Economic progress and a sustainable society go hand in hand. This provoking statement was the starting point for the Masterclass that Nyenrode and RTL organized on March 31st, in cooperation with energy company Nuon.

  The new star
  After a welcome speech given by RTL
  newscaster Rick Nieman, Nyenrode’s Prof. Dr.
  Taco van Someren, got the ball rolling. In today’s
  world, we are all affected by trends such as the
  rise of the BRIC countries*, the changing position
  of women and global population growth.
  Therefore, the 'old world' must realize that there
  are new players entering the market, often from
  unexpected places. This also applies to
  companies in the fields of sustainability and energy. At this point it is unclear how our climate will develop. Although inadequate, Van Someren argues that the information we have today will have to serve as the basis for deciding whether to take action, or instead, to refrain from taking action. For the time being, we do not know who the new stars in the energy sector will be, and from which countries and industries they will come. Who will win the race?

  'Think big and kick ass’
  In this changing world, Van Someren says, the Netherlands is no longer a key player in the energy
  industry. The Netherlands is at risk of trailing behind other countries, and Dutch energy companies
  of becoming nothing more than ‘tasty snacks’ for large foreign corporations. A number of (for
  example Chinese) companies that have been around for only a few years, already appear to be
  capable of becoming global leaders and outrunning prominent Dutch companies. What we need,
  says Van Someren, is a new attitude, referring to Donald Trump who once said: ‘Think big and kick
  ass!’. We need 'new thinking’, with more entrepreneurial activity, a different mentality and less
  academic paperwork. The ‘old thinking’ – plans made by policymakers and power-politics thinking –  
  must disappear. Only then will we be able to create Dutch energy champions: the new stars.

Toyota business case
Van Someren, who was involved as a consultant in the sustainability discussion at BMW in the late 1990s, talked about how Toyota gained a huge lead over its competitors in the automobile industry through sustainable innovation. While BMW dismissed the two-engine hybrid system as inefficient, Toyota devoted itself completely to this system with the Prius. Toyota won the marketing battle – emphasizing for example how Hollywood stars such as Leonardo DiCaprio wanted to be seen in a Prius – while keeping the marketing costs relatively low. Sales increased substantially, and the competition could do nothing but stand on the sidelines and watch.

Strategic innovation
Toyota is a company that works with a strategy for a period of 100 years, Van Someren told the audience. The company wondered what the car of the 21st century should be like and developed the hybrid automobile as an intermediate step on the path to the ‘ultimate ecocar’. According to Van Someren, Toyota is a good example of a company that pursues a policy of sustainable strategic innovation. This means that all of the steps in the business process must be redesigned, and that they must serve the new strategy. Although this conversion requires a tremendous amount of effort, implementing a consistent strategy is absolutely essential for a company aiming to become a winning player in the sustainable economy.

Panel discussion
Professor van Someren’s lecture was followed by a panel discussion led by Rick Nieman. The participants were:
• Hans Mart Groen (General Director of Nuon Sales Nederland)
• Helga van Leur (RTL Weather Forecaster)
• Sven Drillenburg Lelijveld (CSR Manager at KPN)
• Chris Dutilh (Manager of Sustainable Development at Unilever Benelux)
• Babs Dijkshoorn (CSR Manager at Fortis Bank Nederland)
• Prof. Dr. Anke van Hal, MSc (Professor Sustainable Building & Development at Nyenrode, and Professor Sustainable Housing Transformation at
  TU Delft)
• And Prof. Dr. Taco van Someren

  The panel discussion focussed primarily on the role of
  consumers and citizens. Is there a difference
  between how people think as citizens and how they
  act as consumers? Do consumers or NGOs take the
  lead when it comes to companies' green
  transformation? Are consumers really interested in
  sustainable products, and are they willing to pay for
  them? Or should companies themselves create the
  demand for them? And do consumers actually believe
  the sustainability measures taken by businesses?

Merger of interests
After a short break, two parallel sessions were held. During the first session, Sven Drillenburg Lelijveld (KPN), Chris Dutilh (Unilever) and Babs Dijkshoorn (Fortis) talked about sustainable business in their respective sectors.

  The theme of the other parallel session was sustainable housing. The European Union has solid objectives when it
  comes to saving energy and reducing CO2 emissions. The Netherlands has somewhat higher ambitions, and some
  Dutch cities even aim to take these goals one step further. According to Prof. Dr. Anke van Hal, buildings (and the
  homes contained within them) are responsible for a great deal of CO2 emissions. Only a small percentage of the
  housing stock is ‘green’; the vast majority is only slightly so, if at all. Since demolition and replacement usually isn’t
  an option, any sustainable renovation of the existing housing stock will require a great deal of work. In particular,
  great strides may be made if housing corporations (with large quantities of homes in their stock) were to start
  introducing more sustainability measures.

  Van Hal discussed the three Ps that are currently the starting point in today’s sustainability philosophy: People,
  Planet and Profit. In her view, sustainability is often born of either the Profit or Planet concept. Van Hal pointed out
  that it is in fact the People element that should be taken as the starting point in sustainability efforts. During her
  lecture, she discussed the interests of residents, housing corporations, and municipalities in detail. Although these
  interests often seem to conflict with one another, we must continue to focus on what is possible, and on how we
  can ensure that these interests merge, in spite of this conflict.

Next, Ferry van Wilgenburg, Division Manager of Real Estate Management for the Woonwaard housing corporation in the Kennemerland region, talked about sustainable partnerships in the chain of companies involved in renovation activities. In his opinion, such partnerships are a pre-condition for successful renovation projects.

* Brazil, Russia, India, China