Blooming People: Moniek Schattevoet-Adema
After a long career in the financial world, it was time for Moniek Schattevoet-Adema to do something different. Both in her work and in her personal life, sustainability was becoming increasingly important. She was looking for a company that had this awareness at its very core. And found Blooming Buildings. On 1 May 2026, she joined as General Manager.
“You know the kind: photos showing green transformations. The promenades along the Seine in Paris, for example, or the Catharijnesingel in Utrecht. First they are completely paved over, and then, with the addition of plants, they literally come to life. At Blooming Buildings, that is exactly what we do: adding nature to hard, sometimes uninspiring environments, to create a major positive impact — on biodiversity and climate resilience. And on the living and working environment.
What really appealed to me about Blooming Buildings is the unique combination of green and business. On one hand the sustainable, impact-driven goals, on the other a way of working focused on delivering tangible results for clients. I come from the business world, so I can put my experience and instincts to good use. On top of that, Blooming Buildings is truly about distinctive, meaningful greening — and that is something I am proud to contribute to.”
I am a generalist — that much I have come to realise over the years. When I start something, I throw myself into it completely. At the same time, I always want to keep learning and discovering. There is no real logical thread running through my career, except that I have consistently taken steps that allowed me to develop something new.
After studying business economics in Tilburg, I went to work at Fortis, which became ABN AMRO in 2010. I joined as a management trainee and went on to hold many different roles and take on a wide variety of responsibilities.
I worked mainly behind the scenes at the bank: communications, business management, HR, cash management, COO and facility management. Alongside managing all facility-related operations at the head office and data centres, I dealt extensively with a wide range of stakeholders. And that turned out to be one of my strengths. In a large corporate organisation, you encounter a lot of internal politics. I understand how the lines of power run and know how to use that to get things done. I am also good at switching between levels: I talk just as easily with the board of directors as with the people delivering the post. The content differs — the respectful way in which I approach someone does not.
At ABN AMRO, I gradually moved more towards sustainability. During the redevelopment of the new head office, for example, I became responsible for the workplace concept, which I had developed as fully circular. After that, I moved to the bank’s sustainability department, where I got to know a broad range of sustainable initiatives — both those taking place within the bank and those being financed by it.
Many organisations do something with sustainability these days, but not all of them from their core. When it becomes inconvenient, priorities shift. Meanwhile, the urgency keeps growing. A few months ago, I deliberately set out to find an organisation that has sustainability at the very heart of what it does. I also wanted, after nearly 20 years, to experience a different type of company from the inside.
For years I looked at things through the lens of the hiring party — now I am on the other side. I know how the commercial world thinks, how to respond to needs, and how to articulate the benefits clearly. What does someone within such a company want to be able to demonstrate? Not just that they are doing well on sustainability, but that it also delivers financial results.
What I love about Blooming Buildings is that we truly go for quality. With a huge variety of plant types, creating significant impact on biodiversity and the overall experience. The result is spectacular. I have now visited the Maaskantpark at the Groothandelsgebouw twice and experienced first-hand what it does to you to see it in real life. Other people visiting for the first time were equally struck by it: conversations started flowing immediately. Ideally, you want to achieve this level of quality everywhere, so that as many people as possible — and nature itself — can benefit from it.
As Blooming Buildings, we cannot make the difference on our own, but we can be a catalyst for urban greening. Our projects inspire and create awareness. Take, for example, the measured increase in bird species and insects at the Roeterseilandcampus of the University of Amsterdam: that makes it tangible that it works immediately. And that triggers other people: hey, we need to do more of this.
It is so much nicer to work and live in a green environment. I grew up in a village in Limburg, where nature was simply part of life. My father passed his love of nature on to me very strongly. As a child, I would often go to the forest with him to walk. We would pause at every mushroom or unusual plant.
Nature, for me, is a place to relax, connect and find inspiration. I am naturally introverted — being in nature genuinely recharges me. After a busy day with a lot of people, I need to switch off, otherwise I become irritable. A city is full of impulses and busyness, but even there you sometimes come across a green spot that makes you think: oh, wow! Those are the highlights of the city for me. Life would be so much better for so many people if every neighbourhood had a high-quality green space to go to. And that is exactly what we are going to make happen.”