A letter to my children (December 2019)…

Dear Sanne & Xander,

This September both of you turned 6 and I myself 40 earlier this year. Your mom has recently decided to leave her company, Philips, for which she has worked more than 17 years. I read a lot lately about diverse topics, but the climate transition is what really sticks with me. It always seemed so far away! I understood the impact it could have but I wasn’t aware that the consequences are so dramatic. In order to keep this planet livable for you and your children we will have to reduce 49% of the carbon emissions by 2030 and we will have to live energy neutral by 2050.

In 2030 both of you will be 17 and I will be 51 and in 2050 you will be 37 years old and I will be 71. This sounds on the one hand so far away, yet it is just around the corner and all of us will experience firsthand if we succeed or if we failed with this mission. Not long ago I decided to take a career switch and to really become part of this journey and to do all I can to make an impact. From a corporate life in which profit and growth is what counts most, I’m currently working for a local energy cooperative in which we help residents to save energy in their personal houses or encourage them to generate their own energy. We also search for roofs in our community on which we can install solar panels so that we become more and more energy independent. From an international corporate environment to a very small local cooperative – mainly build on volunteers – what a different world that is and what a wonderful experience.

This is what I promise to you, Xander and Sanne. Your mom will from now on contribute to making this transition happen. I will connect my personal purpose with the purpose of what I do for living. I want to help organizations to make a true impact towards a green, open and inclusive economy. For that I will dive into the books again, study what is needed to learn and meet people with a similar purpose. I already met a lot of like-minded people and it feels fantastic. I can’t wait to start and see what happens next year (’20).

Well, in 2050 we will open a nice bottle of wine together and I will tell you how I contributed in this transition. And as you know I’m a very optimistic person so I’m sure we will have found a way to make this transition happen. To this I’m sure we will toast together,

Cheers

Your mom Ulrike