‘Everything moves step by step: sustainability, insight, change, growth.’

Marja Bogaards studied pharmacy (graduation in 1993) works as a hospital pharmacist at Haaglanden Medisch Centrum, is a transition manager at GroenErwt-Transfarmacie, a lifestyle pharmacist and our Science Alumnus of the Year.

Why did you choose to study pharmacy?

Ah well, that’s actually a good example of my outlook on the world (laughs). I was rejected three times in the medical school enrolment lottery. So I had to adapt and choose something else to focus on. Beforehand, I was deciding between industrial design and surgery, because I really love working with my hands and doing practical stuff. The precision, the technical side and the tinkering, that’s what appealed to me. But the idea of eventually ending up in a car factory was a bit of a nightmare. So I opted for medicine and then didn’t get a spot. Just for fun, I’d gone along with a classmate to the pharmacy open day, and that sounded interesting too. After the first year, I was eventually allocated a place on the medicine programme in Amsterdam, but by then I’d already been captivated by the subject and had put down roots in Utrecht. In pharmacy, I was mainly focused on practical work and analysis, and I dreaded the rote learning involved in medicine. So I stayed.

For me, university wasn’t just a place to gain new knowledge. A whole new world opened up for me. I was a first-generation student and at university I learnt to nurture and apply my curiosity, to question everything. But also to look beyond boundaries, to share knowledge and to build on it. My degree was a stepping stone in every respect. As a student, I was introduced to new sports and all sorts of creative courses, and I was able to go abroad. I spent some time working in a lab in America, and that was such a formative period in my life. If you go and live in a place other from where you grew up, you’ll find that there’s more than one way to do things. And although everything there is completely different, the people are just like you and have to deal with the same everyday things.

Pharmacy turned out to be a surprisingly good choice for you. What motivates you most in your work at the hospital and in your own business?

The technical side of (hospital) pharmacy suits me. Organising processes and data, analysing things, really getting to the bottom of things. But I’m not really a super-specialist, more of a generalist. I love researching things from an academic perspective, whilst at the same time always focusing on the practical application. Where can I make a difference with this newly acquired knowledge? I dive right into something and then resurface to place what I’ve found within the bigger picture.

The profession isn’t generally very outgoing; pharmacists do their work behind the scenes, carefully and well. Details and procedures are important, safety comes first. That sometimes makes it hard to change things and, for example, to adapt processes and make them more sustainable and socially responsible. Fortunately, I love breaking new ground. And I don’t expect giant leaps (laughs). At the hospital, I work in a predictable environment. That serves a clear purpose there. But it’s not a good model for our overall worldview. We need to move away from that idea, as it ‘traps’ and limits us. We need to be much more adaptable, and assess anew each time what the circumstances require of us.

Ultimately, people are far less different from one another than we tend to think. Really, anyone can be creative and look at things from multiple perspectives. One way of thinking might take a bit more effort than another, but we all have the potential. It’s a matter of trying and practicing. That’s a useful conversation to have: how are we different, and what can we learn from one another? I prefer to work in an intergenerational, interdisciplinary and intercultural way. We can use all our differences to bring about change and move beyond the existing structures, structures that ensure things stay the way they are.

Another strong motivation for me at the moment is protecting independent knowledge and information. Independence from both the government and businesses. Academic freedom is now being curtailed everywhere. Facts simply don’t seem to matter anymore. And people are in doubt about how to react to this development. Is this the right time to take action? When exactly should you change? As long as the need isn’t felt, nothing will happen. But you don’t want to wait too long either. As humanity, we have so much knowledge and expertise at our disposal. We can adapt and much improve the way we do things. We just need to get moving.

We have to learn to be more adaptable, and assess anew each time what the circumstances require of us.

When did sustainability become an important issue for you?

Efficiency has always been a key consideration, how to use medicines in a sensible and economical way. This is important  from a social and societal perspective too. The focus on sustainability sprouted from that way of working. Almost 25 years ago, I became involved in the government’s ‘Vergulde Pillen’ project. As part of that project, research was carried out into traces of medicines in water and the environment, via sewage and waste. I had already been working as a change agent before that, but this assignment really made sustainability a major, important goal.

In 2016, I burned out. During that time, I had many conversations with friends about what I really find important, what I want to dedicate myself to and what gives me energy. Pioneering, driving change, sustainability and social justice kept coming up. That’s when I started reading, ‘Embrace the Chaos’ by Jan Rotmans, among other things. I took a course at The School of Creative Thinking, where I learnt  how to use my creativity to kick-start change processes more effectively. That’s how I got myself back on track and began dedicating myself, full of enthusiasm, to that sustainable and social transition. Now I’m involved in all sorts of change and sustainability groups and committees. I set up my company, GroenErwt, because I wanted a platform, a website, a vehicle to drive things forward. The aim is to inspire, catalyse, take action and make an impact. Setting up a company was the easiest way to create such a platform. Making a lot of profit is not the kind of success I’m striving for. Success isn’t about making money; it’s much more about achieving your substantive goals. To me, the idea that success is primarily measured in monetary terms is an example of ‘old-fashioned thinking’. In that ideology, in which everything has to ‘succeed’, ‘success’ is tied to very clear value judgements. I don’t think it has to be that way. If you have a good idea, don’t hold back. Just give it a go and seize opportunities. As a society, we need to start attaching entirely different values to what it means to be successful. Money is a means to an end. Making an impact, adding something to the world, that is something to aim for.

How did you come up with the name GroenErwt (GreenPea)?

I’d already been thinking of a pea as a logo, because it’s a superfood that’s been nourishing people for centuries. Peas grow and evolve quickly and adapt readily. Of course, the first thing that springs to mind is Mendel, who conducted research into heredity by crossing peas. His findings later became part of evolutionary biology. I even thought the fairy tale of the Princess and the Pea was quite fitting. To bring about change, you occasionally have to be a bit of a nuisance, to make sure people sleep just that little bit less peacefully.

And then I came across the story of the ‘Upper Pea Knockers’, who, during the previous Industrial Revolution in England, were tasked with waking factory workers up in the morning when their shift began. These ‘pea shooters’ used a blowpipe to shoot peas at the window, until everyone had got up. What a lovely metaphor!

I’m keen to shake everyone awake and was completely inspired by this image. It shows the power of stories: how you can use them to instantly communicate a complex idea, whilst ensuring the listener is moved and wants to jump straight out of bed to get started. We can harness that power now. We need to abandon the way we’ve done things up to now and replace it with something different. That’s scary, because we don’t yet know exactly what this new way will look like. New stories can help us look beyond ‘that’s just how it is’ and ‘I already know this’. We know the old story, and it doesn’t end well. What will the discourse on sustainability and future-proofing look like?