Rabobank Trade & Commodity Finance is active across the globe with multicultural teams in different countries. TCF wanted to contribute to the Rabobank mission 'Growing a better world, together' and at the same time increase their value to their clients through sustainability.
The TCF team works with short term financial deals and has a strong focus on results. Sustainability projects often have a longer timeframe then trade finance deals. Results take longer. Therefore, next to getting a clear understanding of the value sustainabilty could bring to clients and the development of expertise of accountmanagers, a change in culture and in commercial systems was required.
Together with the Global MT and Sustainability Manager Richard Piechocki, Metis has developed a year long programme to facilitate this change. We determined the impact TCF wanted to have and trained Sustainability Ambassadors to prepare them for their new role.
During the 'Financing Sustainable Trade Challenge' the Ambassadors worked with clients and the local accountmanagers in their teams. Goal was to experience the value of sustainability in their day to day jobs and to transfer sustainability knowledge. During the Challenge the teams have executed more than 30 projects with sustainability impact. During the Grand Finale of the Challenge, Board member Jan van Nieuwenhuizen complemented the Ambassadors on successfully incorporating the Rabobank mission into commercial practise.
EMBRACED is a European project with the goal to close the diaper loop whilst reducing the overall environmental footprint of the use of diapers and incontinence materials. An important step seeing that the size of this waste stream is increasing, due to a growing and aging world population. The project wants to install a recycling plants across Europe where high quality secundary materials (plastics, cellulose, SAPs) can be made from this waste stream. After Treviso, the next plant is to be installed in Amsterdam.
In order to successfully close the loop in Amsterdam, it is important that there is social acceptance for the project and the plant. It is even more important that the different players in the recycle chain are prepared to participate. From parents and care centres that need to collect the waste separately, to producers that need to use the secondary raw materials in their products.
This was the reason for the EMBRACED project partners (amongst others FATER en Procter & Gamble) to work together with Natuur & Milieufederatie Noord Holland on social acceptance. Marieke Gombault of Metis acts as project leader for them on this project.
The first step of the project was to analyse the current social acceptance of the project. Following that analysis we brought together partners from the entire supply chain to ensure the circle could be closed once the plant is operational.
ContactDanone Early Life Nutrition (now Specialized Nutrition) had the ambition to make Nature its fourth business fundamental. In order to achieve this, it is important that all employees know what is expected from them in their function. But may be even more importantly, they need to be inspired and be able to recognize opportunities to improve Danone's impact on Nature. Nature needs to become part of company culture in order for employees to automatically make the right decisions in their day to day job execution.
In 2016 Marieke Gombault en Lonneke Frie developed an engagement approach based on Metis's Legacy Approach(R) to achieve this goal. Together with the Danone ELN CSR team we have implemented this approach successfully globally in all Supply Points (2016 - 2018).
Paul Kennedy, Nature & Sustainablity Manager Danone Early Life Nutrition:
"Danone ELN is using the Legacy Approach to make Nature & Sustainability an integral part of our business. I am impressed how well employees, especially leasership teams, respond to the approach. If you want to activate and intrinsically motivate people on Sustainability, it really works. It makes a global challenge, personal."
Marieke Gombault is a lecturer at the Executive Program Corporate Social Responsibility of the Erasmus University in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. This executive program is developed for directors, managers, consultants and policy makers who encounter the strategic and operational aspects of sustainability in their work and want to increase their expertise on this topic. Marieke also mentors the participants when they write their research paper.
From 2016 - end of 2019 Marieke also helped coordinate the content of the program.
The department responsible for Circular Economy in the municipality of Amsterdam noticed that their projects had more societal impact than just closing the loop and the waste reduction targets they were aiming for. Additional impact on poverty, social cohesion, employment, CO2 reduction and even safety was possible. Impact that was the objective of other departments in the municipality, but that was currently not automatically sought or maximised when selecting and designing projects. In order to be able to maximize impact, an integral decision framework was required.
Metis was asked to create this decision framework. First we identified the impact different relevant departments wanted in the municipality. Based on the outcome we built a framework. During a workshop with the departments we assessed what the department wanted to contribute in order to achieve the impact (budget, man power, appreciation). This information helps the Circular Economy team and their colleagues from other departments to select projects that contribute most to the integral impact the municipality strives for.
The integral decision framework is the first step on the way to maximize social impact and to look beyond the borders and targets of your own department.
Port Authority Amsterdam (HbA) has a powerful sustainability ambition for the harbour.
‘We are constantly looking for opportunities to become smarter, faster and cleaner' . HbA strives for sustainable development of the port. Circular Economy and the transition to sustainable energy are opportunities to attract sustainable companies.
One of the ambitions of HbA is to establish a practice of sustainable and circular procurement. In 2016 en 2017 Metis supported Port of Amsterdam to develop a strategie, ambitions and targets. We also supported HbA with the start of the implementation.