Geurt van de Kerk
User Profile
Geurt van de Kerk is chairman of the Sustainable Society Foundation, a private initiative taken by him in 2003. At that time he was surprised to find that an objective and integrated measure of sustainability of societies, enabling international comparison could not be found. The general objective of the Foundation is to stimulate and assist societies in their development towards sustainability. The main activity until now has focussed on developing and publishing the Sustainable Society Index (SSI). This index integrates in an understandable way sustainability and quality of life and shows at a glance the level of sustainability of 151 countries. The index is updated every 2 years.
Geurt received his M.Sc. degree in civil engineering at Delft Technical University in 1969. Subsequently he held several positions as management consultant in the Netherlands and abroad until he co-founded K+V Management Consultants in Arnhem, the Netherlands, in 1984. He worked with the firm as managing director until 1997, when his personal interest in the publishing business led him to setting up De Vijver Publishing. This company offers little known writers of quality literature the opportunity to publish their work. Furthermore, since leaving K+V he has also undertaken various management consulting assignments for business and cultural organizations. His work experience has gradually raised his personal interest in sustainability issues in general. This resulted, among other things, in his own publication "Lang leve de aarde en al haar bewoners" (Long live the earth and all its inhabitants, 2003, in Dutch) and finally in the establishment of the Sustainable Society Foundation. Apart from his work in developing and maintaining the SSI in general, he is currently director of a project to adapt the index into a tailor-made tool for policy development in Romania. Furthermore, he has made contributions to several international conferences, and was (co-)author of various publications on the subject of sustainability. In the course of his career he has gained working experience in various countries outside Europe, viz. Guyana, Iran, Netherlands Antilles, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Surinam, Trinidad and Turkey.
E-mail: Geurt@nederlandduurzaam.nl Geurt van de Kerk
