Director and Supervisory Board
SMK has a director and a supervisory board. We are happy to introduce them to you.
Gijs Dröge, director
Gijs has been the director of SMK since 2015. After years of experience in communications, public affairs, and a passion for politics, he made the switch to what makes his heartbeat even faster: carrying out his sustainability mission.
“I consider it my mission to achieve consensus and unanimity in sustainability. I got that from the Dutch philosopher and political activist Ad Verbrugge.”
In addition to being a director of the organization, he is a married man and father. “I don’t want to leave my daughters in the unsolved problems of our generation. SMK is a great organization to contribute to that.”
Wondering what SMK is doing for this?
Supervisory Board
The Supervisory Board decides on the approval of the budget, annual accounts, and strategy. It also supervises the implementation of the organization’s policy and management, led by Director Gijs Dröge.
Eveline van Westerop
Eveline van Westerop has been Chairman of the Supervisory Board since 2019. After her studies, Eveline was introduced to the world of quality labels and sustainability. She has worked at Kiwa Management Consultants, among others, and specializes in chain quality/sustainability and cooperation in chains and networks. In addition to her board activities, she is the director of Rijnconsult.
Eveline: ”Through previous cooperation, I have been impressed by SMK’s mission and the way the organization tries to realize this with the entire stakeholder field. Only by involving the entire chain can we achieve our objective of dealing more sustainably with our planet and its inhabitants. It is precisely the independence from interest groups or businesses that is SMK’s strength. I would like to make a contribution to this from the Supervisory Board.”
René Nederpelt
René has a business background and worked for many years as a strategic manager and similar positions in retail. His belief and interest in more sustainable production and consumption spurred him to intensively engage with civil society organizations. He has been a member of the Supervisory Board at SMK since 2020 and combines this with his work for the Association of Dutch Food Banks.
René: “It’s no longer whether we become sustainable, but how we do this with all the parties involved in the market. And how we can do it even better is something I like to think about. I use my experience and network to make a difference together.“
Kathleen Goense
Kathleen Goense has been part of SMK’s Supervisory Board since 2017. With a background in strategic change, after working in the financial sector, she has been general manager of ZLTO and board member of LTO Netherlands for several years.
Kathleen: “I find it very powerful that SMK is on the road together with its stakeholders; after all, in my view, it is not an art to make 1% very sustainable, but an entire society; so on the road together. Not just in policy and on paper, but always one step closer to sustainability and keeping an eye on how it works in practice, where, among other things, the balance between ecology and economy is important.”
