Nature is my source of inspiration for designing the Circular Economy. In an organizational context this means finding balance, connecting with your environment and making conscious decisions.
Diane Zandee MSc RC is PhD student at Nyenrode Business University. She is part of Nyenrode's Faculty Research Center for Entrepreneurship, Governance & Stewardship.
With a business background and as a registered controller, Zandee has held various executive positions in the corporate world at mainly socially oriented companies. The challenges that these complex positioned companies are facing, give her the motivation to build bridges between disciplines and to achieve results right then and there. In her research she focuses on finding the connection between sustainability and finance, with a focus on the circular economy.
In addition to forming a broad understanding of organizational decision-making, Zandee seeks the numerical and business case approach in her research, in order to contribute to the accounting and financial challenges of the circular economy.
With her research and education, Zandee tries to facilitate and inspire the frontrunners in sustainability and circular economy by building insights with regard to business models and business cases. The combination of Leadership, Entrepreneurship and Stewardship.
Something that still needs to be created, such as the circular economy or new sustainable financial frameworks, requires pioneering. It gives energy to build with these pioneers, such as passionate entrepreneurs, policy makers and professionals, and to create this new world together. Together we form a system in which people, planet and profit come into balance with each other, through which we can preserve nature for our future generations and with that safeguard our own existence.
Zandee combines her academic role with her role as (interim) director and consultant, where she focuses on issues in the areas of strategy, finance and sustainability, integrated reporting, the design of sustainable business models and organizational management.
Zandee is member of the Circular Accounting Coalition. A coalition where parties such as the Circle Economy, the Dutch Professional Association for Accountants and various parties from the business community, are jointly exploring circular cases in a financial context. The purpose of this coalition is to give direction to further regulations.
Zandee is also a member of the Green Brain (Groene Brein), where academics connect with each other and the business community in the field of research into sustainability.
Connecting business and academic context helps researching subjects that can be applied in practice. During her research, Zandee regularly collaborates with colleagues from Deakin University in Melbourne.
In her spare time, Zandee can be found enjoying the outdoors. Either with her racing bike in the beautiful polders of the Green Heart, or with her family on the waters of the ‘Reeuwijkse Plassen’.