TIAS inspires new leaders for business and society

With the financial crisis behind us, the world now demands new leaders. Leaders with a goal, who are committed to business with a purpose. TIAS School for Business & Society sees its role and responsibility in the training of these new leaders.

To inspire its students, TIAS regularly invites people from trade and industry to talk about their organization's activities in the field of sustainability. For instance, a recent guest was CEO Marc Zwaaneveld of waste processor Van Gansewinkel. He told about how Van Gansewinkel deals with the materials that they obtain. "There is no such thing as waste. Every attempt is made to return as much as possible to the value chain. We aim for 100% recycling," says Zwaaneveld. In the field of leadership, he told how everyone in the company, from bottom to top, has a say in the processes. This gives him the best opportunity to hear what went wrong and how things could be improved. 
Corporate Responsibility Manager Maaike Kokke of jeans manufacturer G-Star explained to students that making jeans is quite harmful to people and the environment. She explained the process of more sustainable working at G-Star, both for the value chain, the product, the organization and the community. 

Responsible leadership

New leadership revolves increasingly around finding business solutions for social problems, for instance with energy problems and environmental issues. Responsible leadership entails entrepreneurs taking account of and showing respect for all those involved – the stakeholders – within the chain. And that they choose for sustainable solutions for the long term which deliver a yield for all parties. The element of collaboration is reflected here. Innovation and sustainability now seem to be two sides of the same coin. Many innovations are intended for applying sustainable improvements. We see this for instance in solutions for reducing CO2 emissions, but also in material selection and usage.

Become a new leader

TIAS School for Business and Society regularly focuses on collaboration, responsible leadership, innovation and new business models. Become a new leader. Register for one of our programs. Do you have any questions? Then contact Petra Mouthaan, Manager Corporate Relations, 013 466 39 71 or p.mouthaan@tias.edu