The world of business is changing. In the past, businesses focused on selling products, then on experiences and knowledge. But now, it’s about solving shared problems—like climate change—by working with local people [1].

This is how I work. I believe we should “think globally, but act locally.” We cannot just copy an idea from one place and put it in another. We must look at what a specific village or city really needs. I listen to the local people to create practical plans.

[1] Brand, Reon & Rocchi, Simona. (2010). Rethinking value in a changing landscape. A model for strategic reflection and business transformation. Philips Design.

Nature is not just something we visit; we are part of it. But today, people and nature are often separated.

I saw this problem growing up in the Netherlands. My home country is very densely populated. Almost every piece of land is used for buildings or farming, so there is very little wild nature left. Reports from the Dutch government show that nature there is suffering because there is no space for it [2]. And it’s not just a national problem (see the UN’s sustainability development goals)…

I want to fix this. When nature is healthy, people are happier and healthier too. I want to design ways for us to be partners with nature. This means creating cleaner air and greener cities so that humans and nature can thrive together.

[2] Balans van de Leefomgeving 2025: 2025. https://www.pbl.nl/publicaties/balans-van-de-leefomgeving-2025.

[3] THE 17 GOALS | Sustainable Development: https://sdgs.un.org/goals

I will start with local projects, but my goal is global. I am inspired by, for example:

• The NK Tegelwippen is a Dutch and Belgian [4] competition where people remove pavement tiles from their gardens and plant nature instead. This (inter)national action helps prevent flooding and cools down cities.

• Justdiggit [5] uses simple, nature-based ways to bring dry land back to life in Africa. They show that small actions in one region can help cool the entire planet.

These projects teach us that every action, whether it is removing a tile or digging a small bund, can be copied and adapted. This is how a local project can grow to make a real difference for the whole world.

[4] NK Tegelwippen – Wip mee en geef je tegels door! 2025. https://www.nk-tegelwippen.nl/

[5] JustDiggit | Cooling Down the Planet | Global Warming Charity: 2025. https://justdiggit.org/