Three questions for Gerard Nijssen, president of FNOI

Three questions for Gerard Nijssen, president of the Trade Association FNOI

FNOI, the Federation of Dutch Recovered Paper Industries, is the sector organisation that represents the interests of companies involved in the collection and recycling of recovered paper. Gerard Nijssen, in his everyday life director of the family business Nijssen Recycling B.V., is by now a well-known figure in the sector. This is not only because of his role as president in recent years, but also because he is one of the initiators of the National Recycling Forum and the National Recycling Congress in the Netherlands. We asked him three questions about his motivation for becoming president, what legacy he wants to leave behind and how he motivates the board and committees to achieve the goals. But also what role the Lejeune Association Management team plays in this.

1) Why did you become president of FNOI?

It has been a while since I became president. To be precise, it was six years ago. In 2015, I succeeded the former president Jacob Cats. In his board, I was already vice-president. It was therefore a natural moment when they asked me to become president.

I have been active in the board and committees of FNOI since 2001. We have a family business and I wanted to help create support and an equal position for all groups in the industry: paper recovery companies, integrated companies and family businesses.  We need to ensure that regardless of market developments, such as consolidation and regulation, there is and remains a market for all members.

My broad scope and focus on creating support within the association is, I think, also the reason why they asked me to become president in 2015. On 9 November 2021, I was re-elected as president at our GMM. I am happy that I can continue this. 

2) What do you want to leave behind at the end of your presidency?

In addition to a strong position in Brussels, which we have through EuRIC,-  EuRIC is the Confederation representing the interests of the European recycling industries at EU level - it is important that we also put recycling and circularity firmly on the map in The Hague, the resident our government . We launched the National Recycling Forum on 18 March 2020. The various recycling streams in the Netherlands are affiliated to this. From this forum, we organised the National Recycling Congress, which, due to corona, did not take place live on 18 March 2020 but online on 25 November 2020. It was good to see that we had a solid line-up, including former Minister Stientje van Veldhoven. With this partnership between our industries, we are showing the government that there is support and knowledge among our members to achieve a truly circular society and make a significant contribution to achieving the climate targets. I want to leave a well-positioned organisation.

3) How do you motivate the board members and committee members to achieve this and what is the role of Lejeune?

The role of the various committees is very important for having and creating support. The committees are where the real work happens. By working with people with the right qualities, both from the association and from Lejeune, we as FNOI can achieve a lot.

The people in the committees work in the industry. They are the experts. With their specific know-how they determine the policy, not the president. The CA+ committee for confidential destruction of archives, data carriers and products is a good example of how a committee can operate. For a certificate it is not only important that it is technically well arranged according to certain standards, but also that the CA+ certificate is well positioned in the market and that we strengthen and expand the market with it. This requires other expertise than participants in a technical committee. The people of Lejeune, the team we work with, are very important in this. We are very pleased that Lennert Vermaat has joined this team this year. He has a strong focus on the committees and their further development. Hans Koning is indispensable to us in representing the interests in the chain.

By: Ria Luitjes 

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For more information check the FNOI website (Dutch)