Karl Beerenfenger

Expert, Visionary

1 hour

NL, EN

Sustainable Business,
Sustainable Business,
Sustainable Lifestyle,
Climate Change

Influence,
Team Building,
Inspire

Karl Beerenfenger is one of the leading Dutch experts in the field of plastic soup and litter. With experience as a diver, entrepreneur and lobbyist, he combines practice and policy. His interactive lectures inspire system change and direct action. Karl recommends and stimulates complex environmental issues for various target groups.

Karl Beerenfenger is among the Netherlands' leading experts on plastic soup, one of the most important environmental challenges of our time. After six years in window cleaning, studying Hospitality & Event Management and running his own event agency, Karl made the switch to sustainability in 2013. His background as a professional diver soon led him to plastic soup. In the ten years that followed, Karl set up his own foundation and developed plastic soup projects for companies and governments as an entrepreneur. He currently works as a lobbyist for an environmental organization.
Karl moved from research, awareness and education to system change in
boardrooms at politicians, governments and companies. He works daily on the transition from disposable to reusable packaging and an international ban on plastic cigarette filters. Through lectures, corporate events and education programs, he shares his knowledge about plastic soup.

Pricing variation: please state your specific requirements in your request to arrive at a suitable proposal. Rates include travel expenses in the Netherlands.

Karl knows like no other the essence of the growing plastic waste problem. He did years of research on microplastics in Dutch and international waters, and guided dozens of companies and governments to map litter on beaches and in cities. He also gave plastic-soup lessons to thousands of children and young people and helped organizations reduce their plastic footprint. Karl knows what is going on in society around the issue of plastic soup.

As a lobbyist, Karl closely follows local, national and international policy developments. Plastic soup is a reality, he has seen with his own eyes. Also in the Netherlands. Cleaning up is not the answer, but the question is: how do we turn off the proverbial tap? How do refuse, reduce, reuse and recycle relate to each other? Karl takes you along different solution directions, from policy at the United Nations to the influence of individual citizens. Besides being a subject matter expert, he is also the founder of the largest plastic soup network in the Netherlands, with 133 member organizations and initiatives.

Why book Karl?
Through his unique blend of experience at sea, on land and in boardrooms, Karl offers a confrontational, yet inspiring and hopeful story. With a healthy dose of humor, relatability and self-reflection, he talks about the plastic pollution engulfing our planet. As a speaker, Karl connects with a variety of perceptions. Energetically and interactively, he engages his audience with his authentic story full of in-depth knowledge, insights and action perspectives. In doing so, Karl takes listeners through the causes, responsibilities and solutions to the plastic soup. After the lecture, the audience can both contribute to system change and reduce their own plastic footprint. Karl likes to take you through his own development. Once he shot cigarette butts in the street, now he lobbies internationally for a cleaner environment.

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