In 2018, the idea for Green Side, an initiative by Léon Polman, was born at the kitchen table in Houten. It all started with a simple but inspiring moment: after completing his studies in organizational and change management, Léon decided to clean out his closet and desk. As he saw piles of single-sided printed paper lying on the table—results of years of work, scientific articles, essays and reports—he realized that it would be a shame to simply throw away this valuable material. After all, the backs of most of the papers were blank, ready to be reused.
This realization formed the core of his idea: to give these single-sided printed papers a second life by transforming them into notebooks. His first step was a visit to the local print shop, where he put the stack of paper on the counter and asked to put together a few notebooks. Although the print shop employees recommended a cheaper notebook at the Action, Léon stuck to his plan. This is how the very first Green Side notebooks were born, and as Léon himself says: "If you're not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you've launched too late."
With these first notebooks he started experimenting: he took them everywhere, curious about people's reactions to a notebook with recycled paper that was printed on one side and blank on the other. The interest turned out to be great; people were enthusiastic about the idea of a sustainable notebook that was not only environmentally friendly, but also unique because of the use of waste paper.
From Idea to Business
After these positive initial reactions, the next step was to find sources for waste paper and think about the production. Initially, he sent a message to a number of companies in the area asking if they wanted to donate their waste paper for this initiative. Unfortunately, he received little response, often due to GDPR guidelines or concerns about confidential information. Still, Léon did not give up. His search led him to local primary schools, where a lot of innocent waste paper, such as coloring pages and writing assignments, was thrown away daily.
This turned out to be a golden find. After his first successful visit to a primary school, more schools in the area soon followed suit and made paper available. Initially, Léon collected everything himself, by bike, but as interest grew, he started thinking about scaling up and professionalizing.
Sustainable and Social Entrepreneurship
Sustainability and social impact were core values for Léon and Green Side from the start. He not only wanted to make products from recycled materials, but also ensure that production was carried out in a responsible and social manner. With this vision, he sought contact with social workshops, such as Reinaerde, an institution that offers work-related day care to people with a distance to the labour market. Together with these workshops, the notebooks were further developed and produced, with each notebook provided with the name of the person who worked on it. This gives each product a personal and human touch, something that Léon is - rightly - very proud of.
Green Side distinguishes itself as a social enterprise: each product contributes to the full potential of both material and people. For Léon, who came into contact with social entrepreneurship at Enactus during his studies, working with social workshops is a way to put his ideals into practice.
Local Ecosystem
Another important aspect of Green Side's mission is to create a local ecosystem. In every city where Green Side is active, waste paper is collected locally and processed in a social workshop. This hyperlocal model limits transport costs and reduces the ecological footprint. This model was successful and led to the expansion to other cities. Léon managed to find enthusiastic colleagues, such as Anne-Pim in Utrecht and Jori in Wageningen, who joined the core team of Green Side. Together they work on a network of local production locations, each serving their own local sales market.
Mission and Vision for the Future
Green Side aims to introduce locally produced, sustainable notebooks in every city in the Netherlands. Léon hopes that people all over the country will soon be able to choose a Green Side notebook as an environmentally friendly alternative. His example is Tony's Chocolonely, a company that makes an impact by implementing a clear mission down to the smallest detail. Just as Tony's reflects its message in everything, Léon wants to permeate Green Side's mission in every step of the process. Although there are opportunities to produce on a larger scale, Léon remains convinced that the local aspect is the strength of Green Side. For him, scaling up does not mean purchasing machines, but rather strengthening the collaboration with social workshops and further developing a hyperlocal ecosystem.
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