KIDS RICH FAMILIES ENVIRONMENTALLY AWARE

The children of very wealthy Dutch entrepreneurs do not just want to make money. They want to do sustainable investments and business. Two direct relatives of the Philips family are developing the Pharox-lamp that will be eight times more efficient than an ordinary low-energy light bulb. And a grand child of the Brenninkmeijer family, owners of the C&A chain, are the driving force behind a multi-billion sun- and wind energy project.

A researcher states that rich families do not want to be known as money-grubbers anymore. You want to be more than only rich. ‘The care for the environment now is the spirit of the times, especially after the success of the Al Gore film and book ‘An inconvenient truth’. For the rest the new generation can take more risks than the first generation’, he states. A professor in social science argues that it also belongs to a tradition: ‘Rich families also see charity as an obligation. In earlier years rich families often established orphan homes and museums.’

The durable initiatives of the actual generation are not purely philanthropical. The Visa Green Card Visa project from one of the grand children of the Philips family has to evolve into a full profitable business. His company philosophy is that customers shouldn’t be financially punished for their sustainable purchase behaviour, but rewarded. This is expressed in a sustainable energy company, that is already the fourth biggest player in The Netherlands. The latest product is the sustainable Visa Green card. If it’s used for fuelling or flying, the statement will show compensation for CO2 emission by the planting of new trees. Yet, the use of this credit card is not more expensive.

The researcher states that the difference between companies and rich families is that a company needs to satisfy the share holders every quarter, while the investment company of a rich family can aim for the long term. ‘A rich family sees alternative energy as a potential growth sector and they have the time to wait’, he says. Also the C&A family do not see the investments in durable energy sources as giving money to charity. In a Dutch financial newspaper a spokesman of one of the C&A investments companies states that the family invested over three billion euros in wind- and solar cell energy. more features

April 17, 2007