Jan Kees Vis – The Netherlands

Profile

"One of the great things about Unilever is that you get a chance to try new things," Jan Kees says. He has done just that, by driving forward the Sustainable Agriculture Programme since its conception in 1996. "We have turned something that looked very vague to many people at the outset (and maybe still is to some), into a practical, hands-on programme."

Jan Kees trained as a chemist. He spent six years working in research on catalysis and quality management then decided that, despite enjoying science, he did not want to spend his whole life as a scientist. He left research and joined Unilever's food company in the Netherlands to work on environmental lifecycle analysis.

Jan Kees strongly believes that Unilever's sustainability programmes – the other being water – can help it become a better company. "Finding the right balance between economic growth, environmental improvement and social equity is an unbeatable way to operate. I think it is essential that multinational companies take this on board. We must contribute in our own way to solving global issues of poverty, malnutrition and environmental degradation."

Responsibilities

Jan Kees's day-to-day work is diverse. He oversees Unilever's sustainable agriculture projects around the world and participates in a growing number of joint initiatives. He was elected to lead the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil at its conception in 2004. He is also a board member of the Roundtable on Responsible Soy and a member of the Sustainable Food Laboratory steering group. "About a third of my time is spent outside Unilever", he says. "This helps me to keep an external perspective on what we do."

He sees participation as key to the Sustainable Agriculture Programme's success. "For the sustainable development concept to work, you need to have three parts of society willing and able to co-operate: industry, government and society itself. All three need to understand the issues involved, and to have similar views on governance. For example, you can't discuss sustainability policies with a corrupt government.

"Agriculture is the key to many things, now more than ever. We can all see how the cost of food is rising due to growing demand in India and China. This is good news for many farmers who have access to global markets, but very bad news for people living on low incomes. If we do not want to sacrifice more forests for agriculture, we will have to help farmers improve their yields.

"Improvements to agriculture in terms of yield, environmental impacts, profitability and efficiency are necessary to address conservation, water quality, poverty alleviation, hunger and health issues. People will not be able to improve their lives without access to food. It is my hope that Unilever will continue to contribute its fair share to this development."