PROJECT INTERVIEW

Good morning Mr. Ballhaus,

 

Thanks a lot sir, for taking time out for me. I am Achita Kashyap, I am a 10-year-old group 7 student at Amsterdam International Community School. I live in Amstelveen, and I came to know about Heijmans when I visited my cousin in Almere, in the evening we were walking and I saw this beautiful red stone building and the name of the building was also very clever – New Brooklyn, then later I also followed that Heijmans is responsible for the underway construction at the Amsterdam Central Station. Which left me very inspired.

 

I am reaching out to you because I am going to do an exhibition on Sustainability. As you know UN has defined 17 goals for sustainable development, and my topic is Sustainable cities and communities. Since you are leading this business in the Netherlands, and you sit on a chair that is also responsible for contribution towards vision and strategy I would like to interview you to understand more. Therefore, I have documented my questions hereafter for your kind perusal.

 

Q1. Mr. Ballhaus, would you take a moment to introduce yourself to our viewers and also what Heijmans does?

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Q2 – As you know sustainability has become an important topic for our living and to some extent survival as well, how you identify yourself with sustainability? What do you do in your personal and professional day to day life to remain sustainable?

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Q3 – Now you Lead an organization that largely contributes to the city and community building in the most figurative sense, my question is what vision you have in mind from sustainability perspective when you invest into building and development.

 

Q4 – Mr. Ballhaus, what challenges do you face towards building a sustainable city and community and what opportunities do you see?

 

Q5 – What message would you like to give to our viewers and future generations, how can they remain sustainable and support companies like Heijmans in building sustainable cities and communities?

 

On behalf of Rutger Ballhaus I will answer the questions. My name is Pim Ketelaars and I am responsible for sustainability on behalf of Heijmans Woningbouw (housing).

 

The road to true sustainability requires various transitions. In construction, we are getting rid of a very efficient system with a high (negative) impact. Now, together with our customers and suppliers, we have to move towards a sustainable system that leads to a healthy living environment.

 

With these transitions you should think of better procurement models; not just buy the cheapest, but pay attention to more criteria. This applies to our customers, who ask us the question. But also for us towards our suppliers. Another transition is very visible; we have to develop new techniques and materials; we were used to building very lean with a lot of concrete. That is no longer possible. Wood, biobased insulations, fewer installations, more greenery in/around the house... all new techniques. Our colleagues are also part of this whole change. You are so used to doing your job in a certain way over the years. We need to train them to do this in a sustainable way.

 

At Heijmans, we want to be the developer of a healthy living environment. Sustainability is an essential part of this and is therefore intertwined with our strategy. We have developed a strategy for this in all business units. With the recent opening of our new wooden house factory, we are going to accelerate sustainable affordable housing.

 

Very honest; sometimes you wish this went faster. This has to do with various aspects, which you cannot all influence yourself. With #Creativity, #guts and #responsible we can influence a lot ourselves and around us. Yet we also need municipalities, regulations, suppliers and many others.

 

Note; when asked what I personally do with it. In all facets of my personal life, we try to take the maximum step. Feasible within a family with 3 children. But think, for example, of no longer flying, hardly eating meat, relaxing, vegetables / fruit / meat from your own farm (Herenboeren), electric driving, gasless, compost heap, organic sustainable purchasing, etc.

 

I use the footprint calculator as a tool. But let me inspire more sustainable behavior with various books and media. And not everything is possible... and I'm not always under the influence of what gifts the children receive for their birthdays from others, for example.

 

The message I want to pass on to future generations is the following; be critical and ask questions. By asking questions you set others in motion. And above all be creative; it is possible! With a positive and creative mindset we break the old system and enter the healthy sustainable society.