IDH CEO Joost Oorthuizen listed among the 100 top sustainability leaders in the Netherlands

IDH CEO Joost Oorthuizen has been listed number 61 out of the 100 top sustainability drivers in the Netherlands on the “Sustainable 100” ranking by Trouw, a major Dutch newspaper. Joost, who has been on the list since 2011 (in 2013 he was number 29), was praised for his and IDH’s work in bringing together public and private sectors to work together towards sustainable supply chains.

IDH CEO Joost Oorthuizen has been listed number 61 out of the 100 top sustainability drivers in the Netherlands on the “Sustainable 100” ranking by Trouw, a major Dutch newspaper. Joost, who has been on the list since 2011 (in 2013 he was number 29), was praised for his and IDH’s work in bringing together public and private sectors to work together towards sustainable supply chains:

Back on the Sustainable 100 list, Joost Oorthuizen, is the director of The Sustainable Trade Initiative. He was not listed last year on account of having previously been listed three years in a row. Oorthuizen is an exponent of business approach to sustainability. Natural resources are becoming scarcer, welfare worldwide is ever improving and consumers are demanding more responsible products. Companies that realize all this are willing to join forces with governments and civil society organizations to get a grip on the entire supply chain that a bag of tea, or coffee or a T-shirt goes through. IDH brings together all involved parties that either through enlightened self-interest or due to their strive for sustainable development come together, and stimulates them to make firm commitments on sustainable production and working conditions. Such commitments led for instance to the tea sector working together with Unicef last year to tackle child trafficking. In the cotton sector, IDH reached about 400.000 farmers who produce more than a million ton of sustainable cotton. Together with FMO, IDH is developing new strategies to involve the financial sector in sustainable trade. IDH is active in many sectors from soy and cashew nuts to flowers and spices.

Judged by a group of independent, voluntary jury, the Sustainable 100 or Duurzame 100 in Dutch, is a yearly publication in the Netherlands that, since 2010, ranks top hundred most active and influential people in sustainability. Candidates are assessed based on their decisiveness, innovation, broad vision, knowledge, network and charisma according to Trouw, and the list includes people from a wide range of sectors from politicians and company directors to scientists, conservationists and artists.

The ranking is seen as an indicator of the trends in sustainability – which sectors are actively working towards sustainability, are there more business leaders or conservationists? Is the government active or are NGOs mostly driving sustainability?

Maurits Groen, the co-founder of WakaWaka lights, topped the list this year.

 

Read the full list (in Dutch) here.