Thank you to Brendan Seale for writing this blog about his experience at Sustainability for Leaders - Level 1: Foundations, in Toronto, ON.

To see pictures from the course please click here to visit our Flickr.

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"I've worked 28 years in the environmental field, and I've seen first hand the decline of our natural systems because of unsustainable practices", says Rod Bilz. "Frankly, I'm shocked by how quickly I've seen it happen."

As a consultant at 3Seven Solutions who works to evaluate and minimize the ecological footprint of travel,  Rod understands the economic benefits of working toward sustainability, but his motivation comes from a deeper place. "I'm here because I want my children and grandchildren to have the same opportunities that I’ve had."

Vi arbetar med hållbarhet, där områden som klimat, socialt ansvar, CSR och miljö ingår. Vårt växande nätverk av utbildare, coacher, rådgivare och forskare runt om i världen skapar innovativa lösningar, strategier och verktyg för att ni ska bli både hållbara och framgångsrika.

Gathered around more than two dozen tables in the hall of Ottawa’s St. Joseph’s church this past Sunday, sat activist, friends, families, and curious community members. The reason? The Natural Step Canada’s 1st Annual Sustainabili-TEA: Helping Leaders Create a Better Tomorrow, Today. The event aimed to raise awareness about the global sustainability challenges and opportunities we all face, the work The Natural Step Canada undertakes to help create sustainability leaders across the country, and to generate financial and in-kind support to expand our important programs.

Without question, Sustainabili-TEA was a huge success!

In March of 2010, The Natural Step Canada was awarded the 2010 Environmental Employer of the Year, for Small to Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs).

The applications for the 2011 award have now been extended to November 26, 2010. Please click here to submit your application.

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Thanks to Michiah Prull for sharing his experience with The Natural Step Canada's Sustainability for Leaders - Level 1: Foundations.

For pictures from the Sustainability for Leaders course - level 1 : Foundations, please click here.

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Modular carpet maker Interface will complete Environmental Product Declarations — detailed documents explaining the life cycle impacts of items — for all of its products by 2012 and challenged other companies to set goals similar to its Mission Zero program.

Interface became the first North American carpet maker to develop an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) last March, and earlier this year it completed EPDs for three more carpet tile lines. EPDs are based on life cycle analyses that look at products from their raw material stage to disposal and are third party certified.

Two weeks ago, I had the pleasure of accompanying The Natural Step’s Founder, Dr. Karl-Henrik Robèrt, on a speaking tour around Toronto, which included a keynote presentation at the Canadian Business for Social Responsibility’s 8th Annual Summit. It was an intense series of 9 events in five days, speaking to both businesses and emerging student leaders.

(Read more about what we’re up to in our November newsletter.)

In 2009, ISL partnered with The Natural Step Canada to develop and implement a comprehensive approach to sustainability that would—over time—enable ISL to develop into a full‐service consulting firm that leads the marketplace in sustainable solutions, while proving the business model for such an approach.

Today, ISL  Engineering and Land Services (ISL) is now pleased to be named fifth among the Top 50 Best Small and Medium Employers in Canada. This is the third consecutive year ISL has placed within the top 5 of the list.

In the 20th century, cheap and abundant energy brought previously unimaginable advances in health, wealth, and technology, and fed an explosion in population and consumption. But this growth came at an incredible cost. Climate change, peak oil, freshwater depletion, species extinction, and a host of economic and social problems now challenge us as never before. The Post Carbon Reader features articles by some of the world’s most provocative thinkers on the key drivers shaping this new century, from renewable energy and urban agriculture to social justice and systems resilience. This unprecedented collection takes a hard-nosed look at the interconnected threats of our global sustainability quandary—as well as the most promising responses. The Post Carbon Reader is a valuable resource for policymakers, college classrooms, and concerned citizens.

To download the book as it becomes available, or to order, please click here.

Join The Natural Step Canada for our 1st Annual fundraiser, Sustainabili-TEA: Helping Leaders Create a Better Tomorrow, Today.

This free event aims to raise awareness for the work that we do and generate financial and in-kind support for our programs. This will allow us to expand our work with sustainability leaders in communities and schools across Canada, and inspire more people to live and work sustainably. We’re excited to share stories of new and emerging leaders we have empowered to be effective champions for a better world.

Sustainabili-TEA will take place on Sunday, November 14, beginning at 3:00pm at St. Joseph's Parish Hall (Entrance at 174 Wilbrod Street, Ottawa, ON).