Peter Kütemann – Monaco Impact

Peter Kütemann is one of the long-term residents who is globally recognised for his contributions to leaving a positive footprint on our planet.

Born in the Netherlands, the Dutchman Peter Kütemann has led an exceptional life journey of hard work combined with the idea of leaving a future impact behind. His contributions to society were recognised by many, including H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco, who awarded Kütemann with the coveted Ordre de Saint Charles, as well as by international awards such as the Barkindo Lifetime Achievement Award for his long-time contribution in Africa.

Dietsmann Monte-Carlo

Kütemann established Dietsmann in 1977 in the Netherlands, a company that provides independent operations and maintenance services for oil, gas activities, and power plants.

What was the idea behind Dietsmann?

“At the time, in the 1970s, the first gas offshore developments started in the Netherlands. I had a company in the Netherlands and thought, well, maybe there’s something to do there. So, I started Dietsmann in the Netherlands.”

Why did you decide to open a second company in Monaco?

“We were working mainly in the outside territories of the Netherlands, and it was important to have the administration outside of it to not be considered a Dutch resident company. This is why I hired the administrative services of a friend who had a company in Monte Carlo.”

As Dietsmann’s activity grew, Kütemann decided to take over the company and established Dietsmann Monte-Carlo in 1981. 

Over the years, this Monaco branch has developed itself into the international coordination and support centre for all the activities in the world. Dietsmann Monte-Carlo became the heart and soul of the operation, including finance administration, human resources, and assistance with tendering.

What was the biggest advantage that the Principality offered for your business?

“I have to say the political stability. The Principality has a steady regime thanks to the Princely family, and this resembles stability in the legislation as well. 

For many years, I had an office in Belgium as well because the country offered good fiscal reasons for international coordination officers; however, suddenly the law changed, and we had to move operations.

I have lived in Monaco since the 1980s, and since then, the legal and fiscal climate have not changed. Where else do we find that in Europe? As an entrepreneur and company owner, political, fiscal and legal stability are very important. This is of key importance for business owners, allowing them to build and achieve long-lasting goals, and that’s why we kept growing in Monaco.”

Lifetime Award

In the 1970s, oil and gas companies employed full-time technical personnel for operation and maintenance, and they subcontracted only in exceptional cases for highly specialised works.

Kütemann was the first to create an adequate and competent proposition to outsource maintenance without losing control of one’s assets. Thanks to Dietsmann, an increasing number of functions, not considered business-wise critical, were outsourced.

Dietsmann started to operate mainly around the North Sea, however, by the 1980s, the North Sea had became quite crowded and margins were small. That’s when Kütemann was invited to visit the Southern African nation of Angola.

“I was invited by a large American company that started offshore oil production there. This was in the period during the Angolan War, and it was a great adventure.

I remember, that there were no hotels or taxis, so we had to walk 14 kilometres from the airport to the town. 

By the time we walked to the city it was already dark, and we had to find a guest house. This was quite an adventure because there were no streetlights; there was nothing. Eventually we found one, and that’s how we first started in Africa, Angola during the war.”

Kütemann believed that by employing a local workforce, he could create a competitive and more responsive offer to their clients.

“We decided to recruit and train as many local personnel as possible. We always had the policy of maximising local employment, so we were able to create a large, trained workforce that worked with us for many years. This differentiated us from the other competitors who followed the old model, hiring only their own nationalities. Of course we also had European supervisors and engineers, but we believe that by training local people, we create social capital.”

Angola was just the start, and later branches in Nigeria, Gabon, and the Congo further strengthened Dietsmann’s African presence. By merging mechanical, electrical, and instrumentation capabilities, Dietsmann created the world’s first multidisciplinary maintenance service company in this sector. This new concept proved advantageous in securing Dietsmann’s first integrated operation and maintenance contract, awarded by Elf Aquitaine.

“I am proud that we really developed local employment in these countries. Since the 1980s, several of them have made international careers in the company, and many locally hired employees have worked with Dietsmann till their retirement.”

Dietsmann employs over 5,700 people. Kütemann always engaged in social activities in Africa, making sure to allocate extra budget for social impact activities. Through Dietsmann, he supported refugee camps and bought equipment for hospitals, computers for schools, and promoted local sports activities.

“Supporting people in need creates a very positive social capital, and people not only appreciate it but also recognise your efforts and keep you there. And that’s why we have been so strong for many years in Africa, and we are still growing.”

For more than four decades, Dietsmann had a long-standing presence in several energy-producing countries across Africa.

What was your most memorable experience from this period?

“I definitely think about how we first started in Africa because it was really an adventure. At that time, we had to train locals in unimaginable conditions. The only office that we could have was in the cellar of an apartment building that was used as a garrison building for the Cuban soldiers. The sewage from all the apartments ended up in the cellar, and we had to take it all out. It was a hard journey to make a transformation and establish our first office.

Additionally, we had to put wood covers in front of the windows because, during the war, there was constant shooting going on. We stayed there all through and showed the people of Angola that we were not only there during the good times but also during the bad ones. This philosophy became part of our DNA, which helped us establish strong roots with different African communities.”

During the African Energy Week (AEW) Conference in Cape Town, South Africa, Kütemann had the honour of receiving the inaugural Barkindo Lifetime Achievement Award. The AEW is an annual conference where heads of state, energy Ministers, global investors, and industry leaders discuss the future of Africa’s energy industry.

The award for Kütemann is a recognition for his long-time contribution to shaping Africa’s energy market success and driving socioeconomic development in a sustainable and locally impactful way. 

Being humble and generous as he is, Kütemann dedicated this prestigious award to all Dietsmann employees who, in the past and present, contributed to Dietsmann’s sustained presence and success in Africa.

Monaco Impact

Long-term Monaco resident Kütemann also extended his social footprint in the Principality of Monaco when he established the non-profit association, Monaco Impact, in 2014.

How did the idea arise to establish Monaco Impact?

“I always said that many entrepreneurs and successful people who live in Monaco enjoy the same qualities, such as safety, exceptional social life, and economic stability, thanks to the HSH Prince and the House of Grimaldis. On the contrary, I also noticed that many European countries are jealous of Monaco because they think it’s a Rocher with rich people driving Ferraris and partying. Well, that’s the wrong impression.

The majority of the residents are normal people who have worked hard in their lives and are still working, and that’s why they succeeded. And so, I said we need to do something to protect the image of Monaco.”

Monaco Impact promotes Monaco as a world centre of philanthropy and social impact investment. The non-profit association is backed, either financially or in kind, by both private individuals and businesses that share Monaco Impact’s mission and vision to connect committed global citizens, local philanthropists, and investors through collaboration, education, and opportunities in order to support the next generation of “Responsible Entrepreneurs – Social Entrepreneurs”. 

“Let’s face it, Monaco can never be a hard power; we don’t have an army. So the best way to help Monaco become an important, strong, soft power is to use our intellectual value and care to make a social impact.”

Monaco Impact’s mission is to enhance the Principality of Monaco’s image as a place supportive of charitable entrepreneurial initiatives and to contribute towards the positive perception of Monaco throughout the world.

“Having a Sovereign Prince, who defends the oceans was a great starting point, as he is internationally recognised for these efforts, also in front of the United Nations and all sorts of other international organisations. Following His Highness’ noble example, I started to facilitate social impact activities.”

Monaco Ocean Protection Challenge

The production of plastic has grown exponentially, from 2 million metric tonnes per year in 1950 to 460 million metric tonnes in 2019. As a direct result of this, there are an estimated 75 to 199 million tonnes of plastic waste currently in our oceans, with a further 33 billion pounds of plastic entering the marine environment every single year. This constant flow of plastic production is simply too much for the existing waste management and recycling infrastructure. 

Plastic pollution permeates every inch of the ocean, from microplastics in the food chain to plastic water bottles floating on the surface. One of the most famous examples, however, is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. This monolith of ocean pollution is made up of all kinds of marine debris and contains 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic, covering an area twice the size of Texas. 

One of the most recognised initiations of Monaco Impact is the Monaco Ocean Protection Challenge, involving our young generations.

“Our ambition is to grow every year and to make the Monaco Ocean Protection Challenge the most important and prestigious challenge in ocean protection, whereby students and universities can subscribe and compete with each other for the best ideas. 

It should become such a high-level challenge in the world that international students will mention on their resume that they have participated in the Monaco Ocean Protection Challenge. That’s the ambition.”

Observing the students’ presentations for six years now, do you think they have impactful ideas that are worth implementing?

“Absolutely, already at the first edition of the Monaco Ocean Protection Challenge, I got goosebumps from some of the ideas these young people presented. The ideas of these young individuals are creative and filled with motivation and optimism. Their ideas are so infectious that I am absolutely convinced that if we mobilise more of these people to think about it, we will be able to find many small solutions that contribute. There’s no one magic solution for the ocean pollution, but there are hundreds and thousands of small solutions that can help.”

It’s no secret that plastic is terrible for the environment. You have an engineering background; do you think that we, as humanity have the technology already available to combat ocean pollution, especially microplastics, or are we still not there?

“No. This problem is so big that, sadly, there is no magical solution for it. Microplastic that is in the ocean is something that is irreversible, and that’s why it is so important to stop plastic pollution. In my humble view, it’s shared by many others all over the world.”

It is also up to us as consumers to understand the impact that our plastic consumption is having on the environment.

The internet site Giving Compass collected some of the lesser-known facts about plastic that you really need to know:

• Only 9% of all plastic produced is recycled.
• The average person eats 70,000 microplastics each year.
• A whopping 2 million plastic bags are used every minute worldwide.
• The average time that a plastic bag is used is just 12 minutes.
• Single-use plastics are illegal in some parts of the world.
• Every minute of every day a truckload of plastic is dumped into the ocean.
• 73% of beach litter worldwide is plastic.
• One million plastic bottles are bought every minute.
• There could be more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050.
• Up to 95% of plastic polluting oceans is carried by 10 rivers.
• 99% of seabirds will be eating plastic by 2050.

Do the students address the problem of plastic in our Oceans?

“There are many people who are working on solutions for cleaning up the oceans. As well as intuitive ideas on how to recycle these plastics in the most different ways, from using them to make iPhone covers to the fashion industry.”

Interestingly, one of the previous winners of the Monaco Ocean Protection Challenge addressed this topic by envisioning a fashion label using recycled plastic. This trend has already hit the international fashion scene; for instance, every year Adidas produces a million pairs of shoes containing recycled plastic waste.

If plastic pollution is such a problem, why don’t we act on it the same way that for example countries are trying to decrease their CO² emissions?

“The right question is: why is CO² on the agenda? The answer is simple, because there’s a methodology developed to measure CO² emissions. There is no standard for measuring microplastics content in the ocean. If you cannot measure microplastics, you cannot manage them. Therefore, unfortunately, microplastic pollution is not on the agenda of the politicians.

Everybody talks about CO², but that’s not the biggest threat. There have been times in the evolution of the Earth where CO² was a hundred times more than it is now. And human species, animals, and plants survived that period. So of course there’s climate change, and nobody can ignore climate change. I don’t think we can stop climate change because it has also been through the evolution of the Earth. But based on my opinion, the biggest threat is microplastics in oceans and methane emissions. 

Methane emissions are poisonous and can be stopped by technology. My company is working on that. We have several quite sophisticated tools to detect micro leaks and micro emissions, because methane emissions are usually the accumulation of many micro leaks.”

Interestingly, the Principality of Monaco was a pioneer in CO² emissions with the SEA Index. It was a concept first developed by the Yacht Club de Monaco and the Credit Suisse bank in 2020 that helps yacht captains, management companies and owners evaluate, and better understand the CO² emissions produced by vessels over 25 metres.

Do you think Monaco will be able to develop a tool to measure plastic pollution?

“We challenged the students of the French Ecole des Mines in a hackathon that we organised together with the Oceanographic Museum. The objective was to come up with scientific ideas on how to measure microplastic content in the oceans by using sensitive observations of satellites observing ocean flows, based on the theory that the content of microplastic influenced the viscosity of water. 

The viscosity of the water influenced the flows. You can imagine, of course, that these are very small differences, but it was a theory that I wanted to test with this group. Following this, a team of students came up with some ideas, and some have been taken over by the institute in Toulon, which is studying 40 square miles in the Mediterranean. 

The ambition was, and still is, to develop a standard of measuring. There are many initiatives in the world to measure, but they compete with each other. I thought if we can create a new measurement standard with the help of France and Monaco then we can bring it to the United Nations and hopefully put it on the political agenda. And when microplastic content in oceans is measurable, politicians can develop legislations, and more importantly, like with CO² emissions, sanctions on plastic pollution, can be developed. Otherwise, nothing happens. So that’s a big challenge.”

Monaco’s impact

For 45 years, the Principality of Monaco provided home and business opportunities for Kütemann, something that he deeply admires and appreciates.

“Apart from the climate and legal and fiscal protection, the biggest gift I have received from Monaco is the quality of life.

There is no country without mistakes, but I realised that Monaco makes a great effort to correct them. It has given me valuable stability and a positive way of working where I don’t need to look over my shoulders. 

In the Principality, the government is not after your money; there are no dirty tricks, and even if they observe, it is for your security. 

So for businessmen like me who work hard and have made some savings, Monaco offers security to do good things, like philanthropy or giving back to children. Monaco is a favourable place, and residents are protected.”

Over the years, Dietsmann has become the largest independent specialist in operation and maintenance services for continuous-production plants in the oil and gas, power and mining industries.

Started as a technical assistance company, Dietsmann now employs more than 5,700 people and has a greater local presence in countries in Sub-Sahara and North Africa, Europe and the Middle East than any of its competitors.

In November 2018, Kütemann was decorated with the Ordre de Saint Charles for his contribution to the economy of the Principality of Monaco, by HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco at a ceremony in the Palace.

Monaco has given much to Kütemann, such as a welcoming and safe environment for his family as well as legal and financial stability for his company. 

By joining Monaco Impact (www.monaco-impact.org) people can become part of his network, which is made up of experienced entrepreneurs and philanthropists who wish to give some of their time to projects they believe in.