And he’s convinced that playing an active role in the community is fundamental to making this happen. “If you want to be sustainable, you need to be part of the community you operate in – not tolerated, but welcomed,” says Jeff. “Having proud employees needs to extend to being proud outside of the time you’re at work. We aspire to having employees that are proud in their community and proud to put on an AkzoNobel shirt. That’s got to be a good thing for us all. We’re the fortunate ones – we have jobs, health, resources, access to skills to be able to support others – if we can’t help, then who will? Hope, of course, is an apt name for a building designed to help shape the future of young people. And at the formal naming ceremony, which was held at the site of the new building, Jeff etched a message into the concrete. What did he want to pass on to the students of the future? “The message was about saying if you want something enough, there is a way to achieve it. That’s why hope is important. A lot of people might feel like things aren’t possible, but they are. Anything is. The people that think it isn’t possible are the ones that need the most help and warmth. You’re born into a world you haven’t chosen so you have make the most of it – no one should be left behind.”