drs. Ed Nijpels

About Ed Nijpels

The term corporate social responsibility perfectly reflects what drs. Ed Nijpels values. He enjoys discussing general political topics, but the combination of business, environment, and sustainability particularly interests him. As a former chairman of NLingenieurs, the industry association for consultancy and engineering firms, Nijpels has been involved since May 2008 with related social issues such as mobility and accessibility, climate change, and safety. NLingenieurs firms provide services in the fields of infrastructure, construction, water management, spatial planning, and project management. All subjects with which Nijpels has experience and affinity as a former executive and politician. In 1988, as Minister of Housing, Spatial Planning, and the Environment, he presented the Fourth Memorandum on Spatial Planning and in 1989 the very first National Environmental Policy Plan, appreciated by both the coalition and the opposition. In the 1990s, he was (co-)presenter of the TROS programs ‘Aktua Export’, ‘Aktua in bedrijf’, and ‘Licht op groen’, where he highlighted the excellent performance of Dutch businesses, without forgetting the effects on the environment. Since June 2015, he has stepped down from his chairmanship at NLingenieurs.

When Nijpels stepped down as Commissioner of the Queen of the province of Friesland in early 2008 – after nine years – he already had an impressive political and social career behind him. It began when he became a member of the VVD at the age of 18. He studied law in the liberal arts program at Utrecht University, which is why he holds the title drs. instead of mr. Nijpels taught social studies at a Catholic lyceum in Roosendaal before becoming a member of the municipal council of Bergen op Zoom in 1976. In 1977, he became a member of the House of Representatives, and in 1982, at the age of 32, he succeeded Hans Wiegel as the faction leader of the VVD. He was the lead candidate for the VVD in the parliamentary elections of 1982 and 1986. In 1982, he achieved the largest electoral gain for the VVD ever, ten seats. After his ministerial term in the Lubbers II cabinet (1986-1989), he remained a member of parliament for over half a year. In 1990, Nijpels moved to Breda, where he served as mayor for just over five years. From August 2009 to February 2010, Ed Nijpels was chairman of ABP, the General Civil Pension Fund.

Ed Nijpels himself is, so to speak, an example of sustainable entrepreneurship. He is the chairman of Thuiswinkel.org, the industry association for companies that offer products and/or services at a distance, primarily online, and chairman of the Supervisory Board of AVROTROS. Additionally, he is a member of several Supervisory Boards, chairman of social organizations such as the Climate Center of the International Red Cross, the Energy Performance Certification Foundation, Ronald McDonald Children’s Fund, the Milieu Centraal Foundation, the Guarantee Fund for Bailiffs, and ‘Water for Life’. In total, Nijpels holds about thirty additional positions. He has previously been a goodwill ambassador for UNEP, the environmental organization of the United Nations, and has provided advice as chairman of the Taskforce for Older Workers and the Steering Group for Gray Works – advisory committees of the cabinet – on getting and keeping people aged 55 and over in the workforce. A topic that still lies close to his heart. According to Nijpels, only 45 percent of the population over 55 participates in the labor process. By, for example, raising the retirement age and abolishing the exemption policy, labor participation in this age category can grow.

Ed Nijpels oversees the Energy Agreement on behalf of the Social and Economic Council, which was concluded in September 2013 by the cabinet, social partners, social organizations, and the environmental movement. This aims to ensure that 16 percent of our energy is generated sustainably by 2023. Additionally, energy consumption must decrease by 1.5 percent each year.

The many activities he undertakes have not gone unnoticed, as evidenced by the awards he has received. Nijpels is, among other honors, a Commander in the Order of Orange-Nassau, a Commander in the Order of the Golden Ark, a Knight in the Order of the Dutch Lion, a Commander in the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland, a Commander in the Leopold Order (Belgium), and a Grand Officer in the Order of the Oak Crown (Luxembourg). He has received the Eimert Sinoo Award from the FNV for special initiatives in the field of working conditions in construction. Ed Nijpels is one of six politicians who have served as a member of parliament, mayor, minister, and Commissioner of the Queen since 1815.