Inside the evolving world of business and sustainability, Marlot Kiveron is proving that lasting impact isn’t born from bold statements, but from asking the right questions, and turning them into action.

From Lecture Notes to a Movement

What started as a simple guide for students has grown into something far more ambitious. De impactmissie, Marlot Kiveron’s debut book, was never meant to exist. But after years of leading sustainability at companies like Ace & Tate, Otrium, and now Karl Lagerfeld, she kept hearing the same story: people wanted to make a difference, but didn’t know where to start.

“I never set out to write a book,” she explains. “I just wanted to help students. But then professionals started telling me the same thing, ‘we care, but we’re stuck.’”

So she wrote it down. Seven steps, honed through lived experience, turned into a practical blueprint for creating structural positive impact within organisations. A book born not from theory, but from the trenches.

The Moment That Changed Everything

For Marlot, the shift from ‘business as usual’ to purposeful work wasn’t sparked by a grand epiphany, but a simple factory visit.

While working in product and sourcing at Ace & Tate, she discovered that 80% of the acetate used in their frames was going to waste. “That moment revealed the growing gap between my values and my work,” she says. “Once you see that clearly, you can’t unsee it.”

That realisation pushed her into action. Reading, taking courses, building connections. Eventually, she became the brand’s first sustainability manager, driving changes across packaging, product recovery, and material innovation. But more importantly, she learned how to move within resistant systems, and change them from the inside.

Structure for Complexity

At the heart of De impactmissie is the idea that impact work is messy. It’s ambiguous. Emotional. So, what helps? Structure.

Her seven-step method, moving from organisational diagnosis to full transformation, gives professionals something to return to when things get overwhelming. “It’s not a linear checklist,” she clarifies. “It’s a cycle you revisit. A framework that supports you when you’re knee-deep in resistance or uncertainty.”

And while every step matters, one stands out as often underestimated: stakeholder mobilisation. “It’s the magic step,” Marlot says. “If you don’t build the coalition, the rest won’t stick.”

Changing Culture, Not Just Processes

Too often, sustainability work gets siloed, tacked on as a ‘green project’ or PR story. Marlot’s method avoids this by tackling both structure and culture together.

“Sustainability needs formal systems, goals, KPIs, rewards. But it also needs a culture that supports innovation and learning. Without both, it won’t last.”

Her approach ensures that impact becomes embedded, not just in policy, but in behaviour. When people feel safe to experiment, when mistakes are seen as part of progress, you build an organisation that’s resilient, not just compliant.

From Ambition to Action

One of Marlot’s guiding quotes comes from Desmond Tutu: “There is only one way to eat an elephant, one bite at a time.”

It’s become a core principle in her work. Once a co-created vision is in place, she helps teams break it down into practical, step-by-step goals. The vision motivates, but the action sustains. “Without shared ownership, even the best roadmap won’t work,” she says. “Change has to be built together.”

Ask Better Questions

For Marlot, impact starts not with the right answers, but with better questions. The one she always returns to is deceptively simple: “What problem are we actually solving, and for whom?

It’s a compass that cuts through jargon and re-centres purpose. Because without clarity on the ‘why,’ organisations risk chasing superficial wins. “Values and purpose need to be formalised,” she insists. “So they don’t disappear with a leadership change.”

Meet People Where They Are

Having worked across companies at vastly different stages of sustainability maturity, Marlot’s approach is always contextual. “Don’t come in with big words,” she says. “Start small, strategic, and grounded in reality.”

She focuses on identifying where sustainability aligns naturally with existing priorities. Then she builds from there, slowly, credibly, sustainably. “Progress, not perfection. That’s the mindset.”

A Book That Sparks Conversations

Since its release, De impactmissie has struck a chord. Readers keep coming back to its practical advice on internal stakeholder management and goal alignment.

“I want people to walk around with sticky notes all over the pages,” she smiles. “The goal is to energise, to help someone get started or to give them a second wind.”

And while the book is highly actionable, its tone is also hopeful. Not in a naive way, but in what climate psychologists call active hope. Hope that emerges from action, not from waiting.

“Change doesn’t come from abandoning systems,” she says. “It comes from staying inside them and doing the work, together.”

Beyond the Page

Marlot’s work now spans far beyond the page. As a speaker, educator, and co-founder of the AMS Sustainability Network, she’s constantly in dialogue, learning from practitioners and bringing those insights back into her work.

“It’s that exchange that excites me most,” she says. “Sharing ideas, sparking momentum, and turning conversation into real change.”

Creating Ripples That Reach Further

What ripple effect does she hope to create? A movement of intrapreneurs, professionals who embed impact into the core of their careers.

“It’s not about having all the answers. It’s about asking the right questions, starting conversations, and taking the first steps, together.”

The book may be the starting point, but the mission is much bigger: to transform the way we work, the way we lead, and the systems we shape from within.