingly how we handle building waste. Our ambition 

is ‘zero waste’ by 2030, but there is a lot of work still 

to be done.’ 

Jos Nijhuis started out as an accountant and worked at 

PwC for 28 years, culminating in six years as chairman 

of the board. His drive towards sustainability and the 

circular economy is inspired by Peter Bakker, former ceo 

at TNT and one of the clients whose books were once 

audited by Nijhuis the accountant. ‘Bakker’s heartfelt 

argument for sustainability really made an impression 

on me. Much like Paul Polman of Unilever - an inspiring 

leader when it comes to turning businesses into sustainable 

operations.’ 

What impact have circular economy principles 

been having on Schiphol? 

‘The fact is that airports are, by their very nature, not 

prime examples of sustainable businesses. Nevertheless, 

we can still do an enormous amount in all our operations 

to make what we do cleaner, smarter, more economical 

and more socially responsible. We want to be one of the 

world’s ‘greenest’ airports. We’re extremely aware of the 

impact the aviation business has on the environment 

and our surroundings. In fact, our efforts to minimise the 

impact on our surroundings have a long history. They 

began way back in the 1950s when we first tried to limit 

the level of noise experienced by the local population. 

Quite simply, what we want to do is improve the quality 

of life near our airports. 

Our mission is to provide the Netherlands with the best 

possible connections to the rest of the world, ‘Connecting 

to compete’. This is essential to the success of the 

Dutch economy. But there’s more to it than that. You 

also need to focus on sustainability and the human aspects, 

and we call that, “Connecting to complete”. After 

all, those connections make it possible for people from 

different countries to meet and establish social networks. 

In this respect, I like to cite Maslow’s well-known ‘hierarchy 

of needs’: connections contribute to the well-being 

of individuals and societies all over the world.’ 

How have you increased sustainability and 

implemented circular-economy principles at 

the airport? 

‘We don’t have a separate ‘Sustainability’ department 

or something like that. I don’t believe in that approach. 

This issue is a task for all our line managers, so that’s what 

we’ve done: put it in their hands. After all, they’re the ones 

that have to do the actual work. In this respect, my definition 

of sustainability is a very broad one. For example, we also believe 

it should include the way we treat our personnel. Sustainable 

employment is one of the conditions needed for the 

airport’s solid economic development. People need to be given 

opportunities for personal development. Altogether, around 

65,000 people work at Schiphol. Alongside our own personnel, 

the airport as a whole also houses approximately 500 businesses 

of various kinds. Take, for example, the 3,000 cleaning staff 

who work at the airport. They’re not our own staff, but we do 

make sure that they have decent terms and conditions of employment.’ 

Do you have any examples of sustainable developments 

at Schiphol that are making a real difference? 

‘A good example is some of the crops we grow around the airport 

to discourage birds, like flax and elephant grass. The flax is 

also used to make linseed oil, a basis for natural paint. We have 

used that paint for our new parking garage, for example. The 

elephant grass is converted into bio-concrete. Together with 

the local government and other parties we’ve created benches 

at Schiphol Plaza, built with this bio-concrete. The outside 

material of the benches is a special bio-composite, which has 

a luxurious appearance. It’s a very durable and cost-effective 

solution. Once the benches have reached the end of their life, 

they are broken up and used to make insulation material. 

Not necessarily circular but very sustainable are our 35 electric 

buses which are used to transfer passengers from planes 

to the gates. Busses aren’t allowed to drive any faster than 30 

kilometres per hour anywhere near the runways, and that’s too 

slow to achieve the right level of combustion in a traditional 

bus with a diesel engine. The extremely short distances these 

buses travel, and the long time they spend standing still to let 

passengers on and off, means the emission levels would be even 

higher than those generated by a diesel engine in ‘normal’ use. 

This is why we chose electric buses. The buses have their own 

charging station at the airport, and the electricity comes directly 

from our own solar panels.’ 

To what extent is Schiphol introducing circular 

measures? 

‘Well, let’s not forget that switching to a sustainable approach 

can yield solid financial returns. Think of the reduction in energy 

use, for example. We’ve got a long-term agreement with 

the government which requires us to cut our annual increase in 

energy use by two percent each year up to 2020, relative to projected 

increases in passenger numbers and building expansion. 

Our aim is to meet a large part of our energy needs from renewable 

sources. One way to achieve this is, for example, thermal 

storage in the ground and in building-concrete. We also want to 

push ahead further with the switch from halogen to LED lighting, 

which means a 70-percent reduction in energy consumption. 

Some of our circular measures have only limited environmental 

impact, yet their appeal is strong and they’re popular 

with a large number of our employees. It’s a welcome side effect 

that we’re also able to inspire the workforce in this way.’ 

Do you experiment with new circular ideas? 

‘In economic and business terms, Schiphol is doing well. That 

gives us the opportunity to experiment with sustainable measures 

and also means we can afford to make the occasional mistake 

along the way. About five years ago, for example, we came 

up with the idea of using algae to remove glycol from water. 

Glycol is sprayed on airplanes to prevent ice formation and 

we also use it as a de-icer to tackle snow in the winter. These 

agents remove oxygen from water as they break down. The sys- 


37. Mgmt. Scope

JOS NIJHUIS (58) 

Education 

- HEAO-BE 

- NIVRA 

Career 

2009 - present 

President and ceo of Schiphol Group 

2008 - 2009 

Member of Directors Team, Schiphol Group 

2002 - 2008 

Chairman of the Board of Directors of PwC 

2001 - 2002 

Vice-chairman of the Board of Directors of PwC 

1998-2001 

PwC, Partner Financial Advisory Services 

Nederland 

1980 - 1998 

PwC, various positions 

1978-1980 

Berk accountants and tax consultants 

Private life 

Married, three children 

tem was working, but we had some trouble working together 

with our business partner. Things like that happen.’ 

Do you watch other airports to see how they tackle 

sustainability? 

‘Of course. One bonus in that regard is that airports - because 

of their regional function - are much less focussed on competing 

with each other than, say, airlines. We’re fairly open 

about sharing our know-how either directly or through Airports 

Council International, our professional association. On a 

recent visit to Chicago airport, which likes to present itself as 

a sustainable operation, I was met by someone driving a Tesla. 

He proudly told me that his airport had three Tesla cars. I kept 

quiet about us having 167 Tesla electric cars in use at Schiphol 

– which makes us the airport with the world’s largest fleet of 

electric taxis.’ 

‘By using energyefficient 

LED lamps our 

electricity consumption 

is cut in half’ 

To what extent is Schiphol cooperating with suppliers 

and other partners in the field of sustainability? 

‘That’s growing all the time. Other businesses, such as suppliers 

like Philips and Cofely, are also setting the pace for us. One of 

our lounges, for example, now has ‘circular’ lighting. How does 

that work? Well, we ‘lease’ the lighting system on the basis of 

a service and performance contract that regulates things like 

performance requirements and energy use. We pay Philips and 

Cofely – which handled all the technical installation work 

– for this service. The light fittings and installations in our 

lounges remain the property of Philips. They are responsible 

for the lighting system’s performance and durability. By using 

recyclable materials and energy-efficient LED lamps electricity 

consumption is being cut in half! And this type of light fitting 

has a useful life that’s 75 percent longer than normal. The new 

design has also created a better lighting experience. The hardware 

and raw materials used in this circular lighting system will 

be re-used wherever possible, and that’s what I find so attractive 

about it. Across the board we’re seeing a growing level of 

creativity among our suppliers. Take Vanderlande, for example. 

They’ve made luggage conveyor belts for us from non-toxic and 

re-useable materials. These belts have also been designed to use 

60 percent less energy. They last for about seven years and can 

then be used again to make new belts.’ 

Since the climate conference in Paris, the Netherlands 

has often been referred to as a circular economy 

hotspot. How do you see this? 

‘That could very well be the case. The political world, in any 

case, thinks it’s an interesting issue, and that’s progress in itself. 

But for a lot of parties this is a new field, so there’s always an 

element of trial and error to it.’ 

Does the ‘circular hotspot’ label suit the Netherlands? 

‘Definitely. I’ve got the impression that people abroad think it 

does suit us – this small country with its very high population 

density and level of infrastructure and industrial activity. But 

we shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves. There’s still a lot of work to 

be done to give more substance to that circular economy hotspot 

status – even though we are indeed already leading the way 

in waste management and in the switchover to electric cars.’ 

... PAVED WITH FINANCE: 

THE ROAD FROM LINEAR TO CIRCULAR 

Money, as we know, makes the world go round. But, if used well, it can also make our 

economy more circular. At PGGM, we believe that the financial sector can – and must 

– accelerate the transition to a circular economy. Through an efficient allocation of 

capital, the financial sector can enable companies to make urgently needed changes. 

The circular economy is about risks and opportunities. Companies that continue to 

produce in the conventional, linear way are exposed to price volatility and ultimately 

shortages of raw materials. In the long run, investments in such companies are at risk. 

By contrast, circular companies may well be tomorrow’s winners. 

Circularity also brings non-financial benefits that contribute to a better world for future 

generations. Less waste means better air and water quality and ultimately better health. 

It also reduces the probability of severe climate change. The circular economy model 

thus benefits planet, people and profit. 

The circular economy is about 

risks and opportunities 

As a long-term investor, PGGM strives to accelerate the transition to a circular economy 

in various ways. We look for attractive investment opportunities in circular companies 

and projects. We engage with companies and encourage them to introduce circular 

business models and thinking into their operations. And finally, we take initiatives to 

increase understanding of the implications of the circular economy for the financial 

sector. For instance, pay-per-use models require more and more patient working capital 

than pay-for-ownership models, and bring different legal and technological risks. For 

this reason, PGGM set up the working group FinanCE at the Ellen McArthur Foundation. 

I am excited that the Netherlands has embraced the circular economy. It is encouraging 

that the public and private sectors share this common goal and are working closely 

together. Staying linear is no longer an option. PGGM is proud to be part of the transition 

to a circular world. 

Else Bos 

Ceo of PGGM, which provides services in the field of pension 

administration, communications, executive advice and asset 

management to a range of clients 

Column 


39. Mgmt. Scope


‘Honestly, I had never looked at lighting at Schiphol Airport before. But from the moment I looked 

up, the massive surface of light just fell on me like a blanket. I instantly understood why selling ‘light’ 

makes more sense than selling lamps.’ 

LIGHT IT UP 

Circular hotspot project: At Amsterdam Airport 

Schiphol, the electricity consumption of the refurbished 

Departure Lounge 2 will be reduced by no less than fifty 

percent as a result of using reusable materials and energy-efficient 

LED lighting. 

Organizations involved: Philips, Cofely, Amsterdam 

Schiphol Aiport. 

Iconic because: Together with Philips and Cofely, the 

airport developed ‘light as a service’ for its revamped Departure 

Lounge 2. With this ‘circular lighting’, Schiphol 

pays for the performance while Philips remains the owner 

of the lighting fixtures and installations. Philips and 

Cofely are responsible for the system’s performance and 

life cycle. 

Not only decreasing electricity consumption by fifty 

percent, but also improving the visual perception of the 

lighting. 

Other circular projects By Schiphol are the development 

of new, 99% recyclable baggage conveyors and 

benches made from elephant grass 



CROUCHING GREENS, 

HIDDEN PROFIT 

Testimonial Text Richard Walker Photography Kick Smeets 

NAME CHEN XU 

FUNCTION CHINA’S AMBASSADOR TO THE 

NETHERLANDS 

As the world’s largest manufacturer, China has the power 

to make or break the circular economy model. The country 

claims the growth of its circular economy is outpacing 

even that of its GDP. But, the policymakers agree, there 

is more to be done and learned. 

Xu: ‘We realize it’s a great challenge for us in China to 

strike a balance between economic growth, social progress 

and environmental protection. Now we have a new fixed 

pillar of society – eco-civilization, promoting green innovation 

and coordination, together with the principles of 

openness and sharing. If we want to leave a better world 

to the next generation we have to be serious about the 

circular economy. We are moving in the right direction, 

and we are becoming more aware of global governance. 

This is a process and in some ways China is still catching 

up. Even if it slows our economic growth a little bit, we 

need to make sure our growth is green. And innovation is 

top of the list in the factors needed to make that happen. 

We need to benefit from the Dutch in this area; how you 

organize yourselves in the green economy, the best use of 

water and land, and in manufacturing. Although we are 

very different countries in size and population, you are 

really advanced in many areas. 

Among Chinese people the Netherlands are known for 

their ‘Four Treasures’ – tulips, windmills, cheeses and 

clogs. But economically the Chinese are impressed by 

the way you organize yourselves. I think the majority of 

Dutch are market oriented. The size of this country is 

small but its impact is big, and goes beyond the borders of 

Europe. Innovation is the driving force here, along with 

trade and business. 

In the Chinese system we can organize many people at 

the same time to concentrate our force to finish one project. 

Of course, you have to move forward with the model 

that is suitable to your national condition; we cannot 

mechanically copy the American or the European style. 

And in China our huge population means we need a 

strong central government to move ahead in a stable and 

steady manner. 

The circular economy is not only important for energy-saving 

and environmental protection, but is also 

widely applicable in sectors such as heavy industry, agriculture, 

and services. Strengthening cooperation in the 

circular economy is essential. I believe the businesses of 

both our countries will find more space to cooperate in 

the future.’ 

THE NEW BLACK 

Circular hotspot project: The World’s first Green Carbon 

Black, through a new process that turns old tires into 

the world’s first high performance, pure, ecological carbon 

black. 

Organizations involved: Black Bear Carbon, Circle Economy, 

EU Eco-Innovation Initiative, ASTM International. 

Iconic because: Black Bear ceo Martijn Lopes Cardozo 

probably says it best: ‘Tens of millions of tires are burned 

annually, wasting massive amounts of valuable carbon 

black. Petroleum is used for the production of new carbon 

black. Black Bear thought of something smart.’ The 

standard way of producing carbon black is very polluting, 

but it has a high surface-area-to-volume ratio, which 

makes it widely applied as a reinforcing filler in tyres and 

other products. Black Bear has developed a process enabling 

the recovery of high quality carbon black from waste 

tires, thereby providing a sustainable solution for a problematic 

waste stream. 


‘Sometimes I regret not being able to add scent to a picture. The smell of the piles and piles of tires at 

Blackbear adds to the raw and masculine feel of the Black Carbon they produce. This is a man’s world.’ 



43. Mgmt. Scope



Photography Marco Bakker 

GOVERNMENT MUST 

LEAD THE WAY TO 

THE CIRCLE 

and industry. Ideals have combined with business interests 

to form the moving force behind circular enterprise. It’s exciting 

and could have many benefits. It’s maybe also a matter 

of time. Don’t forget, a very large number of things have 

changed for the better over recent decades. I can clearly 

recall my parents taking me to visit relatives in Rotterdam 

when I was a child. We were country folk, from Friesland. 

My father used to take a jerry can of ‘fresh water’ along as 

a present for our city-dwelling brethren! The water there 

was so filthy you couldn’t make a decent cup of tea with it.’ 


The motivation to make all our endeavours 

circular is no longer purely idealistic – business and 

government are now moving forces as well. ‘And 

that combination has a great potential to bring 

many benefits to our country,’ says Hans de Boer, 

chairman of the Confederation of Netherlands 

Industry and Employers. 

‘If you make a mess, then it’s fairly standard for you to 

clean that up yourself, isn’t it?’ Hans de Boer (61) is 

known for his plain speaking. In recent years, the chairman 

of the VNO-NCW employers’ organisation has become 

aware that our prosperity cannot continue indefinitely 

unless we develop circular systems and activities. 

But as long ago as the mid-1990s, he discovered that 

waste materials need not be seen exclusively as a problem, 

but that they also offer interesting commercial prospects 

for the business community. At that time he was 

Chairman of the Supervisory Board of De Meerlanden, a 

waste processing company, which he co-founded, operating 

in the region of Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport and 

the Aalsmeer Flower Auction. ‘We were the first waste 

processor in the Netherlands to have a gasification and 

fermentation plant. It was used to process waste from 

the flower auction, and it proved to be a technological 

and commercial success from the start.’ 

If this awareness of the potential of waste 

processing already existed twenty years ago, 

why didn’t circular economic activities develop 

here much sooner, particularly when you 

think about the jobs they create? 

Hans de Boer: ‘That’s a good point. Look, we already 

knew about “Lansink’s Ladder” back then (named after 

Dutch politician Ad Lansink). His environmental 

concerns led him to draw up a system of standards for 

waste management. According to his ‘waste hierarchy’, 

re-use and waste prevention have top priority. They 

come before recycling, and definitely take precedence 

over incineration and waste dumping. But we’ve had 

to wait a long time for businesses to take an active interest 

in this, or turn it into a commercial proposition. 

Forty years ago this was an issue for the ‘tree-hugging, 

sandal-wearing’ community. That’s changed totally. It’s 

now become an important issue for the world of business 

To what extent are the members of the Employers’ 

Confederation aware of the commercial and 

job-creation potential of circular enterprise? 

‘They’re appreciating it more and more, to my great satisfaction. 

As I see it, the combination of wanting to do the 

right thing – in other words, shouldering your social responsibility 

– with sound business motives is the best mix you 

could find.’ 

Could you provide an example to illustrate that? 

‘Before I started here at VNO-NCW, I worked in the real 

estate business for seven years. For a long time, those ugly 

‘construction kit’ buildings were about the only things being 

built around our towns and cities. They were relatively 

cheap. They were also the first things to fall vacant when 

the financial crisis struck. They should really be demolished, 

but that’s not happening. That’s the total opposite 

of sustainability. In recent years, however, a fantastic counter 

trend has been gaining ground. Now, the only buildings 

being built in our urban centres are sustainable, or we’re 

upgrading existing buildings, or knocking them down and 

re-using the materials. And the reasons why this is happening 

are both social and economic. The crucial thing is that 

real estate investors are willing to pay a higher price for sustainable 

buildings. It would, by the way, be good if lenders 

were to follow that lead and come up with more attractive 

financing conditions for investors like these. 

‘We ought to have 

a kind of recycling 

‘bank’ for raw 

materials’ 

HANS DE BOER (61) 

Education 

Econometrics and Public Finance, 

VU University Amsterdam 

Career 

2014 - present 

Chairman of VNO-NCW 

2007 - 2014 

ceo, LSI project investment 

2003 - 2007 

Co-founder of various businesses, including 

PolicyProductions and Verzekerd Wonen 

1997 - 2003 

Chairman, MKB Nederland 

1994 - 1997 

Director, KPMG 

1986 - 1994 

Founder, Economic Research and Policy Consulting 

Bureau 

1982 - 1986 

Policy advisor, government of the Netherlands 

Antilles 

1978 - 1982 

Academic associate, Institute for Research on Public 

Expenditure 


Private life 

Married, two children.

‘The philosophy here is 

one of no left-overs’ 

FROM DOWN UNDER 

TO UP AND OVER 

Another positive aspect is that people who lease these sustainable 

office buildings like to publicise the fact that they’ve chosen 

‘green’ premises. That’s something they can, quite rightly, 

use to make a good impression. 

We’ve reached a new stage now. These days newly-built office 

buildings are usually energy neutral, they’re easy to disassemble, 

which means the building materials can be re-used at some 

point in the future, and so on. Our architects and builders are 

getting better and better at marketing this circular know-how 

abroad. And that automatically means new jobs.’ 

I often hear from people abroad that they regard 

the Netherlands and Dutch business as real leaders 

on the circular economy. Do you agree with 

me that we in this country are not sufficiently 

aware of that? 

‘The PR for ‘Netherlands Inc.’ is indeed not strong. The 

strange thing is that we tend to get a bit big headed at the 

wrong moments. Our timing isn’t that good. It’s a bit like the 

way most Dutch people dance – with a distinct lack of rhythm. 

Take our dairy farmers. Their milk production generates thirty 

to forty percent less in CO 2 

emissions than the foreign competition. 

In the same context, you have a business like FrieslandCampina 

that’s developing clever ways of handling cow 

manure – things like fermentation, which cuts CO 2 

emissions 

considerably; and extracting useful nutrients from the manure. 

Yet, what’s the average Dutch man or woman saying about our 

dairy farmers? They just moan about mega dairies, about ‘the 

industrialisation of farming’, etcetera. Personally, I find that 

really irritating.’ 

Do we have sufficient ammunition to put the 

Netherlands on the ‘circular’ map internationally? 

‘We’re in the Top 5 of the world’s largest agricultural producers. 

And we’re definitely a global leader in logistics. The combination 

of the scarcity of resources, our experience with re-using 

materials, plus the fact that we’re a logistics and agricultural 

hotspot, all offer enormous opportunities for circular activities 

and development. So it would be a good idea for us to keep 

those scarce resources ‘inside’ our economy – and I mean that 

literally. We ought to have a kind of recycling ‘bank’ for raw 

materials. That’s extremely important from a strategic point 

of view. Importing and exporting all those raw materials and 

waste materials is, in any event, a massive exercise in logistics. 

We’re good at that; we’re skilled at designing processes. It’s 

not for nothing that we have such a high productivity level 

compared to other countries.’ 

What’s the best way for us to get that message 

across outside the Netherlands? 

‘We simply have to do that. I regularly go on trade missions, 

and the government organises regular trips under the ‘circular 

enterprise’ banner. We’re going to Indonesia soon, for example, 

probably on the theme of urbanisation. So, business people 

who know about combatting air pollution, about water purification 

and other circular activities, could be going with us. 

One thing we also want to promote throughout the 

Netherlands is the project to get the 2025 World Expo held in 

Rotterdam. One unique aspect of this is that our bid is based 

entirely on circular ideas and principles. New construction is 

kept to the bare minimum, and any new pavilions built will 

have a designated post-Expo use before they’re even built. Existing 

buildings – in Rotterdam’s port district, for instance – 

will be ‘re-used’ for this World Expo. The philosophy here is 

one of no left-overs’. 

What role should government be playing in terms 

of stimulating the circular economy? 

‘I’m an enormous believer in government playing a leading role 

in the initial phase of developments – what we used to call the 

‘infant industry argument’. Why wouldn’t the government do 

that? It should be encouraging rapid growth towards a circular 

economy with policies that support and facilitate that. Everyone 

now believes in the need for the circular economy and 

the opportunities it brings. The government should be inviting 

businesses to come to the table, and it also has a key role when 

it comes to its own investments and acquisitions. When a new 

office building is being built for a government department, then 

it should be standard for it to meet the most stringent energy 

and circular requirements. By the way, when it comes to purchasing 

policy you also need to create a climate in which the 

party handling the acquisitions isn’t judged on whether they 

negotiate the lowest price, but on the total cost of ownership. 

After all, we know that the initial price of circular investments 

is often relatively high, while the costs over the investment’s 

entire lifetime are in fact lower.’ 

In conclusion, what do you see as the essential value 

of the circular economy? 

‘That you can do something that benefits the planet while, at 

the same time, you as an organisation or private citizen also 

benefit or gain knowledge from doing it. And on a personal 

level? That we do the right thing in the most efficient way 

possible. Personally speaking, that’s something that makes me 

really happy.’ 

NAME ANDY RIDLEY 

FUNCTION CEO 

COMPANY CIRCLE ECONOMY 

Australian green movement pioneer Andy Ridley is 

now one year into his role as Managing Director of 

Circle Economy, the Amsterdam based cooperative 

working on a range of sustainability projects. For 

Ridley, the salient question is: how do you move the 

topic of the circular economy from rhetoric to reality? 

One of the ingredients to the answer is, he says, the 

Netherlands. 

Ridley: ‘What you have here is a very unusual gathering 

of companies and people who get the idea of the 

circular economy and are endeavoring, in some cases 

successfully, to implement it. So if you want to learn 

about it, come here. 

You’ve got this extraordinary expertise building up 

here in the Netherlands. Your next big leap is export, 

because you’ve got a gift to bring to a lot of other 

places. The circular economy is in China’s next 

five-year plan, so next is practical implementation. 

And that’s why I like working here at Circle 

Economy, that’s what we do. Implementation is 

what you see when you’re at Philips. Or another 

example, at Friesland Campina, which exports powdered 

milk to China. Systemic changes have taken 

place on their farms, how they run them and maintain 

happy cows. The way they’re trying to look after the 

land, how they use manure. In Australia farmers don’t 

like waste and it’s the same here, the circularity is getting 

deeply integrated. 

When I first came there it was a bit of a culture shock 

for me. There’s much more discussion before a decision 

gets made than in the Anglo-Saxon business culture. 

I think that has a great bearing on the circular 

economy because it requires so much interaction between 

the different elements. I think there’s a unique 

entrepreneurial spirit here in the Netherlands. The 

word entrepreneur is used here as a compliment.’ 

Here in the Netherlands a lot of companies are identifying 

some of the issues that obstruct the circular 

economy. One of those is how do you change the consumer’s 

expectations? No one’s engaged the creative 

industries yet on this and I’d love to see that happen.’ 

Text Richard Walker Photography Kick Smeets 

Testimonial 


47. Mgmt. 47. Scope Mgmt. Scope


‘Arriving at Park20|20, I was not very excited. These were, well.. office buildings. Then I went inside... 

My first thought: do people really work here? It’s like working in a park. But it’s an office. With plants 

and trees. Like a park. But it’s an office. With lots of sun and water. Like a park. But it’s an office. Or is it?’ 


GREEN WORKS 

Circular hotspot project: Park 20|20, the first worldwide 

Cradle to Cradle ® business park near Hoofddorp. 

Organizations involved: Delta Development Group, 

VolkerWessels and the Reggeborgh Group and among 

others: Gemeente Haarlemmermeer, Arizona State University, 

TU Delft, Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Dutch 

Green Building Council and the Cradle to Cradle Products 

Innovation Institute. 

Iconic because: It’s simply the business park of the future. 

Park 20|20 combines an optimal ecological approach 

with a ‘circular’ view on doing business. Human well-being 

is the central element, which is so often forgotten 

in office buidlings. This focus results in an inspiring and 

healthy work environment. The park is made up of approx. 

88.000 m 2 of office buildings and about 3.500 m 2 

for amenities. Renewable energy through heat and cold 

storage and photovoltaic cells as well as water purification 

by means of helophyte filters are amongst its features. 


advertorial 



‘Participating in a circular economy will become a license to operate for Waste to Energy plants. More specifically, 

the reuse of all aggregates and metals in their ash will help them in becoming more circular. It decreases the industry’s 

carbon footprint and preserves our nature’s scarce resources for future generations. Inashco’s mission is to be the 

partner of choice for the Waste to Energy sector and other stakeholders focussing on responsible ash management.’ 

Arno La Haye - CEO Inashco 

... SHARED DREAMS, MEANINGFUL CHANGE 

‘True cooperation is key to transform to the circular economy. Besides the fact that cooperation is a necessity, 

it is also much more fun. It enriches life in all ways and above all, we huma ns cannot survive alone. Cooperation 

is the only natural way.’ Cas van Arendonk - Managing Partner Powered by Meaning 

Column 

Erika Koehler 

Project leader of the Innovation Expo 2016 

Coming in to land at Schiphol airport, spreading beneath you is a small country 

with plenty of water. Surprisingly for such a densely populated place, instead of skyscrapers 

we see meticulously planned farmland, company sites, waterways and roads 

that, together, reflect the entrepreneurship that went into building them. And yet, 

few passengers know that the Netherlands is a world leader in agricultural efficiency, 

photonics, chip technology, logistics, and bio-based production, to name but a few. 

Once on the ground, after noticing some challenging weather, visitors will find a 

country populated by happy, healthy people. 

Addressing the criticism of the OECD, that the Netherlands lacks productivity-boosting 

megacities, I would therefore reply that the country in fact is one green 

megacity of the future. Or, put more modestly: a Sustainable Urban Delta. 

The Netherlands is one green 

megacity of the future 

The Netherlands has centuries of experience in public-private co-creation. It can 

share its expertise with countries around the world in all aspects of urbanization and 

create for itself a new, uniquely Dutch, industry. This is the theme for the Innovation 

Expo in April 2016, held in Amsterdam. During its 2016 EU Presidency, the Netherlands 

is hosting many events on innovation, of which the Innovation Expo is the 

largest. It was initiated by the government fourteen years ago and is co-organized by 

start-ups, topsectors, civil projects, universities, polytechnics, and the media. More 

than 4000 people are gathering to see 220 showcases, and to exchange ideas. 

I feel proud to be a project-manager of the Innovation Expo, but it goes further than 

that. 

It is my belief that the Netherlands needs to become a living laboratory for the 

dreams that lie underneath the innovations I’ve mentioned. Naturally, circular production 

is what we all want, but most people are unsure about how to make that 

happen. The government should take the lead, by forbidding plastic bags in shops, 

for example. Yes, personalized medicine is wonderful, but the most important thing 

is a healthy lifestyle. Of course, coding is important, just like reading and writing, but 

imagination and cooperation should be the most important results of a child’s education. 

It’s the mentality and the dreams people share, that bring meaningful change. 

What’s next? The Circular Hotspot Valley opening in Schiphol’s Trade park is a 

great initiative providing our circular businesses with more international visibility. 

Why not combine a number of national innovation events to produce a large bi-annual 

event? Then when people think of Holland they will think of innovation. 

‘Through our work with organisations that are making the transition towards a circular economy KPMG is wellpositioned 

to enable change with its clients. Companies and governments aim to show the value that the circular 

economy create. This is where our experience in valuating societal impact comes in and supports leading companies 

to show the environmental, social and economic costs and benefits of their solutions. Through this we aim to 

inspire other players and create momentum.’ Bernd Hendriksen - Practice Leader of Sustainability KPMG 

‘Circular Economy is a new approach of managing and eliminating all aspects of waste and recycling. Using renewable 

resources, available capacity, embedded value of resources and generating new innovative services will create 

value that is both good for the economy ánd the planet. As digital technologies play a critical role in supporting these 

circular business models and will help companies to put them at the core of their strategies, the best time to act is 

now’ Manon van Beek - Managing Director Accenture Netherlands 

‘I believe it’s not only our moral duty but also economic sense to actively pursue a more sustainable, circular economy. 

Rotterdam operates at the forefront of circular economy developments, leading the way in water management and 

delta technology. Reducing and recycling waste also results in lower cost levels for the city, its companies and inhabitants, 

simultaneously creating new jobs. Rotterdam actively supports initiatives by companies, knowledge institutes 

and individuals who can take the circular economy forward.’ Ron Voskuilen - CEO Rotterdam Partners 

‘As a utility company, we continually look for innovative solutions for a circular economy where waste no longer 

exists and energy is sustainable. That’s not utopian, it is inevitable. Scarce raw materials will be depleted and the 

demand for energy will only increase in a growing global population of nearly 9 billion and a rapidly expanding 

digitalization of society. Together we can create a resilient circular economy. We must strive for an economy where 

consumption is replaced by reuse.’ Wim van Lieshout - CEO HVC 

‘Dutch Water Authorities (DWA) consider waste water to be a valuable source of renewable energy, raw materials, 

and clean water. It has set up the Energy & Resource Factory network organization, in which energy and raw materials 

are being recovered from waste water. However, the waste status of these materials and different EU quality standards 

hamper innovation. We therefore ask for EU wide ‘end of waste’ criteria for secondary materials, including waste 

water, to create a level playing field.’ Ingrid ter Woorst - Board Member DWA ‘Water quality & sustainability 

‘Of course we feel responsible for our extensive ‘raw material bank’; thousands of kilometers of cable and pipe and a 

lot of technical installations that we install and maintain for decades. It helps us that the properties and challenges 

of the energy transition and material transition are comparable. Both can amplify each other to harvest from the 

technological, financial and social opportunities.’ Peter Molengraaf - CEO Alliander 

‘The circular economy needs a runway. Now, right at this moment! Lots of people are willing to change the system. 

Here – in Haarlemmermeer- you’ll find a local government with great ambitions and companies and organizations 

who are innovative and eager. That makes us an ideal living lab for the circular society. And that’s why last year the 

Circular Hotspot started here.’ John Nederstigt - Alderman Municipality of Haarlemmermeer 

‘ROCKWOOL believes that buildings should be a part of the circular economy vision. Buildings can only be sustainable 

if they are comfortable, safe and designed for the people who work, learn, heal and live in them. However, 

this needs a coordinated political vision and strategy, including positive legislative drivers such as waste prevention 

targets, promotion of products that are easier to reuse and remanufacture, but also tender policies and building assessment 

methods that include social impact.’ Hannie Stappers - Director Public Affairs ROCKWOOL B.V. 

‘At LUNE we make Dutch designed waste bins that are used for sorting waste at the source. They have been developed 

and manufactured to fulfil the objectives of the circular economy. They play an important role in the end of 

life and retrieval of other products and are designed to last! Furthermore, our bins are designed for disassembly, to 

facilitate an efficient repair-, re-use- and refurbish process.’ Wido F.I. van den Bosch - CEO LUNE 

50. Mgmt. Scope

advertorial 



‘Black Bear has a circular economy solution for the waste tire problem and an alternative for the fossil based carbon 

black that is used for tire production. For each upcycling facility we can save more CO 2 

than 1 million trees can 

consume. Even better, there are enough tires in the world to build over 800 facilities! We believe that the 

Netherlands can lead the circular economy by creating successful examples that can be upscaled internationally.’ 

Martijn Lopes Cardozo - CEO Black Bear Carbon 

‘Sustainability is one of our company’s most important guidelines. As a global company and as part of a regional 

society, Siemens wants to contribute to economic, ecological and social developments. We do not only take ownership 

and responsibility when it comes to serving our different stakeholders in the short term, we also take account 

of the effects for future generations. In a nutshell: finding the optimal balance between ‘people, planet and profit’ 

Ab van der Touw - CEO Siemens 

‘Business leaders must ensure we don’t reduce the circular economy to a mere varnish for yesterdays’ business as usual. 

The course of change is never smooth, but it requires you to uproot fundamental assumptions of your business, add 

a strong dose of conviction and be determined to build a new core competence that future-proofs your organisation 

and the wider economy. This is the time to act, for it enables us, business leaders, to do true good in our markets.’ 

Rob Boogaard - president en CEO Interface EMEA 

‘In our conversations with business leaders, we sense a renaissance of ‘stewardship’: the responsible management 

of something entrusted to one’s care. True leaders understand they are ‘mere’ stewards, and that their stewardship 

includes the responsibility for a sustainable world. At TEN we believe the leaders of the future are the leaders for 

the future. Courageous, creative, with the power of will and a belief in the benefit of sharing, they strive to achieve 

goals that are larger than life.’ Marty Tuk - Partner The Executive Network (TEN) 

‘The recycling centre collects and passes on. That is why it’s not just an environment-friendly place to dump waste, 

but a point of conversion; a circulation site where people give products and materials new uses. That is why Modulo 

intends to turn the recycling centre into an inviting place that involves people in the natural cycle of waste, reuse 

and creation. Each person has to take their own responsibility. The market is shifting from linear to circular!’ 

Ron van Ommeren - CEO Modulo Milieustraten 

‘To DSM, the transition to a circular economy is a necessity to meet global demands for more value from the 

available resources, to combat climate change and to reduce and start reusing our waste. I believe we are nearing 

the tipping point of that transition: at COP21 we found many multi-nationals, governments and NGOs fully aware 

of the urgency and willing to make this transition happen. The Netherlands, a highly dense urban delta, simply hás 

to act and is moving into the right direction.’ Feike Sijbesma - CEO Royal DSM 

‘Philips embraces circular economy, because of the intrinsic benefits for societies and because it is a driver for economic 

growth. We already took significant steps in redesigning our product propositions, business models and end-to-end 

value chains. We are pioneering asset tracking to close the loop on re-use of parts, designed consumer products from 

recycled plastics and have been selling refurbished medical equipment for years. A large part of our R&D activities is 

based in the Netherlands; an ideal testing ground to jump start innovations.’ Frans van Houten - CEO Royal Philips 

‘We regard products as the temporary storage of valuable raw materials. At Van Gansewinkel we want to prevent 

waste and ensure that it only reaches our recycling processes after many cycles. This is how we partner with our 

clients toward the realisation of the circular economy. Van Gansewinkel is the bridge-builder, able to complete the 

circle from waste to raw material. We make sustainability tangible by recovering scarce raw materials and resupplying 

them as the ingredients for new products.’ Marc Zwaaneveld - CEO Van Gansewinkel 

‘As a circular company, we have a stronger relationship with our customers. At the end of the lifespan of their office 

interior, we take the complete interior back from our clients, with guaranteed residual value. We aim to reuse as much 

as possible. By revitalizing and remodelling the furniture, we give it a second and third cycle. Through the three-year 

repurchase program, the life of office furniture is extended up to 21 years. We give our customers all the tools to be 

sustainable.’ Michael Kuiper - CEO Desko 

‘We’re shifting from a linear economy, where everything is based on ‘take-make-dispose’, towards more circular 

processes. We’re moving from ownership to access and this is coming to fruition in the sharing economy, not only 

for consumers, but also for businesses. At FLOOW2 we facilitate this change towards more efficient use of what 

companies already have with an online B2B Sharing Marketplace on which businesses can share equipment, 

services, but also the skills and knowledge of personnel worldwide.’ Kim Tjoa - Co-Founder FLOOW2

NETHERLANDS

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