We spend more time thinking about the extra 500 euros that we may all have to pay in connection with the credit crisis than about the 40 percent loss of biodiversity in the world and the enormous problems with usable water we are going to face. We are still keeping our eyes closed to this.
The frustrating thing is that everything takes so long in the Netherlands. That is something I would like to change. That is my drive. But that is not possible without the government. The government should play a much more proactive role so that ambitions are raised to a higher level.

Ministry of Energy and the Environment

Above all, managerial innovation is also required. Starting with the departments. There should be a single Ministry of Energy and the Environment, instead of the current three ministries which deal with these issues only indirectly. Such a Ministry would have the ability to bring processes together and to release dynamism, to stimulate investments in sustainability, instead of placing burdens on it and slowing it down, and to persevere with policies, rather than discontinuing them after a short time.

Regulation-free area

At Priva, we no longer even bother applying for grants for projects. These involve endless, time and energy-consuming procedures. What I would like the most is for the government to give us a regulation-free part of the Netherlands, so we can show what is possible and that it works. I would love to start an experiment like this somewhere in the Netherlands.