Kristof is an industrial engineer in chemistry with a Masters and PhD in polymer technology. He has extensive industry experience in innovation and business development in the polyolefin producing industry and has worked and lived in Belgium, the United Kingdom and Mexico.

He also worked at a federation of environmental NGO’s as policy advisor for sustainable materials management and as sustainability manager at Tessenderlo Group (chemical sector) and Elia (energy sector).

Kristof Debrabandere is currently senior sustainability coach at Sustenuto, a strategic sustainability advisory firm, where he is also coordinator of the C2C Platform, a Cradle to Cradle assessment body. The C2C Platform guides companies towards C2C certification, across all sectors and regions.

Nienke is a truly passionate and experienced sustainability expert in the garment and textiles industry. As Global Lead for Apparel, Textiles and Footwear at the Cradle to Cradle Product Innovation Institute she drives the systems change required to accelerate the circular transition in the sector together with companies, stakeholders and partners.

Before joining the Institute, Nienke worked for more than a decade at Modint, the Dutch trade association for garment, (interior) textiles and carpets, where she was responsible for the international corporate responsibility strategy and for the consultancy to member companies on responsible business policies and practices. Prior Nienke served as one of the first corporate responsibility managers at a Dutch fashion company where she established the sustainability and supplier engagement activities. Following her graduation from the Amsterdam Fashion Institute, Nienke started as co-owner of FTF Productions, a sustainable and innovative fashion brand and production company. 

Nienke served in the Steering group for the Agreement on Sustainable Garment and Textile, the Responsible Denim Alliance, the Fair Wear Committee of Experts and is the initiator and co-writer of the Sustainable Material Guide by Modint for Apparel Companies. 

Gil Stevens is the External Relations and Sustainability Director for EDANA, the international Association representing the nonwoven and related industries, a position he has held since March 2018.

With a Master’s Degree in Product Development and in Environmental Science, Gil started his career as product engineer in the building industry. Pursuing his passion for sustainability, Gil joined the Cradle to Cradle Platform in 2012, where he has been guiding companies in different sectors, such as textiles, cleaning agents, building, office equipment towards the integration of C2C and preparing them for a circular economy. As sustainability coach at Sustenuto, Gil supported organisations in developing and implementing a sustainability strategy. At the beverage group Spadel, Gil’s responsibilities included the coordination of local CSR representatives at the various European sites and external CSR communication. During his career, Gil also concluded an Executive MBA programme at the Antwerp Management School.

Gil currently has responsibility for managing sustainability and maintaining external relations for EDANA.