Newsletter Q3 '22: unlocking sustainable cities across Europe and Asia

With rippling heat waves on our heels, here we are with a fresh update on the last few months.

More than ever, more people are beginning to realize we need to act fast and profoundly. This situation encourages us to share our experience and spread our knowledge of systemic sustainability and integrated analysis. 

We increasingly see this paired with an understanding of the need to use systemic and integrated analysis to get to the bottom of complex issues - from city councils to boardrooms and from consumers to scholars.

This past quarter saw us active in Tokyo, Slovakia, Hungary, Portugal, and Luxembourg and kicking off our first projects in Vietnam. With over 30 keynote talks around the world, we continue to try to inspire and inform.

Meanwhile, the Orchid City partner network keeps expanding, and we're currently assessing several key locations. Our revised video training is now available, providing an additional outlet for those wanting to get familiar with SiD and systemic sustainability.

We've also been hard at publishing over the past several months, with a recent article on the rise of systemic investments, lessons on climate change impacts and forecasting, and discussing how innovation communities enhance sustainability and cooperation.

On behalf of all of us here at Except, thank you for your support, and enjoy the summer update.

Tom Bosschaert

On the 16th of June, in collaboration with the Dutch Business Association Vietnam (DBAV), Except held an event at Laang Saigon in Ho Chi Minh City. Hosted by Christina Ameln from Sustainable Vietnam, the packed event allowed us to meet with and introduce current and potential partners and investors to Orchid City and ViCo, our new innovation community in Vietnam.

An evening of great inspiration and conversation, it represents another milestone in our journey to enhance sustainability across the region.

Read more about the event.

We warmly welcome UNStudio and Rebel Group as official partners in the Orchid City network. Founded in 1988, UNStudio is a global network of more than 200 experts specializing in architecture, product design, urban development, and infrastructure. Except recently partnered with UNStudio to develop the Hangang Green Jade concept for Handan, China.

Rebel Group has been making global impacts since 2002, delivering strategic and financial advice and management, policy analysis, and consulting. Active in over eight countries and similarly sized to UNStudio, Rebel Group helps to reinforce the reach and impact of Orchid City.

Learn more about UNStudio.

Learn more about Rebel.

Sustainable investing has seen unprecedented growth and is predicted to continue increasing over the coming years. While this seems a positive step, most impact or "green" investments are too narrowly focused on a specific outcome - systemic investing offers a solution.

This insight article introduces systemic investing, its effects across entire value chains, and how it can help make profound systemic change to ensure sustainability and profitability.

Read the full article here.

In June, the team in Vietnam was joined by Tom Bosschaert for a number of meetings within the local business, policy, leadership, and investment communities. A highlight of the trip was a meeting with Hoi An municipality - a picturesque UNESCO heritage-listed ancient port town that attracts millions of tourists annually.

The city faces growing challenges with flooding, waste management, and retaining its unique ecology and culture - we believe the Orchid City framework could be of immense value and look forward to opportunities to collaborate with Hoi An City.

Read more about Orchid City.

We're happy to share our freshly revised online video training program, "Systems Thinking for Sustainability & Symbiosis in Development (SiD)." Education is integral to our work in helping reinforce a societal shift to systemic sustainability. This four-week, self-paced course on Udemy offers easy and affordable access for professionals.

Feel free to enroll or share with your networks. Costs will vary and often can be offered at significant discounts - sometimes free. Follow us on Linkedin to keep up to date with new courses.

Learn more about the course.

At the end of June, Except joined a convoy of fellow pioneers in circularity and urban development to attend the Netherlands Enterprise Agency's (RVO) trade mission to Budapest, Hungary, and Bratislava, Slovakia. The event was focused on construction, waste, and recycling and signified the dawn of a new era of Dutch, Slovak, and Hungarian collaboration in working toward circular economies.

Learn more about the event.

ViCo was recently featured in Vietnam Investment Review (VIR), Vietnam's premier media outlet for business, investment, and development news. In a time of great demand for sustainable solutions in Southeast Asia, ViCo is developing an innovation center in Ho Chi Minh City, the economic capital of Vietnam, supporting a community for global connectivity and collaboration.

This article discusses what ViCo facilitates and why it will be so beneficial for enhancing connectivity and innovation and attracting investment and projects to the region.

Read the article.

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And, if you're ever in the neighborhood, stop by UCo for coffee and a chat.