http://www.ontwikkelingssamenwerking.nu/: missed faces?

On Saturday we had the big dag of Bert Koenders, minister of development cooperation in Holland. A big day because we were talking and debating about how to move on with development cooperation related to the MDGs. MDGs? The Millinium Development Goals as they are established within the United Nations. One of them, # 8, is all about sustainable trade amongst other things. Lots of talk about the influence of businesses in developing economies. But apart from the usual suspects on stage, like Peter Bakker from TNT, it was a day of missed changes. Where were all those innovative initiatives from a business perspective, where were the people taking charge in the countries that we talked about? Again it was a party of 'ons kent ons' (incrowd party) and not of 'ons willen die ander kennen' (meeting the other side of development cooperation). The Dutchies told themselves how good they were doing, did we ask Kofi how it works out on the ground?

https://www.cdproject.net/en-US/Pages/HomePage.aspx

The Carbon Disclosure Project has been out there for quite some time now. It tries to capture carbon emissions of all the major business in the world. Ahold for the first time this year disclosed via the Project and we are glad we did. The Project is the best recognized attempt to cover emissions and the developments. Used by investors to see if companies actually recognize the risks and opportunities that come with climate challenges.

In CDP language:
Consumer Staples Royal Ahold AQ IN 45 69 2,474,427 1,150,964 1,323,463

She did it!

Simone did it, in 1 hour and 45 minutes more or less. When I interviewed her at the finish line she looked quite OK for a lady running 10 miles. Well, I now loose quite some money, because all three people I sponsored completed the race. The proceeds are going to the Leefkring Huis, the foundation we support at Ahold to provide a safe haven for women and kids in need.

Dam2Dam

This year the 25th time of the Dam-to-Dam 10 mile running event. A'dam will be closed down over the weekend, as we are all out there to watch the bravehearts. Of course Ahold sponsors this event that brings runners from the Dam in Amsterdam to the Dam in Zaandam, the town where our company started more than hunderd years ago. And I have to sponsor a lot of people, so my wallet will be easy to carry around next week. My favorite is Simone, she will be running and it will be hard for her. Do not know her number, but keep an eye, because it will be tough for her!

http://www.damloop.nl/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=50&Itemid=10

Putz

Some two years ago Cargill, Heinz en Albert Heijn sat together about how on earth to make the cocoa supply chain more sustainable. Hunderds of thousands of farmers were out there in the field. In West Africa, in Asia en who knows where. Quality mostly lousy, social conditions same thing. Bringing cocoa to a collection station was mostly a matter of bringing in as much weight as possible. Throw in some rocks here and there, not at the top of the bag. Child labor? Who knows. Slave labor? Who knows. The task at hand was so immense. That is when I first started participating tha meeting. Cargill was thinking of telling Oxfam what great things they were doing in their cocoa supply chain. And then what, did we make a difference? No, I suggested, let's talk to Utz Certified. These guys know about sustainable coffee certification, coffee is a bean, cocoa is a bean. That was my simple reasoning. Wow, did I know you could raise so many objections comparing beans and beans! But in the end it worked. Today in Dutch newspaper a big article about what Cargill and Utz did. And that fills these eyes with tears. Gratitude, that some things work, more and more things work...

Djsianks!

In 2004 we were deleted from the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. We had some issues in our company, but today we are back! Back in one of the most prestigious sustainability indexes and we will drink a glass of champagne to that this afternoon!

Why is this important to us? Well, it sort of shows ourselves and the world that we changed things in the right direction. And now we want to move on. Making sure we understand what the world is about, and what we can do about that. That is what we are preparing now. project FIS: Future Issues & Solutions. It is about obesity, diversity, anxiety. Big words to be translated into simple and inspiring solutions. That's what it is all about!