Sustainable IT Action NL: Practical Steps for Energy-Aware IT/Cost-aware cloud

📣 Welcome to our first meetup in 2026 that also marks a new chapter for the Green Software Foundation and Sustainable IT Netherlands communities, merged into one: Sustainable IT Action NL!

We look forward to connecting again and continuing the shared communities passion around green IT, exchanging ideas and creating a space for learning, discussion and action.

🌿 We’re excited to gather peers who care about green, efficient, and responsible cloud practices on February 10th, kindly hosted by Yoink in Utrecht.

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⏳ Time schedule
17:30 – 18:00 Welcome
18:00 – 18:30 Vegetarian bites & networking
18:30 – 18:45 Kick-off & community introductions
18:45 – 19:15 From Overwhelm to Action: Practical Steps for Energy-Aware IT – Jan-Hendrik Kuperus@Yoink
19:15 – 19:45 Building a cost-aware cloud culture without starting from tooling – Femke Kunst @ a.s.r. Verzekeringen
19:45 – 20:00 Pitches
20:00 – 20:45 Drinks & networking

📍 📍 Location:
Tractieweg 41, Atelier N, Utrecht.
This meetup is kindly hosted by Yoink
❗ Capacity is limited to 50 participants, so please register early.

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✏️ Title: From Overwhelm to Action: Practical Steps for Energy-Aware IT
💡 Speaker: Jan-Hendrik Kuperus
🍃 Abstract:
Sustainability can often feel overwhelming and lead to inaction. In this talk, you'll learn two key things: how to assess your energy footprint and what practical steps IT personnel can take. Explore topics such as energy-saving automation, playing responsibly with AI, and integrating Green Software Development into your next PI planning session.

📖 About the speaker:
Jan-Hendrik is an all-round Developer, Software Architect, and Trainer with a passion for sustainability. Through his company, Yoink, he demonstrates how sustainability can be integrated into businesses while inspiring others to do the same.

✏️ Title: Building a cost-aware cloud culture without starting from tooling
💡 Speaker: Femke Kunst
🍃 Abstract:
In this session, Femke explores how to build cost awareness in cloud environments before the right tooling is in place.

She will discuss how to involve different personas across the organization — and the typical obstacles that come with this approach. The talk covers the value of setting up a FinOps champions network, how to approach it pragmatically, and why internal FinOps training courses and workshops matter.

The focus is on culture, behavior, and shared ownership: fostering cost awareness as a mindset, even when tooling maturity is still evolving.

📖 About the speaker:
Femke Kunst is a FinOps professional at a.s.r. Verzekeringen, working at the intersection of cloud, cost management, and organizational change. She focuses on helping teams develop sustainable, cost-aware practices that scale beyond tools and dashboards.

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🎤 Pitches
Our goal is connect people around Sustainable IT. In order to build more connections, we would like to offer the stage to everyone who wants to share something. We will timebox each pitch on 2 minutes exactly!

Please note that this session is intended as a community gathering, so commercial pitches are to be avoided :)

🔎 Looking forward to seeing you there!

👥 Organizing team
Claire Baars (Yoink, host)
Wilco Burggraaf, Chris Stapper, Corina Milosoiu, Sabrina Hsieh (Sustainable IT Action NL)