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Default Is On. That's the Problem. Wiebren van der Zee, ABN AMRO
Most organisations treat IT sustainability as a reporting exercise. Wiebren van der Zee treats it as a design principle — and has the results to prove it. In the first nine months of 2025, ABN AMRO reduced its IT-generated carbon emissions by nearly 21 % compared to the previous year. In this episode, Wiebren explains what it actually takes to make that happen — and why most organisations are still leaving enormous potential untouched.
Wiebren has spent nearly 30 years at ABN AMRO, evolving from IT operations to pioneering sustainable architecture. He is the architect of the S3 model, a framework that integrates Sustainability, Security and Sovereignty as inseparable design principles for IT strategy. He leads ABN AMRO's Sustainable IT dashboard, toolbox and research programmes, and is an active member of SustainableIT.org and the Dutch National Coalition for Sustainable Digitalisation (NCDD).
What we cover in this episode
- The pivotal moment in London in 2018 that changed how Wiebren thinks about IT architecture
- Why it took two to three years of pushing before Sustainable IT became one of ABN AMRO's seven IT strategy pillars
- The S3 model explained: Sustainability, Security and Sovereignty as interconnected design drivers — and the trade-offs between them
- Why GreenOps is not the same as FinOps — and why that distinction matters
- How ABN AMRO built a carbon and energy dashboard across thousands of applications
- Market-based vs. location-based carbon accounting: two realities, one honest picture
- The Cloud Act, GDPR and digital sovereignty: why legislation from other countries is already inside your IT stack
- What 80 % of your IT footprint has in common with the production phase of a device
- Why "Default = Off" is the single most impactful place to start
Connect
Wiebren van der Zee — https://www.linkedin.com/in/wiebrenvanderzee
Rainer Karcher — https://www.linkedin.com/in/rainerkarcher
Anthea Wagner — https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthea-wagner
About Heartprint
Heartprint GmbH is a Twin Transformation consultancy based near Munich. We help organisations build resilient business models at the intersection of digital transformation and sustainability — pragmatic, measurable and future-proof. We believe that reducing your footprint and growing your business are not opposing forces. They are the same agenda.
Learn more: https://www.heartprint.eu
View all episodes
By Heartprint GmbHMost organisations treat IT sustainability as a reporting exercise. Wiebren van der Zee treats it as a design principle — and has the results to prove it. In the first nine months of 2025, ABN AMRO reduced its IT-generated carbon emissions by nearly 21 % compared to the previous year. In this episode, Wiebren explains what it actually takes to make that happen — and why most organisations are still leaving enormous potential untouched.
Wiebren has spent nearly 30 years at ABN AMRO, evolving from IT operations to pioneering sustainable architecture. He is the architect of the S3 model, a framework that integrates Sustainability, Security and Sovereignty as inseparable design principles for IT strategy. He leads ABN AMRO's Sustainable IT dashboard, toolbox and research programmes, and is an active member of SustainableIT.org and the Dutch National Coalition for Sustainable Digitalisation (NCDD).
What we cover in this episode
- The pivotal moment in London in 2018 that changed how Wiebren thinks about IT architecture
- Why it took two to three years of pushing before Sustainable IT became one of ABN AMRO's seven IT strategy pillars
- The S3 model explained: Sustainability, Security and Sovereignty as interconnected design drivers — and the trade-offs between them
- Why GreenOps is not the same as FinOps — and why that distinction matters
- How ABN AMRO built a carbon and energy dashboard across thousands of applications
- Market-based vs. location-based carbon accounting: two realities, one honest picture
- The Cloud Act, GDPR and digital sovereignty: why legislation from other countries is already inside your IT stack
- What 80 % of your IT footprint has in common with the production phase of a device
- Why "Default = Off" is the single most impactful place to start
Connect
Wiebren van der Zee — https://www.linkedin.com/in/wiebrenvanderzee
Rainer Karcher — https://www.linkedin.com/in/rainerkarcher
Anthea Wagner — https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthea-wagner
About Heartprint
Heartprint GmbH is a Twin Transformation consultancy based near Munich. We help organisations build resilient business models at the intersection of digital transformation and sustainability — pragmatic, measurable and future-proof. We believe that reducing your footprint and growing your business are not opposing forces. They are the same agenda.
Learn more: https://www.heartprint.eu