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“As the leader of Inclusion, Diversity & Belonging (ID&B) and Wellbeing, I focus on long-term goals. Many people mistakenly believe that these can be quickly addressed with a few tools, but it’s far more complex, involving many different aspects.
That’s why I always say this theme is tied to ‘the how’ of an organization. It connects the strategy with the culture of a company. For me, shaping the future is about addressing how we treat each other. What behaviors do we exhibit, and what are the values that guide our organization?
At Just Eat Takeaway.com, this is primarily about stepping into each other’s world. This means it’s not just about employees; it’s about customers, partners, and everyone we work with. You must ensure you truly understand what matters.
So, when I talk about the sustainability of an organization, I’m always referring to both the people and business sides. Together, they shape the culture and behavior.”
“For me, it starts with a key condition: at what level is a theme like this placed within an organization? Many companies treat sustainability, such as working towards net-zero or reducing their carbon footprint, as strategic priorities. They’re given a top-level focus. However, when it comes to ID&B, it often doesn’t receive the same positioning.
I believe that programs focused on cultural change or change management should be embedded in the strategy at the highest level of the organization. Without this, there won’t be enough momentum to shift behaviours. And behaviour and mindset are some of the hardest things to change in an organization.
For me, positioning is essential. Inclusion, Diversity, and Belonging must be part of the organizational strategy. I’m proud to say that at Just Eat Takeaway.com, it is.”
“Of course, our strategy has three pillars, one of which is ‘People and Planet.’ People are a core part of this, focusing on attracting and retaining talent and fostering an inclusive work environment. This aligns with the impact we have on our surroundings and the communities we operate in, which is covered under the Planet pillar.
A strategic approach is vital. We don’t just focus on specific dimensions of diversity, like gender, cultural, or neurodiversity. I started by looking at our core values—Lead, Deliver, Care—and from there, I built a strategy that aligns with them.
This approach ensures that inclusion and diversity are woven into the fabric of the organization, not isolated into separate initiatives. Leadership and setting targets are critical, and I make a clear distinction between ambitions and targets. You need to set a direction, but also determine the steps to get there. Otherwise, it remains a vague goal. You want it to become part of the organization’s DNA, with people taking responsibility. This requires learning and development around ID&B, ensuring it becomes embedded in day-to-day operations.
That’s just one side of it. On the people side, we also look at things like hiring and promotion processes. What policies does the organization have that positively impact all groups? And you want to tie this into the business agenda—how can sales or marketing improve to reach our customers and partners more effectively?
Our structure also spans across different countries, so we must adapt to local themes. In Canada, for instance, there’s an Indigenous community, which we don’t have in the Netherlands. So, we need tailored policies for specific groups in countries like Canada and Australia.
The key is to approach this strategically, focusing on long-term goals rather than quick fixes or one-off events. It needs to be built into the processes, so it becomes part of the everyday work and the organization’s DNA.”
“The biggest challenge is stepping into someone else’s world. You need to be able to translate your goals—to different countries, to customers, and to partners. Everyone has different needs, which makes this topic so complex. There are so many people, perspectives, and desires. How do you account for all of them?
That’s why we scale it as broadly as possible, while acknowledging that perfection is impossible.”
“I’d say two key lessons stand out:
Ultimately, my goal is to make sure that for every new project or change we implement, we consider inclusion, diversity, and belonging. Have we thought about behaviors and attitudes? What does this mean for the organization’s culture? At Just Eat Takeaway.com, we have many different cultures. But what is our global culture? It comes back to our core values.
We’re a relatively young tech company, and we move fast. That’s essential in our business. If you lose focus for a moment, the number two becomes the number one. So, you must look at both the long and short term—while being ready to respond to immediate challenges.”
“My ambitions align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), aiming for 2030. These provide good benchmarks, particularly SDG 5 and SDG 10. When I introduced this, 2030 seemed far away, so I translated it into a 2025 horizon. That gives us a three-year timeframe, which suits our organization better. It allows us to make quicker adjustments if something isn’t working well. I’m confident that this approach aligns with our fast-paced environment.”
“Adjusting our ambitions to match the pace of the organization and breaking down large goals into smaller, manageable steps. I’m highly ambitious in this area because I know what I want to achieve. But not every organization can immediately match that level of ambition.”
“Certainly. Last year, I initiated discussions to voluntarily collect and map out cultural diversity among our employees. I understand that many people find this sensitive and believe it may not be feasible. However, in most countries where we operate, this is indeed possible. Within JET, the perception was that this remains a sensitive issue in some countries, despite being legally permissible. Therefore, the proposal was to refrain from requesting cultural diversity information.
I then explored what options were available. In Canada, the UK, Ireland, and Australia, it is quite common to ask for this information. Consequently, I proposed that we voluntarily request the cultural background of our employees in these countries so that we can see, on an aggregated level, if there are differences among the various cultural backgrounds of our employees and how we might improve our policies if necessary. We started this initiative at the beginning of this year. This way, we receive input, albeit on a smaller scale than if we were to do it directly in all countries.”
“Exactly, I think that through the SDGs a lot of things really come together. Something that many organizations still underestimate. SDGs can help to provide direction. I understand that it is not always easy to translate this well into what it means for your organization, but there are enough organizations, including Been, that can help with this. What does that really mean for your organization if I want to do something, for example, with SDG 5 or 10. I also think 17 is great, about Partnerships.
I do think that ESG still greatly underestimates how difficult it is to properly fill in the ‘S’, the social aspect. Here I want to emphasize that ID&B is not the only one in this area. It is an important component, but there are many other components that fall outside this topic. That is why I think ID&B should remain a separate topic.
With the CSRD, you now have the obligation by law to report on material matters of your organization. We are now fully engaged in that and there too I see the worlds very much coming. So yes, I think that we have translated our strategy, with People and Planet, very nicely to sustainability, in the form of CO2 foodprint and Net zero, but at the same time to the human and behavioral side. To make it part of our culture.”
“When people think of sustainability, they often focus on the Planet side. There are clear KPIs for environmental goals, making them easier to track and act upon. However, the behavioural aspect is often overlooked.
For example, if a company introduces waste segregation, there may be clear labels for what goes where. But if an employee doesn’t care about or trust the value of recycling, they won’t participate. Without focusing on changing behaviour, you’re missing the mark.
The challenge of sustainability, both environmental and social, lies in understanding the motivations of both individuals and the collective. Individually, people may ask, ‘What’s in it for me?’ or feel it doesn’t affect them directly. But collectively, it’s about systemic change. We need to change the system to achieve broader goals, and that requires collective effort.
Leadership in sustainability often overlooks the cultural and behavioural aspects. It’s about making change tangible and actionable within the organization. From large initiatives to small, understandable steps, we need to translate these changes into daily behaviors. This shift from individual to collective action is crucial.
How do you bring together your business, leadership, and sustainability efforts to create a better future for the planet, for nature, and for people?”
Customer Engagement Manager
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