How do we deal with sustainable green initiatives in practice?

Sustainable/green initiatives that benefit people and the environment, and offer financial benefits. Bert van Vuuren, CEO of Natural Plastics, talks about his work, experiences and learnings.

For example, Bert introduced his bio-based Tree Anchors from Natural Plastics. With this method, it is no longer necessary to cut down trees, eliminating the impact on temperature and water regulation, among other things. In addition, considerable costs are saved compared to a system with tree anchors, the use of this product ensures that the raw material balance is not disturbed, because renewable raw materials are used, and groundwater is not polluted.

Nevertheless, his developments did not find traction in the market because consumers and municipalities did not show enough interest in them. Following this observation, Bert researched the underlying motivations for this. He concluded that humans simply do not want to change.
The explanation has to do with our primal survival instinct. Our amygdala (a nucleus of neurons in our brain) would not have evolved to the same extent as the technological advances we know today. This causes us to stick to our old familiar behaviour out of fear of certain changes. We feel comfortable doing so, despite knowing that a different approach would be more rewarding.

To address this dilemma, Bert has developed the "Magnet" method, which focuses on influencing behaviour. The aim is to work towards people no longer finding change scary and therefore start using more sustainable products and ways of working.
With the introduction of this method, Bert achieved a successful Green Deal; a partnership with the central government to solve bottlenecks that emerge when making a sustainable step.