“Another year has passed, and what a year it has been. I have been the managing director of Hutten for almost 30 years. I know, you wouldn’t say it, would you? One and a half years ago, I agreed with the management team that they would take over the leadership of Hutten. Partly because of the vulnerability and to maintain the continuity of the organisation, but also because I believe that new talent should be given space to play their role in the future.

For that reason, I am proud and happy to see how this is working out; being able to grow in these challenging times is fantastic. Hutten is all about giving meaning to culture, nature and people. Indeed, a rather abstract concept in this time of predominantly money-oriented businesses. A time in which Hutten must also mind its own revenue model.

We, I, would love to be significant in the battle against food waste and waste of talent, and in the market of vitality and food target groups. With great ambitions, because I believe in nothing else than being the best. In that respect, we have experienced a fantastic year. We were one of the companies to put food waste on the agenda, with the visit of EU Commissioner Andriukaitis and Minister Schouten to top it all off. We built the foundation for a centre fighting food waste worldwide. We are going to create overview, insights and solutions and share them with the rest of world in order to prevent food shortage.

There is a second issue that I spend lots of energy working on: including everyone when it comes to the job market. Creating new jobs for, through, by and with companies, supported by the government and educational institutes. The objective is to be able to offer a job to everyone who can and wants to work. Wasted Talent challenges the system, but also offers new solutions.
In March, the Month of Waste is taking place at THREE-SIXTY, the location that also houses De Verspillingsfabriek (The Waste Factory). 24 events will take place here to show the Netherlands the downsides of demanding perfect quality, and the solutions that have been devised so far. It is with great pleasure that I invite everyone to come and have a look.

Thank you for the trust, the energy, the opportunity to be of significance. I wish you lots of luck, health and success in 2018.”

Bob