Interview with Pamela Peeters by Joanna Zablocki

Focusing on inspirational women, I had the opportunity to interview Ms. Pamela Peeters, a pioneer in sustainable media who expands on her talent as a successful environmental economist, sustainability strategist, business consultant, producer and writer. Ms. Pamela kindly gave us her time to tell us about her current work, challenges she overcame, her mentors and inspirational advice to other women.

Joanna Zablocki: Thank you for taking the time to be with us today.
Pamela Peeters: Thank you for having me.
JZ: Tell us briefly how you got started in Sustainable Media. How did you spot the opportunity to develop your idea/pursue your dream?
PP: I like this question because you’re thinking that this was an opportunity [that just presented itself] but I learned to listen to who I am first and it all started with an environmental magazine. At age 12, you don’t see opportunities you are just doing what you enjoy, what you have fun with and what you’re curious about. I enjoyed reading, writing and journaling. I lived in the countryside in Belgium and had a great friend with whom I shared a lot of interests including a very eco way of living. We were members of the World Wildlife fund and Greenpeace and would inform people about green lifestyles through the "Grab the Green' magazine. We raised money and donated it to the fund. This was exciting because I was gathering information that satisfied my curiosity, I integrated my creativity and was able to guide people to a more sustainable lifestyles. Everyone knows what they want to do at a young age. Discover what your passion is and live that. It’s also important to have love and guidance from your parents.

JZ: I read on your website [PamelaPeeters.com] your first international assignment was on expanding bilateral trade between India and Belgium in the environmental tech sector. How did you get involved in something like that?
PP: Well this was my second job. I have a degree in economics and a master’s degree in environmental management because I wanted to be holistic. I wanted to understand how Mother Earth functions, besides learning about the economic market principles and be able to bridge both realities. This made me unique in Belgium. In our country, which is a monarchy, we have an annual competition for economists where a jury would select the top economists of that year who would in turn prepare the state visit for the Prince of Belgium. I prepared a CV, applied and was invited to the examination. There, I was seated in front of a 7 member jury composed of diplomats, experts on foreign trade and financial experts; it was very intimidating. They selected me on the spot saying: " where would you like to go India or Italy?"- and feeling adventurous I said: "let's go to India!" A couple of months later I started the state visit for the Prince of Belgium in India preparing the ground work for his economic mission in environmental technology. I studied the state of the environment, the legislation, I did research on companies that would benefit from a green partner leading to the creation of joint ventures between India and Belgium. This job empowered me very much. I traveled to Bombay, Goa, Madras, Bangalore and Calcutta. I immersed myself in the local culture and created a wonderful journey. It’s all about aligning yourself to follow your intuition. It wasn’t always and easy one, but it was so worth it. You have your path and you have to follow it, no matter how much it takes you out of your comfort zone.

JZ: What have you found to be the most effective marketing initiative to promote yourself and your business?
PP: If you look at the different elements that make up the traditional marketing mix, then you can clearly identify that information is key as you wish to make yourself ( goods, services ) known to the market you wish to conquer. When I started my third job at a Brussels public relations (PR) company, we made sure to translate a classic PR rule to our clients which consists of spending 10% of time and money on PR because it’s important for the market to know what you are doing and making that information available as well. Public relations is a very important talent to master: what news can I share and in what way can I translate that to my consumer or audience. You basically develop press materials that - if well received - translate themselves into press covers and interviews. The production of unique events are a part of that too. Journalists will more easily pick up your story if you are doing something good, something different, something that you’re passionate about, so I cannot underline enough the importance of being yourself, tell the world about it and be proud of it! The rest will evolve by itself. I still apply the 10% rule in my company, produce events and offer that same same service to other companies as well. It gives me great satisfaction.
JZ: Who were some of your mentors or greatest influences growing up?
PP: First stage it is always your parents. I was raised in a family where creativity was stimulated. My mother did Ikebana (arrangement of flowers), yoga and cooked like a goddess. My father introduced me to tribal African art, the world of Buddha's and world music. He is also a great painter, I have some artists in my family and was always stimulated to make my own art. I’ve integrated all of those tools in my personal life. I also had many amazing teachers; female teachers who were open minded and encouraged me to be who I wanted to be: genuine in other words. I was always open to listen to people who had something to share with me. I also had people whom I bonded with affectionally, such as my Grandfather, who was a very successful entrepreneur. I admired him for his style and poise, it was important to me to witness that business could be conducted in style.
When I moved to America and obtained my fellowship at Columbia University my mentor was Graciela Chichilniski, who has not one but three PhD's (statistics, mathematics and economics) and had contributed to the mathematical models of the Climate Change convention. She recognized something in me and and gave me a unique opportunity and to have that guidance on such a brilliant level was a blessing.
Right now my mentors are all the people around me, one can learn from everyone. Education and growth is acquired on a daily basis. When I go to bed at night, I replay my day in my head as a movie and it gives me joy to relive how I spent my time,  what I’ve learned and who I’ve helped. I would love to have Richard Branson and Oprah Winfrey as my next mentors.

JZ: How do you define success?
PP:  For me success is when you are able to do what you want to do. Success can be found in many things: health, your passion, your talents and then you just fill in the gaps. Have a realistic vision and never give up.
JZ: You are a very successful woman with being a business consultant, producer and writer, what is one piece of advice you can give to other women?
PP: Believe in yourself 100% because if you don’t who will? In order to build that, you have to have a healthy mind and a healthy body. You need balance. Have time for yourself, be social and maintain a fit body. Most importantly: have fun and enjoy what you’re doing!

JZ: Women face many obstacles in creating a presence in many fields. What has been one of your biggest challenges/obstacles that you overcame on your journey to success?
PP: Patience! If I want something I want it to happen tomorrow or even at that same moment. However, I believe in divine timing. Sometimes, not having what you want is a blessing in disguise. There’s a big difference in what you think you want and what you need. Another obstacle was not having enough financial resources to accelerate and grow. Not being in front of the right people soon enough, was also an obstacle, because you can waste your time with gate keepers. And, I might not always have sold myself enough. This is European trait. In America I had to speak with much more persuasion, so I adapted myself to my surroundings. It is important to be flexible. But I also learned that “If the door is closed you have to knock on another door", I have always applied that very important principle. You might be aware of the fact that the teacher comes when the student is ready, so always keep on going.”

Pamela Peeters has also developed a sustainable leadership workshop just for women besides a more general workshop on sustainable development. The workshop, entitled "The next life" is designed to help women become more leadership oriented.  After learning that in our current economy 70% of the green business ideas are developed by women and are then taken over by men and very often stripped of their genetic core principles, she decided to create this workshop as to empower women. “The workshop is based on various principles, derived from the interviews I conducted with powerful women such as Anita Roddick from the body shop to the Nobel Prize for Peace Wangari Mathai. Every interviewed woman stands for a principle: network, believe in yourself, promote yourself and have a mentor, are just a few of them.” I apply them all myself!

Please visit www.PamelaPeeters.com to learn more about the workshop and Pamela’s current endeavors, including the production of the Sustainable Planet film festival and the expansion of her Urban Ecology book.