His chair focused specifically on issues of strategic environmental management in corporations. Through the Scientific Institute for Environmental Management foundation, he was involved in the MBA programme in Strategic Environmental Management and the post-graduate programme in Environmental Accountancy. He was a true pioneer in the integration of sustainable business practices in education and research at our faculty.

Building bridges between research and practice

He was one of the founders of KPMG Sustainability, and played a crucial role in the early stages of developing management instruments such as environmental management systems, environmental auditing and sustainability reporting. One of his many achievements was establishing a collaboration between KPMG's international offices and EB researchers. This made it possible to conduct the first global studies on trends in sustainability reporting by the world's largest corporations.

Continued involvement in sustainability education

Even after his retirement, Molenkamp remained actively involved in the integration of sustainability in education. His roles included serving as a member of the advisory board of the Master of Science in Business Administration, and he was always willing to share his impressive network to strengthen our collaboration with the business community.

George Molenkamp Sustainability Thesis Award

Since 2017, the KPMG-sponsored George Molenkamp Sustainability Thesis Award has been presented annually, and bears his name for a good reason.

Inspiring example

Molenkamp embodied many aspects of what we  like to see in our academic community: a passion for gaining deeper insights, open to new ideas, practical relevance, community-oriented, and the ability to connect different fields. He was an incredibly kind and generous person who has inspired several generations, including future business leaders. We will miss him dearly.