Marja Kooistra- CEO and Co-Founder

“Meeting the challenges of this century requires updating our economic logic and operating system. From an obsolete “ego-system” focused entirely on the well-being of oneself to an eco-system awareness that emphasizes the well-being of the whole.” -Otto Scharmer, MIT Presencing Institute

My personal mission: ‘to accompany leaders, teams and organizations on their journey of Transformation’.

I love people ánd business! My passion and strengths lie in accompanying and guiding processes of inner(personal) and outer (business, project) growth and transformation by challenging and stretching people, projects and companies. During the COVID lockdowns my mind and heart opened to the climate change and its effects. Together with my husband we changed our lives and started working for a greater good: the Earth and its inhabitants. 

I have more than 30 years’ experience in the financial services business, fund- and asset management, retail and the semi-public service. 

As a leader myself, a project-, business manager and as a business and executive coach I therefore understand the systems you are operating in and connect optimally with you and your stakeholders.

I appreciate an open environment, where there is room for deeper connections, deep listening, discussions, new ideas, room for something different and looking at the future by being aware of the present!

Hans Bergsma – CFO and Co-Founder

“I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied”- John Masefield, Sea Fever

The investment fund & asset management industry was my passion… I became a specialist in specific fields of this industry, with more than 30 years of experience. Now I embraced this new passion, the ocean and the preservation of the blue carbon ecosystems are in need of my experience!

During my career I gained profound knowledge of the internal-, administrative- and financial organization of fund- and asset managers, operations, control and creation of monitoring & control frameworks for assigned external service providers. On top of that I gained profound product & fund structuring experience being the initiator of the launch of the (public & private markets) institutional investment funds. Since then, I was heavily involved in the set up and maintenance of a hedge funds platform, Operations and the AIFMD compliancy.

The passion of structuring and collaborating with a variety of (external) service providers to create a well-oiled product/framework/platform that delivers in a mutually respecting international environment is what drives me. Achieving structured goals within set deadlines in a multi-disciplinary positive open environment are organizing assets I bring along.

Together with my wife I became passionately and intrinsically motivated to do what is in my power and experience to leave this home, called Earth, somewhat better behind for my children and their children.

 Alexander Evatt – Change Agent

“May my actions be a drop
A drop of awareness
Enabling life alignment
Care taking for the earth & humanity”
– Din van Helden, OD for Life

It is clear that the world’s environmental crises require urgent and meaningful action. That’s why at the heart of everything I do is supporting life’s ability to thrive. Our lives, the life of our organizations and communities and life within the more- than-human community. 

My passion for personal, organizational, and societal transformation is rooted in my upbringing in New Zealand and Finland, where I developed a profound connection to nature and a reverence for its beauty and power. Through my life, I have gained knowledge and insight from Pacific indigenous elders, Nordic innovators, and cutting-edge researchers in consciousness, human development and whole systems transformation. 

As a steward for life, entrepreneur, and change agent I am co-leading a small global team translating cutting edge science and indigenous wisdom into applicable practices and tools for helping individuals and organizations come together in service of a greater purpose, fostering ongoing leadership and learning, promoting collaboration and new possibilities, and empowering them to create significant and positive change.

At the core of my philosophy, I recognize that for the world to undergo essential transformative changes, both inner and external actions are crucial. That’s why I established the Inner Development Goal Vienna Community Hub, where we focus on nurturing personal growth for reaching the SDGs.

I strongly believe that each one of us possesses unique gifts that can contribute to solving the biggest challenges of our time. It is our responsibility to stand together, as individuals and organizations, for the greater good.

During the COVID crisis we lingered about some existential questions: 

Is this what it is? How do we continue our lives after living through the lockdowns and being through and through aware, that life can pass by so quickly?

The climate change and the effects on Earth became a big theme in our daily conversations.  Being a true lover of the Caribbean already for more than 25 years, we became more and more passionately inspired by the Caribbean. Seeing the climate effects there and the sustainability and self-sufficiency issues the islands are coping with we became intrinsically motivated to be a part of the change which must be made to fight climate change and become more resilient. We want to protect and help the islands to sustain the beauty, peace and nature let alone to let it thrive again.

We decided to provide the means to match our ambition. We built our company, sold our house, and went to live on the Caribbean during 2022. Working with projects and performing also voluntary work in the Mangroves and cleaning the beaches from Sargassum on the island of Bonaire we (re)discovered our passion for nature.

Blue Carbon Governance Framework

We knew that we had to take advantage of all the knowledge and experience we had built during our lives and careers in mostly the financial services industry and turn that into something that could be used in a broad context. 

We came up with our Blue Carbon Governance Framework: a practical hands-on service wherein all the stakeholders around Blue Carbon offset projects and related highest quality certified Blue Carbon credits are nestled in a shielding doughnut of managing, monitoring and controlling all risks, processes, procedures and reporting attached to the Blue Carbon projects; Perform program- and project- management and support the issuance of the credits.

Furthermore, the worldwide implementation of the SDG’s is going slow, too slow. We notice that globally but also in the daily interactions we have.

People are mostly not intrinsic motivated to make the change to become more sustainable with their companies and projects. They might do something, but it comes from an outer pressure, like EU regulation for instance. People don’t feel the sense of urgency or are even sometimes in denial of climate change (a discussion we not even participate in).

Inner Development Goals

Marja, being a coach too, felt something was missing to make the change towards more resilience against climate change, becoming more sustainable. After discovering the InnerDevelopmentGoals framework she saw this as a bridge to the SDGs. We now work with different partners, integrating the IDG framework in our stakeholder management next to offering training and workshops.  With this we enable change from within. In short: the SDGs will be reached from an inner place of awareness and motivation through which the implementation of the SDGs will be reached with more ease, inner freedom and joy:

Changing the inner world to change the outer world.

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