Actionplan Sustainable Trade!!!

Today Dick Boer (CEO Ahold Nederland), Peter ter Kulve (CEO Unilever Benelux), Johan van de Gronden (Director WWF Netherlands) and Joost Oorthuizen (director of the Dutch Sustainable Trade Initiative) will present the Action Plan Sustainable Trade.

The Action Plan consist of a vison letter undersigned by more than 60 companies and 8 civil society organisations, and a portfolio with sectoral development programs.

The Action Plan is targetted at the members (and candidate members) of the House of Parlement of the Netherlands. With a annual turnover of 37 billion euros and 61.000 FTE, the supply chains of the development programs are of great importance to the Dutch economy.

Bollywood Fit and Fun

In Holland we have an employee fitness program by the name of Fit and Fun. We are running it to stimulate some healthy exercise of our employees. And then Anima arrived as an intern in our department. And she is a Bollywood expert. And then there was an idea. Why do we not marry Bollywood and Fit and Fun, and so we created the Bollywood dancing experience. A once off, that was well received!

Ghana-Netherlands 1-0

Wednesday was the day. I was going to meet Kofi Annan in person. He was responsible for me and my family moving to Ghana in 2002. After he had a discussion with our former CEO and they decided that Ahold would do something good in Africa, I was selected to pack my bags and go and find out what would be the right thing to do. And that's what we did. Together with the government, NGOs and our business we started Ahold Sustainable Trade Development. And now we are doing millions of business in a sustainable way, and backed up by community work through the Albert Heijn Foundation (www.ah.nl/ahfoundation).

Well, the night before I went to the soccer match between Ghana and the Netherlands in the Kuip in Rotterdam. A great game and a great score for Holland, 4-1. During and after the match we had a wonderful time with Ghanaian supporters dreaming about the final in South Africa with the same teams.

Meeting Kofi Annan was something I will not easily forget. In his patient way he explains that a company has to do what is good, no matter what the law is, not matter who the government is. Step by step introducing sustainable business, everywhere in the world. "No, you should not leave Zimbabwe, you are supporting all those families, do not leave them alone." Now, that is 1-0 for the world, for Africa, for Ghana!