The Green Illusion: When Ethics Meets Economics

Let me begin with a confession.

Years ago, when I first decided to “go green” with one of my companies, I did what many CEOs do: I called a sustainability consultant, ordered bamboo desks, and upgraded the coffee machine to one that promised carbon neutrality (whatever that meant). The bill? Astronomical. The result? Mostly cosmetic.

It took failure, again, to teach me the truth: eco-friendliness is not about cost, it’s about coherence.

The idea that doing the right thing for the planet requires deep pockets is not just false—it’s harmful. It delays action. It excuses inaction. And worst of all, it feeds the illusion that sustainability is an elite pursuit.

It’s not. It’s about designing better decisions, not spending more money.

The Why: From Status Symbol to Systemic Shift

Why do we fall into the trap of associating sustainability with luxury?

Because the green movement, at some point, was hijacked by marketing. Eco-friendly became a label, a lifestyle, a product line. Like organic groceries in gold-trimmed packaging or electric cars with a waiting list and a four-digit lease.

But let’s bring it back to the real world, to micro and small businesses, where I’ve spent most of my professional life. These are the builders of Europe’s future. They don’t need buzzwords. They need practical, ethical, repeatable practices.

So here’s the real question we should be asking:

How can we design operations that reduce waste, energy, and ethical risk—without burning cash?

The Numbers: Small Actions, Big Impact

Let’s strip away the fluff and look at hard, grounded numbers.

• Switching to LED lighting in a 50m² office reduces electricity use by up to 75%. Cost: ~€200. Payback in energy savings: less than 6 months.
• Double-sided printing in a legal or compliance team? Saves around 10,000 sheets per year. That’s 1 tree, 60kg of CO₂, and ~€300 in paper.
• Cloud file-sharing instead of USB drives and hard copies? Aside from being safer, it avoids physical waste and improves transparency, a win for both GRC and the planet.
• Virtual meetings over short-haul flights? You save emissions, money, and time. Bonus: better governance oversight through recorded calls.

Every euro saved through eco-efficiency can be reinvested into resilience, not just reputation.

My Studio: The Lab of Living Proof

At 33-35, the home of our ecosystem in Amersfoort, we’ve made a quiet revolution. We didn’t buy green furniture. We reused and repaired what we had.

We didn’t install a “sustainable design wall.” We just opened windows instead of running the AC every day.

And here’s something I’m proud of: we wrote policies, not slogans. Policies that integrate environmental responsibility into financial logic, risk scoring, and behavioral checks.

Even our audit process asks:

Is this purchase necessary?

Is there a lower-impact alternative?

Does it reflect our values or just our vanity?

That, dear reader, is the soul of eco-friendliness.

Governance Is Green

Let me say something that might surprise you:

Sustainability is not a branch of marketing. It’s a branch of governance.

Being eco-friendly is a matter of risk intelligence. Over-reliance on rare materials? Supply chain fragility. Poor waste tracking? Regulatory exposure. Excessive consumption? Cost inefficiency and reputational drag.

When we embed environmental thinking into risk assessments, supplier screening, and expense approvals, we build businesses that are not only ethical, but also structurally sound.

That’s not branding. That’s foresight.

Begin Where You Are

You don’t need to be perfect. You don’t need a sustainability budget. What you need is honesty and intention.

Start by listing:

• What do you throw away weekly?
• What do you overpay for that adds no value?
• What habit costs you resources, time, or energy you could redirect?

And then do what real leaders do: align your small decisions with your large values.

Because in the end, eco-friendly doesn’t mean expensive.

It means ethical, efficient, and engaged.

And that doesn’t cost more.

It just means you’re finally counting the right things.