Origin

The Foundation for a Sustainable Texel originated from the Working group for Sustainable Tourism Texel, which was formed in 1996. At the time, the objective was to make tourism on Texel less damaging for the island so that tourists would continue enjoying our beautiful island for years to come.

Examples of projects performed at the early stages are: ‘Nature Month of May’, Nature and Environmental Education on the ferry from Den Helder and Spreading of Arrival and Departure days for tourists.

As it was immediately obvious that tourism can not be seen separately from all sorts of other activities, the working area for the working group kept expanding. Eventually, the working group was converted into the Foundation for a Sustainable Texel.

Objective

The Foundation’s objective is:

“Initiating and stimulating activities which advance sustainable development of the island of Texel, keeping a good balance between Texel’s economic development on the one hand and preservation of nature and cultural values, as well as eco-efficiency improvement on the other hand.”

In reality, this means that the Foundation not only looks at improving the environment, but also takes social and economic sustainability into account. Presently, this is referred to as Corporate Social Responsibility. The three P's play a central role here: Planet, People and Profit, sometimes freely translated on Texel as the three G's: Green, Guests and ‘Guilders’.

Innovation

The Foundation for a Sustainable Texel acts as an incubator for innovative ideas. As soon as a project is able to support itself or can be taken over by other groups, the Foundation may disengage from it. This means that there are numerous initiatives on Texel which were originated at the Foundation but now lead their own life.

For example, the Nature Month of May was taken over by the Tourist Office VVV Texel and the State Forestry Service, while the environmental information on the ferry is managed by the TESO. The Texel Academy has become an independent foundation.

Starting new initiatives is an important objective of the Foundation. However, perhaps even more important is that a different mentality is slowly developing on Texel. Other individuals and organizations are giving sustainability a prominent place within their lifestyle and operations.