Jorn Verbeeck joined KPMG in Belgium in December 2021 as Senior Manager of Sustainability and ESG, bringing a wealth of experience from his years working in urban resilience, circular economy, the building and manufacturing sector, policy and technology innovation, and more. In his short time at KPMG, Jorn has become part of the KPMG Global Decarbonization Hub and, together with Stine Lise Hattestad Bratsberg from KPMG in Norway, leads the Net Zero Urban Program, which they launched at COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, in November 2022.
“Our Net Zero Urban Program (NZUP) builds on existing data, tools and methodologies, expertise, and collaborations (such as with United Cities), and convenes actors from the public and private sector, investors and innovators to help create new ecosystems and net-zero value models,” says Jorn.
Through NZUP, the team developed an investable, replicable and measurable approach to unlocking digital solutions by matching them with capital to help contribute to sustainable cities worldwide. The aim is to reach 10,000 cities, scale up 100 prototype digital solutions and raise US$25 billion by 2030.
“Launching is one thing, but now we have to roll out this program so we can start implementing it in cities and sectors that have a huge climate impact,” Jorn adds. “Implementing solutions will be crucial, so that we can show it's possible to still keep on the 1.5°C track by standardizing, where possible, to help drive scale and efficiency and by customizing, where needed, to achieve effectiveness and impact. This will require leadership, ambition, and an unprecedented level of collaborations and cooperation.”
In the spirit of co-creation, Jorn is excited to hear from those with ideas and passion for building a sustainable future. “Sustainability is such a rich endeavor, that anyone who feels like they can tangibly contribute something — please get in touch!”