“Sustainability is about designing systems that are regenerative, fair, and resilient. It is about creating economies where people and businesses can thrive within the planet’s limits.”
After nearly a decade shaping sustainable value chains across Europe and Africa, Andrea returns to NewForesight with a global perspective, a deep commitment to systems change, and an unwavering belief that sustainability must move from ambition to action. We sat down with her to reflect on what has changed in the sustainability landscape, what Africa can teach the world about systems transformation, and why now is the time to move beyond ambition and into real, collective impact.
Welcome back, Andrea! NewForesight knows you quite well but tell our readers/listeners a bit about yourself.
I’m a South African, a sustainability professional, a trail runner, and a woman on a mission.
I started out studying Forensic Accountancy and spent two years as a forensic investigator in Johannesburg before heading to the Netherlands to continue my studies. That’s where I discovered my passion for sustainability, which was still a niche field back then, and it ultimately led me to NewForesight. I spent five years building sector initiatives in agriculture and developing market-driven sustainability strategies for FMCGs.
From there, I moved to KPMG Netherlands to deepen my work on sustainable value chains, and later joined Group Sustainability at Rabobank, where I focused on developing and implementing sustainability policies across the bank.
After nearly nine years in the Netherlands, I felt the pull of home. I returned to South Africa in 2024 to begin my next chapter: rejoining NewForesight to contribute to meaningful and sustainable change… and becoming the strongest trail runner I can be!
How does it feel to come back to NewForesight at this stage in your career? What drew you back?
Even though I left NewForesight a few years ago, it never really left me. Its mission and mindset stayed with me: the belief that every action ripples through the system, that real change requires intention, and that your greatest contribution is being unapologetically yourself.
I once read that if NewForesight were a person, it would be someone who is curious and bold, learns fast, quick to act and slow to give up. Someone who speaks frankly, laughs easily, is dedicated to its mission, and stands steady when the storm hits. Someone who expects a lot from you, because they expect even more from themselves. That description resonates deeply with me. It reflects a place I’m proud to be connected to, and one that feels worth returning to.
I also came back because the work NewForesight does feels more relevant now than ever. At a time when incremental change is no longer enough, NewForesight is clear about what is needed: to accelerate transitions, challenge the rules of the game, and help build a sustainable economy. We don’t just advise within existing systems; we push our partners, clients and ourselves, to rethink models, strategies, and incentives, and to lead with integrity, courage, and long-term intent.
NewForesight is a place where the mission is owned collectively, where leaders are grown together, where honesty and solidarity matter, and where everyone contributes their own chapter to a bigger story. That clarity of purpose, combined with the people and the ambition, makes this a place I’m proud to return to at this stage in my career.
You’ve worked in both Europe and Africa, and with clients all over the world. How do you see sustainability challenges and opportunities differing between these contexts?
I think the sustainability challenges in Europe and Africa are quite different, but also deeply connected. In Europe, sustainability has really moved into the mainstream. There’s strong regulation, consumer awareness, and a big focus on transforming existing systems, such as decarbonization, circularity, and accountability. The challenge is making those transitions fair and affordable, yet keeping momentum within mature, complex economies.
In Africa, the sustainability conversation is more focused on growth and resilience, especially ensuring energy access, food security, and job creation. There’s incredible innovation happening, from renewable energy solutions to regenerative agriculture and inclusive business models. The challenge is scaling these efforts in a way that supports livelihoods and strengthens local economies, and at the same time, dealing with lacking or neglected infrastructure and governance constraints.
In summary, while Europe’s journey is largely about transforming established systems, Africa’s is about expanding and reimagining sustainable growth. Both are essential, and both can also learn from each other.
What do you think the global sustainability community can learn from Africa’s approach to systems change?
What really stands out to me about Africa’s approach to systems change is the way people come together and not because a formal structure tells them to, but because they have to. There are often an urgency and a shared sense of purpose that drives collaboration across sectors, communities, and even competitors.
In many cases, systems change in Africa doesn’t start with perfectly designed frameworks or strategies, it starts with people who recognize that solving big challenges like food security, climate resilience, or energy access requires working together. You see partnerships forming organically, driven by necessity, trust, and a sense of collective responsibility.
I think the global sustainability community can learn a lot from that. Sometimes, we get caught up in process and structure, and we forget that true systems change is built on relationships, adaptability, and shared ownership. Africa shows that progress can happen when collaboration leads, even before the structure is fully in place.
From your vantage point, how has the sustainability landscape evolved over the past decade?
Over the past decade, the sustainability landscape has changed significantly and has become much more mainstream. Ten years ago, most companies approached sustainability from a compliance or CSR angle. It was about meeting minimum standards or running isolated community projects. Those efforts were often managed by small teams sitting separately from the core business. Whereas today, in many organizations, sustainability has become integrated into strategy, operations, and decision-making. It has become more central to how companies differentiate, invest, and innovate.
There’s also growing pressure for better impact measurement, not just to tick boxes, but to truly understand whether interventions are making an impact. Regulation has been a major driver, pushing companies to be more transparent and accountable, and consumers have also played a big role, as they are far more informed and expect brands to take real action, not just make statements. There are also more cases where individual company pilots have evolved into sector-wide collaborations, such as collective action platforms in agriculture, finance, or energy, where competitors come together to tackle sector sustainability challenges.
Sustainability has become not just a responsibility, but for many, a core driver of business and resilience.
There’s a lot of talk about the “next phase” of sustainability, moving from ambition to action. What do you see as the biggest barriers to making that shift?
I think the biggest challenge is about turning good intentions into practical change. First, there is the implementation gap: many organizations have strong strategies, but struggle to embed sustainability into daily decisions and operations. Measurement is still a hurdle, as we don’t always have the right tools or data to measure or value it, which makes it hard to know what’s working. Many sustainability managers also often complain about the short-term pressure: the need to show quick results to their leaders; however, it often conflicts with the long-term nature of sustainability transitions. And finally, collaboration. Many of our challenges are systemic, yet there are still a lot happening in silos. Real progress depends on aligning across sectors and supply chains.
How are organisations balancing compliance with real impact? Is regulation driving progress or limiting it?
Regulation has definitely pushed sustainability forward. It has made companies more transparent and accountable, but it can also risk turning sustainability into a box-ticking exercise. Sustainability frontrunners use compliance as a starting point, not the end goal. They go beyond reporting to actually change how they make decisions and create impact. Real transformation still depends on how organizations choose to use it.
What role do finance and investment play in accelerating sustainable transitions?
Finance plays a crucial role in accelerating sustainable transitions, but no single type of capital can do it alone. We need a mixed pool of investments between public, private, and philanthropic funding, each playing a different role: public and concessional finance can take on early risk / first loss and build enabling conditions, while private investors can bring scale and efficiency once models are proven, and philanthropy can help to fill the gaps by funding innovation and community-level work that traditional finance overlooks.
Real transformation happens when these forms of capital work together, aligning impact with returns and creating vehicles where sustainability is both investable and scalable.
You’ve often worked on complex, multi-stakeholder collaborations. What makes systems change hard and what makes it possible?
Systems change is hard because it is about people, not just structures. Everyone comes with their own agendas, incentives, and timelines. It is also hard because change cuts across sectors, geographies, and power dynamics. Aligning those around a shared goal and getting consensus takes real trust and persistence. But that is also what makes change possible: when people choose to collaborate despite differences and focus on collective impact rather than individual wins, that is when systems start to shift. In the end, systems change happens when people align around purpose and move together.
In your view, what kind of leadership is needed to “change the game” in sustainability today?
To truly “change the game” in sustainability, we need courageous, collaborative, and mission-driven leaders. People who challenge the status quo, make bold long-term choices, and bring others along.
What advice would you give to organisations that want to move from isolated initiatives to real transformation?
My advice is to think in systems, not projects. Real transformation happens when you connect efforts across teams, partners, and the wider ecosystem. Align around a shared mission so people feel ownership beyond their own initiatives, and focus on what truly drives impact, not just activity.
What drives your passion for sustainability and systems change?
My passion for sustainability and systems change really starts with Africa, and South Africa in particular. The challenges here are demanding, interconnected, and at times messy, but they also hold incredible possibility. This is a place where resilience, complexity, and opportunity intersect, and it has shaped not only how I see the world, but also my commitment to helping build a more equal society. A society where opportunities are fair, where more people can live dignified lives with access to the basics that allow people to thrive.
I’ve always been driven by a desire to make things better and ensure those improvements actually last. I think long-term and gravitate toward the bigger issues: the underlying patterns and the broader dynamics that sit beneath the surface. In many ways, sustainability isn’t just a career for me; it’s where my appreciation for complexity, my drive for meaningful improvement, and my commitment to this continent and its people all meet.
Looking ahead, what gives you hope about where the field is heading?
A lot of my hope for this field comes from how much has shifted in a relatively short time. What used to be a niche conversation is now mainstream in boardrooms, in finance, in communities, and in policy. What also gives hope, is that people are no longer waiting for perfect conditions; they’re experimenting, collaborating, and building solutions that didn’t exist a few years ago. I see hope in companies moving from pilots to real change, and in governments recognizing that sustainability and economic growth aren’t opposites.
If you could challenge one assumption about sustainability, what would it be?
That sustainability is mainly about risk management or “doing less harm.” That mindset keeps sustainability in a defensive mode, focused on being more about avoiding problems rather than creating opportunities.
Sustainability is about designing systems that are regenerative, fair, and resilient. It is about creating economies where people and businesses can thrive within the planet’s limits. That means operating well inside ecological boundaries while ensuring everyone meets essential social and economic thresholds, such as dignified livelihoods, equity, and basic services.
Letting go of the risk-only lens opens up a much more ambitious and creative conversation: one focused on opportunity, innovation, and true systemic transformation. This isn’t about incremental improvements; it requires coordinated, large-scale shifts in how policies are set, how markets and value chains function, how capital flows, and how organizations lead and thrive within a sustainable economy.
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Andrea’s return marks more than a homecoming; it signals a renewed commitment to accelerating transitions where they matter most. At a time when incremental change is no longer enough, her perspective is a reminder that real transformation demands courage, collaboration, and long-term intent.
If your organisation is ready to move beyond isolated initiatives and toward true systems change, we invite you to connect with us and explore how we can help you change the game.