The first Tuesday in September in the Netherlands is Sustainable Tuesday, an initiative aimed at giving 'sustainable' ideas from society a wider political platform. Each year on Sustainable Tuesday, three pioneers in the field of sustainability receive a special decoration. Among the recipients this year: NIOO director Louise Vet.

Organised by the Institute for Nature Education and Sustainability (IVN) and a number of partners that include government ministries, banks and universities, the Sustainable Tuesday initiative is now in its fourteenth year.

Each year, a briefcase is presented to the cabinet in The Hague containing hundreds of 'sustainable' ideas and initiatives from all echelons of Dutch society, and a 'sustainable Speech from the Throne" is read out by a leading campaigner for sustainability.

Sustainable Ribbon

For the past ten years, the festive presentation of the briefcase at the Dutch Lower House has also included the awarding of the 'Sustainable Ribbons', described as a unique award for people who have spent their lives going against the grain to bring about a more sustainable society.

This echoes the awarding of royal decorations on King's Day, just as Sustainable Tuesday echoes the opening of the new parliamentary season, which traditionally takes place on the third Tuesday in September.

Past winners of a Sustainable Ribbon have included the late Wubbo Ockels, who was the first Dutch astronaut, British geologist Jeremy Leggett and Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands.

Jury Report

At the ceremony in The Hague, the jury praised Louise Vet saying she "more than deserves" to be added to this illustrious company. The name 'Louise Vet', jury chairman Muairts Groen suggested, "has become a byword for combining scientific excellence and social engagement in equal measure."

According to the jury report, using the "high degree of expertise" she has, Vet "has not only demonstrated that restoring biodiversity is essential, she has also demonstrated that it is in fact feasible, by coming up with practical solutions." Vet doesn't just criticise, concludes the jury, "she offers alternatives."