Bart Lacroix

Are you an #invsetor with a conscience? Do you want your investment to be a #forceforgood, stewarding us towards a #sustainable future, making #positiveimpact for #people and #planet on behalf of #futuregenerations? I do. Triodos Bank is leading the way in the #sustainability #thrivingeconomy #postgrowth conversation. They recommend you ask your #financecompany to: 1. Not invest passively in an index. The index represents the business-as-usual pathway. 2. Only invest in the real economy. 3. Only invest in value creation that helps society thrive 4. Be in there for the long term 5. Invest in impact first, then risk and financial returns. Because, as they say "businesses in general simply cannot pursue only financial profit as an end in a sustainable economy. Financial actors must see themselves as stewards of the future, making conscious investments in the transitions that we and future generations need. Positive impact for people and planet, should come before risk and return... This transformation is a long-term process. Only when the financial sector looks beyond shortterm gains and focuses on the long term, can it successfully contribute and become part of a postgrowth economy... Post-growth offers investing opportunities with financial returns for investors. But only if [we] dare to choose." For more: https://lnkd.in/gG99vxbE Forsyth Barr Limited Kiwibank Pathfinder Asset Management Limited

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Curiosity: Your Secret Weapon in Climate Tech. I saw a trend amongst the most succesful founders I know. 1. Dare to go where you don't belong It's essential to challenge the status quo if you aim to create innovation. Place yourself in environments that are unexplored. Think about problems nobody thinks about. 2. Be curious Ask a lot of questions. Ask powerful questions and listen. 3. Simplify your solution The problems are complex but the more we can simplify the tools the better adoption they will get. And the more investors we will attract. 4. Choose Your Circle Wisely Surround yourself with people who push you to your limits. The right team will amplify your efforts and help you achieve the impossible. 5. Innovate Continuously In the dynamic field of climate entrepreneurship, resting on your laurels is not an option. Is there a more simple way to solve this problem? __ ♻️ Repost it to your network and follow Helena Wasserman for more. ✍️Sign up to my weekly newsletter to crush it with your climate startup! Link in bio.

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Don't miss the VentureFuel Visionaries #podcast tomorrow, with special guest Avra van der Zee, COO of Elemental Excelerator! In this episode, 'Scaling Climate Technologies,' we will talk about using entrepreneurship for social change, catalytic capital, how to scale new technologies, & more. Follow us for the latest Visionaries podcast updates! Get the newest content delivered right to your feed. #Innovation #ClimateTech

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🌍🌱 Driving Resilience: Dutch Companies Tackling Climate Change Adaptation 🌱🌍 The climate crisis is at the forefront of many Dutch companies' agendas, as they actively work to reduce emissions. Yet, for many, adapting to climate change remains "uncharted territory," even though it plays a critical role in ensuring future business resilience. The new report by the Netherlands Red Cross, titled "Adapting to the Consequences of Climate Change: Touchpoints, Practical Tools, and Recommendations for Your Company," underscores this challenge. It provides invaluable insights and practical tools to help companies navigate this essential aspect of sustainability. A key takeaway? Embracing climate adaptation not only strengthens our businesses but also offers a pathway to support resilience efforts in the Global South. Let's lead the way in climate action and adaptation! 🌍💪 #ClimateAction #Sustainability #BusinessResilience #GlobalImpact #NetherlandsRedCross #ClimateAdaptation

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Great first sessions in NOW Partners ATÖLYE Future Economy Forum #Regenerative Track yesterday with ground breaking insights. Today in the Keurzaal Room at B For Good Leaders #BFGL2024 we continue: at 12:00 Whole systems solutions for a regenerative business. at 14:00 Regenerative Innovation Practice: Exercise your muscle to co-create whole systems business solutions A couple of highlights from yesterday's interactive learning sessions we hosted: Harald Tepper of Philips "There is this myth that sustainability always costs more money. While we see that the sustainable solution actually create more value for the company." and "We can't expect any farmer to solve to large scale problems themselves. Therefore we are talking and working with them as Danone." Chris Adamo of Danone and "If you don't try you will not innovate. Innovation is key." Dick Velings of Eneco

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If we are serious about the transition towards a nature positive economy, we need more finance for biodiversity! Thats why it's great to see the Dutch Fund for Climate and Development Origination Facility featured by Finance Resources (FIRE) for Biodiversity. The TA and Grant based Origination Facility of the DFCD is a mechanism to de-risk investible projects and make them more attractive to investors. Our worldwide economy is dependent on the services provided by healthy ecosystems, by mobilizing private finance for these critical ecosystems, we pave the way for a nature-positive economy. Bankable Nature Solutions

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This article by Saskia Brechenmacher is not to be missed, especially the part about building sectoral solidarity. It’s one thing to say this is needed, it’s another to actually prioritize and fund the connective tissue and mediating work this requires. The Horizons Project mission in a nutshell. “Reinforcing this form of sectoral solidarity should be an important priority. Like in many countries, the nonprofit sector in the United States is fragmented and diverse. Organizations are divided by issue area, and advocacy groups often are disconnected from those focused on charity work and service provision. Divisive issues such as the ongoing conflict in Gaza have created fissures. Moreover, even among advocacy organizations, few currently have the bandwidth to focus on the legal and political environment for civil society in addition to their core areas of work, be that elections, workers’ rights, criminal justice reform, or other topics. In the coming months, funders can support greater coordination and knowledge-sharing by resourcing cross-issue working groups, convenings, and resource platforms focused on threats to civic space in the United States. Existing civil society networks and infrastructure organizations like InterAction, Independent Sector, and the Council on Foundations can play an important role in these coalition-building efforts and help connect groups with experts that can provide guidance and advice (or with activists and organizations that have navigated closing civic space in other countries). Importantly, such efforts should bring in civil society stakeholders beyond the narrow circle of prodemocracy and civil rights actors, including professional and business associations, labor unions, media outlets, community foundations, and religious organizations. Key goals should be to raise greater awareness of current and potential future threats and to foster a shared understanding that these challenges imperil civil society and civic freedoms, not just left-leaning and progressive organizations and activists.” 🔗 in the comments

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At HVFC - Fundraising · Impact · Talent we are extremely worried about these upcoming changes. The cultural sector is already facing huge losses due to major cuts in the past. With another budget cut of almost 1 billion euro annually - due to an increase of taxes - this sector will be hugely damaged. "Fixing it later" will not be possible anymore if the infrastructure is damaged too much. The International Development sector might even suffer more! With a budget cut of 2.4 billion euro structurally. The Dutch international position will become weaker and weaker. Terrible for all the people that need the support worldwide, but also for the Netherlands as well. As a trade country we depend on our international position. By weakening this, we weaken our own position. Hopefully the common sense will be back in time...

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Earthship Village Aardehuis – A Sustainable Living Model Earthship Village Aardehuis is an eco-community model located in the #Netherlands, built over 100,000 hours with the support of the Aardehuis community and over 2,000 volunteers. This 23-home village is constructed from #sustainable and #recycledmaterials such as #earth, #straw, #wood, #car tires, and #glassbottles, demonstrating a commitment to #sustainablearchitecture and low-impact living. Designed with passive solar principles, these homes stay warm in winter without traditional #heatingsystems. #solarpanels provide electricity, rainwater collection systems #supplywater, and composting toilets manage #waste, making each #household largely self-sustaining. The village also includes fruit trees throughout and a central community #garden, where residents grow most of their produce, supporting both the #residents and the #localecosystem. Building this #village required navigating complex building codes and permit requirements, but the community’s resilience made it possible. Earthship Village Aardehuis serves as an inspiring example of how communities can come together to create #ecofriendlyhousing that reduces environmental impact, fosters self-reliance, and enhances biodiversity. This model highlights a viable path toward sustainable living and community-based environmental stewardship.

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Carbon capture can never be good for anybody except maybe fossil fuel stockholders. I am a BIG supporter of the wonderful work the United StatesDOE does, with the exception of any money wasted to research or implement carbon capture contraptions. However it will not stop or slow the great global renewable energy overbuild that will result in energy independence everywhere. Energy Independence’s cheap sometimes free energy everywhere is evolution’s path to climate stability, peace, and prosperity.

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#SystemChange #DeGrowth #Agriculture A degrowth perspective on agri-food systems sustainability 2023 Recorded session - 3rd Utrecht Degrowth Symposium at Utrecht University More links in comment box below https://lnkd.in/ebrM3A_3

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Join us in the #ImpactCircle meeting: 23rd April at 12:00 PT time (13:00 in Amsterdam) Some may know, others may not: I'm in sort of transition from living in the Netherlands to living in Portugal. And looking outside my Amsterdam window and checking the Algarve webcams it is a big difference. In my plans for Portugal I'm working on some great plans together with Mark - on the subject of #sustainability and #circularity and #entrepreneurship. Cliffhanger: we show more information soon. Sustainability, circularity and entrepreneurship also come together in the Impact Circle meetings of the CCPH - Dutch Portuguese Chamber of Commerce that I am happy to host together with Alexander, supported by António and of course Marjon. The first session of the Impact Circle we deep dived into the concept of circularity in urban (and rural) development (with Karin / LACO Business Hub Tjeerd / Space&Matter). The second we indulged ourselves in doing business right from the start ànd into the legal ways to protect ourselves from our own greed in case of succes and money is threatening your circular and impact ambitions (with Ion / Hyphae - mycelium solutions and Gijsbert / We Are Stewards) . This third session we have three guests, representing two companies with a bigger scope: Bas Roelofs is joining us from the Netherlands. Bas is co-founder of Sustar, a Dutch strategic design firm helping companies to design and build distinguishing value propositions that integrate sustainability as one of 4 core deliverables (additional to the classical feasibility, viability and desirability). But, Bas is also international trainer for CIRCO, an international network organisation originated in the Netherlands with a Portuguese hub (in partnership with LNEG, APA, Fundo Ambiental & IAPMEI). 
CIRCO activates entrepreneurs and creative professionals to improve and/or generate business through circular design. In Portugal, Circo has supported over 100 companies since 2022.    Our second guest is Air France KLM - one of the active members of CCPH and a long time supporter of the Dutch Portuguese network. Being a frontrunner in sustainability in the commercial aviation sector, we would like to know how they’re facing its accomplishments, goals and challenges in this domain. Our guests are Verónica Braz and Nuno Ferro. With these speakers, we have an interesting line-up, especially on these topics, and I think some good reasons to join the meeting. The sessions are officially for member only but: let me know if you want to attend because I know people who people, so I'm sure you'll get in. https://lnkd.in/dfWATHsu

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💨 As soon as I saw this post yesterday I sought to share it. It takes me a while. Just before I was going to post I lost the whole thing. Taking a deep breath I was going to reconstruct in 30 minutes. Life took over. Hopefully this is not too late ... ⚡ Knowing my profile and reading below you will understand why I was excited! ❣️ It seems that when Tom Bosschaert speaks he will be talking about many of the things I deeply care about. 🏞️ It is interesting to me how people can 'graduate' to similar positions from 'different' backgrounds. Tom Bosschaert may say he was only 19 when he began. At the time he had not yet finished his training; and that was fundamentally in a design field. 🧬 My own background is in science and #systemic thinking. When did that begin? Formally at around the same age as Tom. Informally much younger. And my 'design training' also began before I was 8; can't exactly remember how young! 🧒🏼 What am I saying in all this? Fundamentally I believe, those of us who appear to have a holistic vision of 'how things work', I am looking forward to meeting Tom but have not yet done so, seem to have been influenced along those lines from early developmental experiences, whatever the so-called 'discipline'. 📚 My own perspective is that so long as we maintain the perspective of being life-long learners, again one of those caveats I claimed long before it was 'fashionable' to do so just because it is authentically me, we may come to an understanding of matters that are similar to those of people from very different disciplines. 🫶 The 'beauty' of our different backgrounds is that we can each bring fresh perspectives on each others work so through our joint #connections the effectiveness of the work will grow. This is surely the iterative wisdom of #Nature where everything works in harmony? 🌳 In today's world where #regeneration is SO needed, surely every and any way we can work together to achieve #regeneration more effectively we should take. What do you think? #regeneration #systemic thinking #food #Nature #connection

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💡Podcast Episode 115: Profitable Climate Tech—Is It Possible? 💡 Can climate tech be both groundbreaking and profitable right from the start? We explored this question with Anne Lyck Smitshuysen, partner at Dynelectro and a Forbes 30 Under 30, in our latest podcast episode. There is so much to unpack in this episode. Listen in to hear about: - How to change the idea that climate tech can't be profitable - Anne's insight into startup funding, and how to get investors onboard with new tech - The influence of Power-to-X on the market for green fuels - The role of synthetic fuels in the hydrogen market - How Dynelectro competes in the electrolyser market - Dynelectro's projects and partnerships (Yarra Growth Ventures) Don't miss this inspiring episode with a recognised innovator in the decarbonisation sector. Tune in here 📍https://hubs.li/Q02LH6z70 #decarbconnectpodcast #decarbonisation #climatetech #hardtech #scaling #investment #dynelectro #greenfuels #hydrogen #funding

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Some important insights into the potential of digital services in #foodsystems SNV Catherine Le Côme With thanks to NSO - Netherlands Space Office Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken and many others. 👉https://lnkd.in/evB59w8C #GARBAL #GeoData #Digitalisation #Inclusivity

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''Three out of four Dutch people are concerned about the climate. But the majority do not know how they can best contribute, say behavioral scientists. Together we have more power than we think, is their conclusion.'' Behavioural scientists from the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences; Nico Benoist & Reint Jan Renes investigated what motivates or prevents people from climate-conscious behaviour. A striking conclusion is that the Dutch mainly look at their own role as consumers. This research shows that society needs more awareness about the behaviors that contribute to climate change. https://lnkd.in/ennupVNy https://lnkd.in/epmsKi9v #ClimateChange #ClimateCommunication #Research #ClimateAction #NetZero #Psychology

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🔦 Spotlight on one of our members Tom Previte 🔦 This week Tom released the first episode of Grounded: A Climate Startup Journey! A new podcast that follows the story of a startup that wants to remove carbon from the atmosphere through biochar. 🎧 It was a good few years back when Tom Previte stumbled across biochar. That was during the first season of a podcast he co-hosts - The Carbon Removal Show. And it turns out that this biochar stuff… It's not just an ancient technology but also a cutting-edge solution for today’s climate problems. Grounded: A Climate Startup Journey captures the highs and lows of a green startup - from sharp learning curves to unlikely breakthroughs. Listen in as Tom digs deep into the realities and complexities of setting up a carbon removal project, and gets to grips with the science, the money, and everything it takes to build an environmentally (and financially) sustainable business. This podcast was supported by a micro-finance initiative by the Future Leaders Network for Greenhouse Gas Removal. Links to the podcast in the description! #entrepreneurship #biochar #thoughtleadership #carbonremoval #podcast

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