Herman Wijffels

Herman Wijffels was, amongst others, Chairman of the Main Board of Rabobank, Member of the Board of the World Bank (Washington), Government investigator and Chairman of the SER (Social Economic Council – Government advice and consultation) in the Netherlands. Until 2017 he was professor of Sustainability and Societal Change at the University of Utrecht. He was one of the initiators of the Sustainable Finance Lab, a platform of scientists which strives for a sustainable financial sector in dialogue with people in the workplace. He was chairman of the Commissie Structuur Nederlandse Banken (Committee Structure Dutch Banks). Purpose of the committee was to improve the stability of the financial system.

Herman Wijffels is a cultural creative, someone who is aware that man and his surroundings need to live together in a harmonious way. We are on the move from a linear economy that exhausts the earth towards a circular economy in which resources and commodities are being recycled. Energy will be won more and more from sustainable sources.

Corporeal production will remain central but corporations will be held accountable for their contribution to society and the well-being of the common man. Herman Wijffels regards staying within the carrying capacity of the earth with the help of new technology the great challenge of the 21^st century. New technology is really going to help us, and by committing to sustainability the Dutch economy will become more competitive.