Today was another day at the university, one of the last course days of my course on CSR Management. The morning was spent on discussing methods of measuring (social) impact and a method of giving financial value to environmental impact. At the end of the morning a few people started discussing some initiatives which are aimed at creating more awareness amongst individuals and/or companies about sustainability issues.
Of course, I couldn’t resist and I pitched No Impact Week as well, especially because this week is having it’s second Dutch edition in November. Predictably, our course coordinator asked me what impact this week (I have done it twice now) had had on me personally.
And, predictably, I always think of the best answer afterwards. I said something about eating organic most of the time, using my Dopper for tap water, etc. But later on I realized something else – the impact it really had on me.
Taking on the challenge of No Impact Week (NIW) two years ago has slowly but surely put me on the path of a career shift, which is what I am currently working towards. Curiousity about what it would mean to my own life to live ‘No Impact’ for a week was what made me take on the first week. That has led to a growing collection of books read on issues on sustainability, gathering a group of colleagues the next year for the first country-wide NIW, attending seminars and conferences on CSR & sustainability etc. All of this has led to the realization that this is something I don’t just want to read about, but that I want to do something about.
And that meant going back to school as a first step. The course is almost done, I’m excited about my final assignment for the course which we are piloting in November and I can’t wait to find out what will be next in this journey to new discoveries.
mthld 