“Ditch the BMWs, hide the lifts and break some rules,” meet The Edge's Coen Van Oostrom
When founder and chief executive of Netherlands-based Edge Technologies and OVG Real Estate heard a speech by Al Gore some 20 years ago, he was inspired to implement change. He decided to transform his “Trump-like” real estate business into something Gore would be proud of and embarked on an epic change management mission – starting with taking everyone’s BMWs away. Now his company has become synonymous with some of the smartest, most sustainable buildings in the world, including The Edge and Edge Olympic, both in Amsterdam. Last month it was announced that Edge Technologies was making its London debut with a £50m acquisition of 60 St Thomas Street on the South Bank. On this week’s Tech Talk Radio, Emily Wright travels to Amsterdam to meet with van Oostrom and find out more about his plans for London, sustainable development and how to instil change in a traditional sector. And back in the EG studio Samantha McClary, finds out about in office air quality and the impact it has not just on our quality of work but on the value of our buildings. Chairman of cleantech firm 720 Degrees Tomas Novotny and tech investor Dominic Wilson explain.