Sinterklaas shares some of his sustainability dilemma’s
November 27, 2008
Sinterklaas is of the opinion that transparency works very well for ordinary companies, but would cause unacceptable problems for his organisation. If he would be fully transparent it would for example show that he is breaching the law. He pointed out to me that the ordinary health and safety regulations can not be applied to his distribution process. He and his horse, as well as his black Piets climb on roof tops to drop presents in chimneys. Although he is confident about their skills and the climbing quality of his team members (not the least because his team goes through an extensive training programme), he would rather not share the details with regulators or society at large. He simply does not want to risk unnecessary stifling health and safety regulations.
More so, Sinterklaas explained to me that he can not even be transparent on the composition of his workforce. He does not think it is wise to share the headcount of his Black Piet brigade. Moreover he does not want to elaborate on rumours about assistant-Sinterklazen, of which my youngest son is sure that they exist.
Using a steamboat is of some concern to Sinterklaas. He is very much attached to this loyal vessel but he is fully aware of the CO2 emissions. He did not want to confirm whether he offsets these emissions because he wants to avoid claims of “green wash”.
Sinterklaas assured me that he has well taken care of supply chain responsibility although he did not want to confirm whether he has appointed a green Black Piet for this matter. He also said something about the extremely demand driven character of his business model. Occasionally he can make changes to the items on children’s’ wish lists but he has to be careful with that. He was pleading for more education of the market place and an increase of green demand.
We concluded that it is impossible for Sinterklaas to make the shift to a “show me”, or “proof it” fashion that is so common in business today. It is an inherent part of being Sinterklaas to hold on to the “trust me”-idea. Changing that would cause irreparable damage to his business model. Ultimately he and his business is something one has to believe in. Sinterklaas was having a hard time with this dilemma. It was then that I pointed out that his anniversary is considered to be the number one Dutch tradition according a recent study. Isn’t this the ultimate proof of a robust connection to society? Can a high ranking in a sustainability index, or winning a reporting award beat such appreciation? Isn’t Sinterklaas sustainable by definition?
Share this article with :
Comments on this blog
There are no comments on this blog