‘I’m Laura Grootenboer, I live in Rotterdam with my girlfriend, dog and rabbit. I am very active and sociable; I enjoy sitting on a terrace and I love sports, especially bootcamps and boxing. Ever since I started at Deloitte three years ago, I activate colleagues to follow their purpose and make an impact on society. I started my Deloitte journey in the internal communications team, then the Deloitte Impact Foundation and soon I’ll start my secondment in the WorldClimate [https://www2.deloitte.com/global/en/pages/about-deloitte/articles/world-climate.html] team of North-South Europe. One day, I aim to become a global Corporate Social Responsibility leader.’

IMPACTFUL STORIES THAT INSPIRE ‘The Deloitte Impact Foundation [https://www2.deloitte.com/nl/nl/pages/over-deloitte/articles/about-the-deloitte-impact-foundation.html] enables all Deloitte colleagues in The Netherlands to share their expertise and network in pro-bono projects which impact society. As part of the programme management team, I am responsible for communication and engagement; an incredible role which allows me to create and share impactful stories to inspire others to do the same. Though stories alone, are not enough to really make a difference. That’s why I love to engage in the wider discussions around purpose at Deloitte to seek alignment, collaborate and start new purposeful initiatives.’

PURPOSE INITIATIVES ‘I’ve always been very open and clear about the topics that I’m passionate about. And Deloitte is the kind of place that will offer you great opportunities to act upon your purpose; you just need to grab them. Starting your own impact project at the Deloitte Impact Foundation is a great way to do so. Until now, I’ve started two myself. The first to support the Dutch Muscle Fund, an organisation which is close to my heart as my sister has a muscular disease. The other aims to stimulate climate education and activation for students across the globe. After watching just about every Netflix documentary about climate change, I just had to take some kind of action! I’ve also taken on some additional positions at Deloitte, such as in the YoungDeloitte Board. Through this platform, I challenge leadership in truly becoming “purpose-led” in everything we do and embed our corporate responsibility in more than our foundation alone. I’m also part of GLOBE [https://careersatdeloitte.com/about-deloitte/inclusion-diversity]’s core team to lead discussions about LGBTIQ+ equality and inclusion, organize the annual Amsterdam Pride activities (and Deloitte boat) and work on policy changes to ensure that everyone feels welcome and empowered to be the best version of themselves.’

INSPIRATION FOR POSITIVE CHANGE ‘I was very lucky to be selected as one of Deloitte’s 47 global delegates to attend the One Young World Summit [https://www.oneyoungworld.com/] this year. This annual “Davos for Millennials” – as they call it – brings together young leaders from around the globe and empowers them to create positive impact. My commitment to purpose at Deloitte allowed me be part of this incredible experience. Imagine this: Four days with 1700+ young leaders from 190+ countries, discussing one thing: How to make the world a better place. Right now. Climate justice activist Vanessa Nakate made this shockingly clear during her session at the One Young World summit in Munich. She shared that even though Africa is responsible for only 3% of climate change, it is the continent which is currently impact the most. Floods and droughts are destroying the food system, leading to violence and starvation across her country Uganda. Her message to banks and countries who finance digging up and burning fossil fuels in Africa made a lasting impression on me: ‘We cannot eat coal and we cannot drink oil. You need to stop now. It is killing us.’'

'Vanessa’s story was not the only story that touched me deeply. Model and trans activist Munroe Bergdof discussed the challenges she encountered as a trans woman of colour, disability rights activist Peter Ogik shared how he, and other Albino people around the world, are being abused, and Atuhurra Angella Marjorie talked about how she was raped before founding her NGO which supports girls’ rights. Hearing all these stories, I realized how important it is to speak up. I believe it was Feike Sijbesma, CEO of Royal DSM who said: 'Don’t wait until it is your turn to be CEO and people want to hear what you have to say. Build the world you want to live in today.' It was my great privilege to join the One Young World summit. And with great privilege comes great responsibility. We do not only have the opportunity to make a change, but we have the obligation and the responsibility. Many of the people on stage had so little resources available and yet, they were they able to make such huge impact. We all need to continue being brave enough to speak up, to challenge the status quo and to stand up for what we believe in and for what is right. This is not the time for compromise and discussion anymore. This really is the decade of action. Let’s make it count.’