Sustainable fish on the menu: Leiden Leadership Programme students collaborate with the Marine Stewardship Council
image: Pok Rie (banner)
How do you get sustainably caught fish onto more plates at events? That was the question a student team from the Leiden Leadership Programme (LLP) set out to answer over the past six months for the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). Nils Kroon, Senior Commercial Officer Netherlands at MSC, looks back on the collaboration with great satisfaction.
MSC
MSC, the ecolabel for healthy oceans, is an international non-profit organisation committed to healthy oceans and a sustainable fishing sector. Its well-known blue MSC label helps consumers and businesses choose fish and seafood from fisheries that have been independently assessed for sustainability.
Nils Kroon works together with companies, societal partners and other stakeholders to increase the availability and visibility of MSC-certified fish. And not only in supermarkets: according to him, there are still plenty of opportunities in foodservice, hospitality, and at events.
The challenge
This led to the question that MSC asked the LLP: how does the younger generation view the MSC label, and what role can the events sector play in offering sustainable fish? The opportunity to involve young, international and socially engaged students in answering such a fundamental question was the main reason for collaborating with the LLP.
Why let the students take a look at events? Because they reach large groups of people and often serve as role models. This makes them particularly relevant when it comes to behavioural change, explains Kroon. ‘For MSC, it is valuable not only to communicate the importance of sustainable fish, but also to listen to how young people view our programme. By involving students, we gained access to an important target group’
‘Very valuable input’
In the Leiden Leadership Programme, master’s students from various academic backgrounds are brought together to tackle a specific issue that a partner organisation faces. This way, they practise not only leadership skills, but also what is involved in professional projects and collaborations.
Kroon: ‘From the start, it was clear that the five students were motivated, curious and professional in their approach. They asked questions, took responsibility for their own process and quickly got up to speed with a subject that can be quite complex.’
The results showed that whilst young people do find sustainability important, the opportunity to buy MSC-certified fish needs to be made more visible and accessible. ‘That is very valuable input for the MSC,’ says Kroon.
More than just an assignment
What stands out for Kroon is how professional the whole process felt. ‘The students demonstrated ownership, weren’t afraid to probe further, and translated their research into insights that are practically useful for MSC. As a result, the collaboration really felt like a professional project partnership, not just a study assignment’. It was also a rewarding process for him personally: ‘I believe that collaboration between social organisations and students can yield significant benefits.’
About the LLP
The Leiden Leadership Programme is an honours programme (15 EC) for master's students. Participants attend lectures and trainings and do a practical assignment for which they tackle an issue from a real-world organisation. This allows the students to discover what leadership means to them.
The programme is organised by the Honours Academy of Leiden University.