Saartje Boutsen

Meet the expert: Saartje Boutsen, Sustainability Coach. She worked for Rikolto (the new Vredeseilanden) for many years until she switched to JBC and became Corporate Social Responsibility manager. She works as a Sustainable Entrepreneurship Advisor at VOKA Vlaams-Brabant and since July 2018 she also bundles all her expertise in profit and non-profit in her company Studio D (Sustainable. Dare. Do).

Saartje Boutsen (°1981)
Function: Sustainability Coach
Place of residence: Haasrode, Belgium
Children: Marthe (10), Victor (8) en Alix (2)

Favourite place in the Euregio:
“Opglabbeek. I grew up there, so it is always nice to return. I also have so many fond memories of playing in the woods and on the sand dunes of the Oudsberg.
Last year we went for a walk there on New Year’s Eve with friends and our children, very special. “

What is your favorite (design) design, product (in your life/work/interior)?

“I am still happy every morning with our circular coffee cups, made from coffee grounds and bio-resin.”

“We are not coffee drinkers at home, but they are also perfect for tea and the children drink litres of milk from them. They have a nice design, they are dishwasher safe and above all they are unbreakable, also very handy with three children in the house.”

I dream of this design product or item and hope to have it someday:

“I would like to buy my next pair of sunglasses from Yuma Labs, a dynamic start-up that makes designer sunglasses from recycled PET bottles. Hip and sustainable, I love this combination.”

Yuma Labs – sunglasses made from recycled PET bottles.

I find this inspiring
design story/
Company:

“The clever entrepreneurial story of PMC Holding and their business partner Nnof or ‘Nearly New Office Furniture‘.

They can transform a worn-out office interior into a modern office space, using the same materials, refurbished.

Not only do they have an utterly circular business model, they also pay a lot of attention to their employees. They are a front runner in Flanders when it comes to circular economy, and are also always willing to inspire others with their story.”

This is an inspiring book that everyone should have read:

Gigantisme – Geert Noels

“This summer I read Gigantisme van Geert Noels, a book that everyone should read. In a very accessible way and with very concrete examples, he explains the impact of (too) big companies on our daily lives. He even proposes 10 measures to tame the giants and put people and the environment back into the global economy.”

The Sustainable Throne Speechby professor Jan Jonker.

These are the movies, tv shows, websites/links, podcasts that I myself loved
and i wish someone had tipped me off much earlier:

“In the Netherlands, there is often a lot of inspiration to be gained in the field of sustainable business. The newsletter of www.duurzaamondernemen.nl often contains very interesting articles.

Also watch or listen to Professor Jan Jonker’s Sustainable Throne Speech.

To relax, I like to watch a series like Casa de Papel, the Spanish language is wonderful! I am already looking forward to the next season.”

These are must follows online (instagram/linkedin/blogs/websites)

Sustainable familyis fun to follow both through their website and instagram…. They give tips on how to live sustainably. Very practical, in everyday life, because each of us can make a contribution. “

This is an inspiring quote or beautiful life motto:

Der materielle Fortschritt
befriedigt keines der Bedürfnisse,
die der Mensch wirklich hat.

Duitse vertaling van een
quote off Winston Churchill
part of Fifty Years Hence,
Churchill’s 1931 essay

I wish the world
and Wanderful.stream

“Inspiration + vigour