Sustainability with positive energy and enthusiasm with Babs Mammen-van der Zon
Building tribes and making leaders strong is indispensable in the sustainable transition.
In 2018, Babs Mammen - van der Zon founded Sustainable Boost (SUB), a consultancy that supports organisations and companies in making their operations more sustainable, together with Jeroen Zonneveld. How did they come to this decision and what are their major sources of inspiration?
By: Lotte Blesgraaf
Babs Mammen - van der Zon Co-Founder of SUB
"Am I being sustainable?" This question kept Babs busy during a short sabbatical in 2018. After 10 years of working as an interim manager in various organisations, she found out that money was not what drove her heart. The question of how she could start doing more for her children and the future generation arose. After all, we only live once and can really only use that earth once.
Phase of reflection
A relaxed time dawned of lots of walks in nature, listening to podcasts, exercising, healthy eating and lots of catching up with networking contacts. And promptly something beautiful arose from that. Through a mutual befriending relationship, Jeroen and Babs were paired up, because, according to him, they shared the same question: what and how can we be even more meaningful to organisations and people? After drinking a lot of ginger tea together, they decided to challenge each other and SUB was born, the company with which they prepare organisations for the sustainable transition.
Staying motivated by sources of inspiration
The issues Babs struggled with were not limited to her working life. She also asked herself questions such as: "How can we become more sustainable at home and how do I involve my children in this?" So when a post came along on LinkedIn from Babbette Porcelijn featuring the learning course Hidden Impact, Babs immediately signed up. Babette's energy, combined with the tool she developed to measure your own impact, immediately inspired her to start working hard on sustainability at home as well.
The inspiration for leaders and organisation on how to survive and thrive in the challenging years ahead came from the film Beyond Zero; "a real eye-opener that really should be part of a curriculum and mandatory reading for entrepreneurs and leaders". The film offers an inspiring roadmap for how companies can reverse climate change. This is exactly what we want to convey with SUB now!
Sustainable Boost in the future
Babs has completely found her niche both in her private life and with SUB. When asked how she sees the future, she would like to see that she has made her children aware that if you want to contribute to something, it is possible as long as you make an effort and join forces. That she and her company set an example for everyone.
She also has her vision for SUB clear in her mind: "With SUB, we have made the knowledge accessible to everyone who wants to make their organisation more sustainable. And that the energy radiates from both us and our customers."
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