Rolf Schmitz's Recent LinkedIn Posts

📢 #EUDR update The European Commission has just proposed targeted changes to the EUDR, giving companies a six-month grace period and simplifying reporting for smaller operators. 🌐 The path to implementation of the EUDR has been bumpy, and we’re not there yet. But, if this latest proposal goes through, we will at the very least see important progress towards the protection of vital forest landscapes and resilient supply chains. In this scenario, by the end of 2025 large companies will still begin implementing EUDR, just without the immediate risk of penalties. This will allow for more time to address the remaining uncertainties, not only with regards to the IT system, but across due diligence requirements and processes. 🌱 This six-month period is a chance for companies, national competent authorities, and the European Commission to work together, learn from each other, and build a robust due diligence process that truly works for people, planet, and business alike. In particular, we believe the simplified reporting will protect smallholder farmers and local communities, ensuring that no one is left behind. Satelligence remains ready to support companies wherever they are on their EUDR journey, from early preparation to full implementation, and drive measurable sustainability impact. 💚 Whatever the regulatory timeline, our goal stays the same: to safeguard forests, empower people, and support resilient supply chains. Press on with your deforestation monitoring with our EUDR solution: https://lnkd.in/eusN3cT3 #DeforestationMonitoring #SustainableSupplyChains

My first trip to Berlin for Satelligence, attending the annual conference of RNE (German sustainability forum). Exciting!

Just arrived at Greenbiz with my colleague Alan Kroeger for Satelligence. Super exciting to be here and looking forward to the sessions and networking. Alan will be speaking on Wednesday at 1:30pm about Complying with EU Taxonomy Disclosure requirements. My own focus will be in the state of Scope 3 adoption and biodiversity / water and the level of interest in practical, scalable solutions. And above all the networking. Off we go!

My 3rd of three announcements on career changes: This week I joined the Satelligence team and spent a few days in Utrecht, NL to get to know the team, on/boarding, socialising etc.  It is impressive to see what Niels Wielaard and the team have built, both in terms of the sustainability platform and a team culture that is fun, ambitious and very welcoming! Also, great to start working with Nanne Tolsma after being connected for several years. I very much appreciate the opportunity to join the team and to contribute to the development.  In future my posts will be a mix of Satelligence activities and my day5 marketing for B2B start-ups. #Satelligence #EUDR #NDPE #Scope3 #AI

📢 Satelligence Webinar - Final speaker announced! ➡️ Bridging ESG Legislation & Voluntary Targets with Credible Data 19th March, 3-4pm CET We're pleased to introduce the latest addition to our expert panel, joining speakers from PUR and South Pole, alongside our Satelligence team. Meadow Rutenbar - Senior Manager, Sustainability Services, Deloitte Meadow works within Deloitte's Audit & Assurance business, delivering sustainability risk assessments, strategy, reporting, and assurance services across industries. She specialises in transitional climate risk and opportunity assessment, carbon accounting, and developing the processes and controls that turn regulatory insight into transparent, assurance-ready disclosure. With deep knowledge of global sustainability standards and the evolving regulatory landscape, Meadow brings both technical expertise and the strategic perspective. ⚖️ As CSRD, EUDR, SBTi, and global ESG frameworks continue to converge, the value of having the right expertise in the room becomes clear. Across Deloitte, PUR, South Pole and Satelligence, our panel brings together the policy, platform, and practical perspectives needed to move from complexity to clarity and confidence. 🎤 The session will close with a Q&A - a chance to raise your questions directly with the panel. Whether you're looking for clarity on a specific framework, practical guidance on data workflows, or insight into how peers are approaching compliance and voluntary disclosure, this is your opportunity to get answers grounded in real-world experience. 🔗 Register here: https://lnkd.in/evzu6_z9 #CSRD #ESGCompliance #SustainableSupplyChains #SupplyChainMonitoring #SustainabilityCompliance #Deforestation

GreenBiz last week was a great opportunity to understand the state-of-play in the US sustainability landscape, with lots of exciting panels, discussions and connections. Here is a summary of my (personal!) impressions and notes. Popes and politicians speak in threes, that should work for me here: 1) Sustainability is Business Impact, Scope 3 too This has been a theme across several events and articles in the last year. It used to be that the main themes in sustainability were about far-out and scientific states of nature and climate. Nothing wrong with science, but these ideas were hard to operationalise. This has completely changed: The focus is now on business impact within a 1 to 3-year horizon. Numerous examples of Scope 3 strategies were given, where companies had worked hard on creating a portfolio of current and planned investment and operational projects. They then analysed this portfolio for "sustainability impact / $" and prioritized the highest impact projects. In many cases these were energy and cost reduction projects, in others the focus was on avoiding land use change. This approach is only possible when operational functions, such as purchasing or production, own the projects—which they will only do when there is a positive operational impact.  2) Risks have become operational It used to be that sustainability risks were seen as abstract and reputational: a consumer brand exposed on social media for something that wasn't even in the "risk register". Now discussions of risk involve questions such as: a) Access to water and land resources over time, b) The impact of a production plant or a plantation on its community and the willingness of that community to live with the impact, c) the long-term availability of land and energy at competitive prices. This operationalises the risks and drives the priority of sustainable initiatives. 3) Mindshift from activism to action Literally each panel contribution and each question I head were about impact NOW. This is a very significant shift in mindset. 2 years ago I heard someone talking down a project "because we are still consuming too much energy!" Another example is: "all we need to do is to cover the Sahara in solar panels!" In short, arguments that reject the practical action now in favour of a perfect future that will not come. In part this new mindset is very likely influenced by the shift in political climate. It is still refreshing to see!  On the Friday after the event went on a trail near Sedona - beautiful!

Our webinar on EUDR readiness is approaching fast - don't Miss the Boat: Your 6-Month Roadmap to an EUDR-Ready Supply Chain. Join me on June 19.

A few thoughts on accelerators as I have come across several posts recently and wanted to chip in. There are significant risks and many accelerators are not a great investment of your time. I've participated in several with mixed outcomes and have got feedback from other founders. Here a few: 1) you're rarely talking to a customer or your target market but mostly to "accelerator professionals". They might call themselves "founders" or "investors" but are rarely the real thing. Even if the accelerator is organised / supported by a significant player in your target market it is quite rare to meet a person with core operational responsibility - they just don't have the time! 2) You are an early stage start-up with a short runway. Time is of the essence. An accelerator is a commitment of your time - in the context of 1) above. I have been puzzled many times about the insistence of accelerators for all participants to attend sessions. If the sessions were high value-added people would attend. If the accelerator offers you the 5th "pitch deck essentials" and insists you join something is wrong. 3) Look closely at the set-up of the accelerator: who's involved? Can they really help you? Is there a path to adoption, a budget, people that can provide feedback you need? Or is there significant PR / marketing value that makes it worth you while. As everything in life, there's good and bad. And there are good accelerators, but they are in the minority. Be clear, ask questions before you join. A fun fact to close: Years ago we were super-excited to join a high profile accelerator. We were one of 6 start-ups chosen from a set of 100+ (accelerators love these numbers!). To our surprise one founder started to ask a lot of questions after being selected and left when they didn't like to answers. At the time it was incredible. As the accelerator progressed I kept thinking that this founder had been the smartest person in the room! #startup #accelerators #founders #seedstage

Dear Sustainability Community, the delay of EUDR has caused a lot of confusion and debate. It remains unclear in what shape EUDR will eventually be implemented. The challenge for sustainability teams and senior leaders is: how to move forward. Stopping in their tracks seems counterproductive, but what to aim for??? EUDR is based on preexisting voluntary frameworks. One route forward we see taking shape in our discussions with customers is to implement voluntary commitments as a stepping stone towards EUDR. Our webinar addresses this challenge and gives practical advice on the route from voluntary commitments to EUDR. And Satelligence provides the credible and consistent intelligence to make sure your reporting and claims are accurate. More details, speakers and registration link below -I hope you can make it!

Reposting this in light of recent geopolitical turmoil. It is reassuring, though, that operationally a lot of positive developments are happening in NATO, like NATO DIANA. While I'm generally skeptical about accelerators, here I find it very encouraging that DIANA is hiring staff focussed on technology adoption.