A new steward-ownership legal form is being proposed in the Netherlands for corporations that want to be “for purpose” rather than “for profit”.
Melanie Rieback of Nonprofit Ventures, We Are Stewards (Gijsbert Koren, Jorick Wijnen), N-EXTLAW (Nena van der Horst), and lawyers Sophie Kuijpers, Rutger Marres, Emilie van Blokland, and Casper Nagtegaal are working towards the Dutch legal recognition of Steward Ownership.
“Enterprises can play a major role in the transition to a sustainable and fair economy. The Netherlands is bursting with ambitious entrepreneurs who are consciously doing business ‘for purpose’ rather than ‘for profit’. For many entrepreneurs, wanting to make a difference in the world is a more important motivation than making a lot of money and getting rich, according to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor year after year. Both society and these entrepreneurs deserve a steward-ownership legal form that facilitates and secures these ambitions for the long term.” (https://www.stewardownershiprechtsvorm.nl/articles/english)
From Melanie’s LinkedIn post (republished with permission:)
Yesterday was a historic day.. Joost Sneller (D66) was the first politician to utter the words ‘Steward Ownership’ in Dutch parliament. He then issued the following motion [translated into English]:
“Dear Chamber (of Parliament),
Having heard the deliberations, noting that there is a growing demand for other forms of business in which profit maximization is not the only stipulated goal, such as Steward Ownership; whereas establishing such a business model is now costly and time-consuming because our civil code does not recognize such a form; believes that the government should facilitate and encourage social enterprise; requests the government, in cooperation with the academy and the business community, to develop a proposal for a Steward Ownership business entity form; and we move on to the order of the day.” Joost Sneller (D66)
When asked in a comment on LinkedIn if the motion was accepted, Melanie responded:
“They are still confused about the difference between Steward Ownership and the BVm (Dutch low-profit entity form). My understanding is that the motion is on hold until this point is clarified. So we don’t have our Steward Ownership entity form yet, but this was a very significant baby step because it put Steward Ownership on the Dutch political roadmap for the first time.”
You can find more information and sign the petition here:
https://www.stewardownershiprechtsvorm.nl/articles/english
Zestee 