Meet the positive change maker: Floris van Neer

Floris has experience in sustainability consultancy and urban planning and is now part of The Terrace team as a junior consultant. At The Terrace, Floris is looking forward to helping clients in formulating their own sustainability strategy with clear and concise communication. Read more about Floris in his interview.

1. What made you decide to join Team Terrace?

The Terrace is an organization that shares my ideals and my beliefs: that a better tomorrow is possible. The whole team is on the same mission and that motivates me to give my best every day. I also like the way TT works: focusing on both strategy and communication is a clever and effective way in bringing about positive change. There are still a lot of companies struggling with the concept of sustainability. Helping them to formulate their own sustainability strategy with clear and concise communication is – I believe – the way to go.

2. What did you do before joining the team?

I obtained a bachelor’s in Global Sustainability Science (GSS) at the University of Utrecht and gained a joint master’s degree in Metropolitan Analysis, Design & Engineering (MADE) at the TU Delft and Wageningen University & Research. Hereafter I worked at a global multi-disciplinary sustainability consultancy for a while and also worked as a consultant for an urban planning bureau.

3. What kind of sustainability challenges do you personally care about most?

I would like to make sustainability tangible for everyone in a company. A lot of employees feel that sustainability targets within a company are set out by a handful of people at the top level. Hence, these goals often feel like a must instead of a want. However, when the values of employees are explored you realize these are often already aligned with the goals as set out by the board – they are just formulated differently. Effectively measuring waste streams translates to, among other things, less food waste, and carbon reduction targets lead to more carpooling and increased usage of public transport. Sustainability is often a win-win situation!

4. What kind of sustainability solutions for which type of clients would you like to work for at The Terrace?

Since I joined the Strategy Team of The Terrace, I will mainly focus on sustainability strategies (like ESG), sustainability reports (like B-Corp), and stakeholder engagement.

5. What would you like to learn in becoming a sustainability consultant?

I would like to increase my network and my experience with a vast range of (sustainability) companies. This will enable me to connect these companies with each other and hence bring about even more positive change.

6. What means positive change for you?

I view positive change from a utilitarian point of view – acting to ensure that happiness and well-being for all affected individuals are maximized.

You want to get to know the other changemakers at The Terrace? Read more about us.