Shift receives €350,000 funding from Innovatiefonds Noord-Holland

Shift is launching a sustainability platform to inspire people to take next steps in having better, healthier and more sustainable lifestyles.


Measures such as solar panels and waste separation are not enough to achieve the Paris Climate Goals. That is why the Shift Platform emphasizes the importance of psychological insights to also influence lifestyle choices around food, consumption, travel and energy use to be more sustainable.


Over the past two years, Shift has developed a programme that encourages people to make sustainable changes, resulting in an average CO₂ reduction of 25% per participant. Now Shift is looking to extend the success of this programme with a sustainability platform that will be offered through Dutch municipalities.


This platform creates a personal psychological profile of users, based on their carbon footprint and answers to a set of customized questions. Users can access sessions with experts for advice on sustainable and plant-based eating, circularity, home energy use, waste reduction, travel and other relevant topics. In addition, the platform offers personalised content and links to sustainable initiatives and events.


With the platform, Shift motivates Dutch people to adapt their lifestyle to be more in line with Paris Climate Goals.


Don Ritzen, CEO of Shift: "The world is full of inspiring people, and it is time to make them more visible. Under the slogan "Step into change", Shift will show not only well-known faces, but also other examples of ordinary Dutch people and how they have taken steps towards sustainable change."


Ludolf Stavenga, Fund Manager of the Innovation Fund North Holland: "We are excited to fund Shift; the Shift team has developed an effective programme to reduce its carbon footprint. Now, it will be tested at scale."


About InnovatiefondsNoord-Holland

The Innovatiefonds Noord-Holland is an initiative of the Province of Noord-Holland, University of Amsterdam, Vrije Universiteit, Hogeschool van Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC and Sanquin.

The Fund supports entrepreneurs in the province of North Holland to finance innovation in the Proof-of-Concept phase by providing convertible loans. The Innovatiefonds Noord-Holland manages two funds: a fund for innovative start-ups, supported by the RVO, and a fund for academic start-ups, supported by ERDF. https://www.innovatiefondsnoordholland.nl/


For more information:


Don Ritzen, CEO of Shift:
don@shift.world, tel: +31 65 469 7517


Wessel van der Woude, Investment Manager at Innovatiefonds Noord-Holland: wessel.van.der.woude@innovatiefondsnoordholland.nl, tel: +31 20 246 0000


Press kit



About Shift

About Shift

Shift is a steward-owned societal enterprise founded to enable large-scale societal and ecological change. Shift is 95% owned by a foundation, and will enable everyone to become a co-owner and an active participant in Shift's mission.

Through art, architecture, digital tools, community programs and immersive experiences, Shift helps people to a new type of personal wellbeing. By fostering community and connection, Shift makes the transition to a greener, more circular future more tangible, shareable and actionable.

About the Shift Embassy

The Shift Embassy - in full: Shift Embassy for a Better World - is conceived as a purpose-driven destination combining immersive art, architecture, community building, storytelling, and real-world examples of sustainable living and business practices. Built around global achievements and success stories in nature, energy, travel, and circularity, the aim is to inspire a mindshift at home and work. Shift’s goal is to move from individual, to collective and ultimately to systemic change.

About the five finalist designs

Ecosistema Urbano (ES) — A Living Landmark. a regenerative ecosystem and evolving social organism that nurtures biodiversity and collective life.

Heatherwick Studio (UK) — ‘Urban Reef’: a building for Rotterdam, shaped by layers of activity that echo a reef‑inspired ecosystem, gathering people, sparking climate awareness and inspiring lighter ways of living.

Mecanoo (NL) — House of Shift Rotterdam: an icon centered on upcycling, carbon storage, energy neutrality, and joyful exploration.

MVRDV (NL) — Rotterdam ROCKS! is a collection of porous, living rocks that imagines Rotterdam’s new landmark through ecology and experience.

Office for Political Innovation (ES) — Planetary Landmark for the Climate Age: a working section through a changing world, where climate is sensed and reshaped collectively.

About Waterkant

Waterkant is a major urban development in Rotterdam planned to include 3,750 new homes, schools, cultural venues, offices and a new train station. Built around a new tidal park, the district is designed as a resilient, nature-positive model aligned with the city’s long-term climate adaptation strategy.

About DVDL

The Shift competition advisor is DVDL, a cultural planning and visitor experience strategy agency that transforms spaces and organizations by pairing innovative program mixes with design and cultural interventions. The firm inspires people to see the world differently through dynamic visitor experiences shaped by culture.

Contact details

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