A good thing about exponential change is that there are an increasing number of people that realize that fundamental change is a precondition for our society’s survival. I have worked for two decades with a passion in pioneering sustainable development. While the group of supporters of systemic change grow worldwide, I see many policy makers and CEO’s struggling how to make sense of the rapid developments in this new age.
I have been fortunate to be able to work on several hundred systemic change projects across five continents. They brought me to see with new eyes how sustainable business, governance, urban development, design, and innovative industry works. New approaches such as circularity, resilience strategies, and the sharing economy help to achieve long term results with short term benefits, but they require a deep understanding in order to yield positive results. And, applied just by themselves in a vacuum, they are not enough, and can fail miserably. A systemic overview is a precondition for success in this age of transformation.
I’ve enjoyed working alongside the strategic members of several multinationals, governments, and institutions. As I continue my work in the various organizations I’ve founded, I am also open to share my knowledge and experience with any ambitious and eager professional that seeks to transcend incremental improvement towards true systemic change.
Tom Bosschaert
Twenty years ago, I started making a framework to help me understand the complexities of the projects I was dealing with. It required many failures to build up confidence in the right approach, and found that a one-size-fits-all strategy doesn’t work. After 10 years in the making, I published the Symbiosis in Development (SiD) book. It is a complete handbook from A to Z in systemic sustainable development, from theory and strategy to practical implementation, with experience from 700 projects worldwide. It is published open source, and is a modular, open framework, adaptable to different contexts, industries, and scales.
SiD creates a complete language and backbone structure for all aspects associated with sustainable development. This includes systems thinking, the circular economy, natural capital, climate adaptation, and true value costing. Its method combines design thinking with a practical co-creation methods, for those working alone or in teams alike. SiD’s process tools allows you to innovate new, groundbreaking solutions from initial question to implementation. It connects a wide range of sustainability approaches, including the circular economy, the blue economy, natural capital, design thinking, the Sustainable Development Goals, co-creation, biomimicry, and Impact Design.
The book is released in a limited edition hardcover of 468 pages. Its careful design is made to live a long life, made from 100% FSC, non-toxic inks, and renewable energy printing techniques.
The hardcover can be purchased, and the PDF can be downloaded for free, on the ThinkSiD.org website.
Over the years I’ve initiated a variety of organizations and companies. Below some of my favorites.For a more comprehensive list, see the About & CV section.
Except is a consultancy and innovation agency for integrated sustainable development, since 1999.
The Except Foundation is a non-profit supporting fundamental sustainable initiatives.
Symbiosis in Development is an open source framework for integrated sustainable development.
UCo is a community and co-working space for 200 sustainable entrepreneurs in Utrecht
Polydome is a concept for sustainable, high yield agriculture.
Urban Renaissance is an approach for long term sustainable redevelopment of cities and neighborhoods.
Detroit UR is an application project of UR in Detroit, USA.
Ro-Co is a collaboration and work space for socially engaged entrepreneurs in Rotterdam since 2011.
