Serge de Gheldere

Serge de Gheldere has a clear goal: to help build an attractive, fossil-free future. He strives to achieve this goal by wearing different hats: as CEO of Futureproofed (the carrot), as president of Klimaatzaak (the stick), as member of the executive committee and the board of Leuven2030 (community), and through speaking, writing and media appearances (advocacy).

At Futureproofed, de Gheldere helps businesses transition to a sustainable business model and capture the climate opportunity by lowering costs and anticipating risks, developing new business, and improving their brand. Their Saas, FutureproofedCities, helps city teams digitally collaborate to turn climate plans into action.

He initiated and leads Klimaatzaak, a non-profits which takes legal action against Belgian governments, highlighting the gaps between the climate commitments and actions of the Belgian governments. It has grown from 11 founders to more than 58,000 Belgian co-plaintiffs, making it the biggest and widest legal case in Belgium.

In 2006, de Gheldere was one of the first two European Climate Ambassadors personally trained by Al Gore in the US. Since then he has given hundreds of lectures around the world, on how a fossil-free, circular and biodiverse economy can help companies innovate, create local jobs, and lead to more prosperity and quality of life for citizens.

At and& Leuven, de Gheldere will be wearing his advocacy hat, but his other hats won’t be far away!