Launch of The SHIFT: A sustainability-focused consultancy

The SHIFT is a new sustainability-focused sport consultancy which aims to redefine business as usual in a post-pandemic world.

Four award-winning experts and positive disruptors in sustainability, innovation and sport join forces to launch The SHIFT – a new international and sustainability-focused consultancy based in Lausanne, Switzerland, doing business as ‘’unusual’’ to accelerate the transformation of our economies towards more circular and regenerative ways of producing, sourcing, consuming and valuing goods and services.

To answer the new paradigm shift needed today to concretely embed environmental and social dimensions to the economical framework of any kind of organisations, Anne-Cécile Turner, Neil Beecroft, Philippe Furrer, and Geert Hendriks have combined their extensive knowledge and experience in Sustainability, Innovation, Event, and Business Management to design The SHIFT. Offering action and impact-orientated sustainability consultancy services to local and global actors from the private sector, the sport industry, NGOs, academia and educational institutions, the team’s ambition is to shift mindsets, help organisations drive positive and sustainable change, and accelerate the collective journey towards the UN’s Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development.

“Protecting and regenerating our environment, enabling the well-being of our communities, promoting inclusion and diversity, and making economic sense to create renewed value and power lasting prosperity: this is our mission” said Philippe Furrer, co-founder.

Anne-Cécile Turner added. “All the indicators show that we need to adopt a new approach to help our organisations to not only put the house in order but to go a step further and become restorative and regenerative. Time is now. The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted ‘business as usual’ for most and forced some drastic changes in habits and behaviours. But this crisis has also awakened a new consciousness around the way we live and how we do business. It’s now the right momentum to shift gears and embrace business as UNusual.”

Neil Beecroft pursues by stating ‘time has come to blend sustainability with innovation and make it a key driver of paradigm change. We simply do not have time anymore for incremental action. Let’s bring in play a start-up way of working. Continuous innovation and our entrepreneurship spirit will help organisations find new breakthroughs, unleashing business as a force for good.”

“We have experience in the corporate and academic industry as well as with the world’s largest sports events. Combining this with an agile, bold and disruptive mindset allows us to provide a holistic approach and expertise to sustainability” concludes Geert Hendriks. “In collaboration with a pool of purpose-driven experts, we can cover all current and prospective maps of how our society, planet and economy will look like.”

Dedicated and passionate, these four creative and strategic minds all come from the world of sports where they have successfully created, implemented and contributed to major sustainability programmes for leading global and local organisations and events like the International Olympic Committee (11 Olympic Games), UEFA, Omega Masters, the AISTS or The Ocean Race. Convinced that sport can convey a universal and positive message to engage all layers of stakeholders to adopt positive transformation, the team is now proposing its skills to the industry to accelerate sustainability integration.

About the core team:

Neil Beecroft was responsible for sustainable development at UEFA EURO 2016 football tournament in France. In 2020, he was Head of Sustainability for the Lausanne Winter Youth Olympic Games. As B Corp Leader, Neil encourages the way in which business innovation and sustainability can positively influence the organisational model of sports and the industry. He is also Head of the Omega European Masters and is the CoFounder of the StartUp PuraWorka and the NGO Sport and Sustainability International (SandSI). Recently, Neil achieved a certificate in disruptive innovation at IMD Business School and is ready to blend this field with sustainability.

Philippe Furrer has spent the largest part of his career with the IOC, in various senior roles. In recent years, he spearheaded the IOC Young Leaders programme and contributed to the development of the innovative Global Active City model. He founded his own advisory firm insPoweredBy in 2019. Philippe holds several academic degrees in geoscience, sports science, business leadership and sustainable finance. He leads several social business initiatives and believes in cross-disciplinary approaches as the only way to solve today’s complex social and environmental challenges. Forest bathing and running is Philippe’s best option to stimulate his creativity and recharge his batteries.

Geert Hendriks has worked for two decades in both the private and public sector before transitioning into the sport industry. Since 2012 he managed projects on sustainability, legacy and education with six Olympic Games as well as 50+ different international sports organisations across all continents. Geert is a Founding Director of the international NGO Sport and Sustainability International (SandSI) and has co-created since 2014 multiple associations using sport to empower refugees and youth. Geert has won the Peace & Sport Award 2016 as well as the UIM Environment Award for his work on the Sustainable Sport & Events Centre. Geert has published a variety of books and is currently studying Social Business Strategies at the Harvard Business School. Being Dutch of origin, he commutes to the office on his bicycle and is a passionate player of any sport that involves a ball, in particular korfball.

Anne-Cécile Turner is an award-winning sustainability expert. She is currently Founder and CEO of Blueshift, agency created in 2009, specialised in sustainability consultancy. Anne-Cécile was also the Director of Race for Water Foundation to identify, implement and promote solutions for a new social circular economy around plastic waste. She is The Ocean Race (previously called Volvo Ocean Race)’s Sustainability Director, creating a platform for change, engaging world leaders, Academia, Institutions, private sector and philanthropists to accelerate ocean health restoration. Experienced in driving positive change through international platforms, her work is supported by her impressive qualifications and training from Harvard’s Executive Leadership Program, The Tavistock Institute and WWF. Meaningful Business ambassador, passionate sailor, amateur triathlete she also loves lighthouses and Modigliani!