Dominik Kurek, reporter for The Oakville Beaver, attended Dr. Karl-Henrik Robèrt's talk at Sheridan College on Monday October 18, 2010. Thank you to Dominik Kurek and The Oakville Beaver for this article.

*****

The path to global sustainability is like a funnel, said Dr. Karl-Henrik Robèrt, founder of The Natural Step. That is because the deeper down the path of destruction we go, the narrower the funnel will become where it is more difficult for us to save the planet and eventually it will become impossible.

John Colton is chair of the Centre for Rural Sustainability and is an Associate for The Natural Step. In this article he explores the issues and challenges surrounding planning and implementation of Municipal Sustainability Plans, of which the most commonly used were The Natural Step Frame work, for Municipal World.

***

Municipalities across Canada have either developed or in the process of developing Integrated Community Sustainability Plans (ICSPs) or similar types of planning documents that support municipal sustainability. While the catalyst for many of these initiatives is the opportunity to access funding through the federal gas tax program, there is also growing awareness that planning for sustainability is the right thing to do.

[...] Sustainability planning was supported by a number of frameworks from which municipalities borrowed key concepts that would support their planning. Those frameworks most commonly used were The Natural Step, Life Cycle Analysis, and (to a lesser extent) Smart Growth. Several municipalities invested resources into training staffto better familiarize them with sustainability frameworks and processes. This occurred most frequently with The Natural Step, and where this occurred it was noted that the cultural mind shift toward sustainability planning was enhanced significantly. Unfortunately, while many respondents noted the importance ofsupporting a cultural mind shift with respect to susfainability, lack offunds was a barrier to this type of training.

For the original post and to leave Bob a comment, please click here.

Employee volunteers are an important dimension of any company’s philanthropic efforts. When employees are engaged in a company’s social and environmental initiatives, people see that the company is more than a bank throwing money at random causes in an effort to buff up its image.

Dr. Karl-Henrik Robèrt-Founder of The Natural Step and Ashoka Fellow-on Speaking Tour in Canada

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--Dr. Karl-Henrik Robèrt, the Founder of The Natural Step and an internationally recognized thought leader on sustainable development, is coming from Sweden for an exclusive speaking tour in Canada. He will be in London and Oakville on October 18, and in Toronto from October 19-21.

The Natural Step, an internally recognized non-profit organization specializing in sustainability is proud to publish our case study on Max, Sweden’s oldest and most popular hamburger chain. Max President and owner Richard Bergfors and the Director of Sustainability Pär Larshans are now on a North American tour to view over 70 fast food restaurants.

October 19th, 2010, Stockholm, Sweden – The Natural Step, an internationally recognized non-profit organization specializing in sustainability is proud to publish our case study on Max, Sweden’s oldest and most popular hamburger chain. Max President and owner Richard Bergfors and the Director of Sustainability Pär Larshans are now on a North American tour to view over 70 fast food restaurants. 

>Download the case study here.

Apparue tout récemment dans Gaϊa Presse : l’environnement au quotidien, Andrée Mathieu, enseignante à la Maîtrise de Gestion et développement durable à l'Université de Sherbrooke, discute de la réalité du développement durable au Québec en lien avec la question des gazes de schiste et le cadre The Natural Step.

***

The Environment and Business Program at the University of Waterloo is an undergraduate course and coop-based, interdisciplinary program designed for students interested in equipping themselves with the skills and experience needed to be selected for positions as sustainability professionals in businesses, non-governmental organizations and government departments.

Hire a student for the January to August 2011 term!  More information in the brochure below.

Contact Rob Vanderlaan, Business Development Manager for the Co-operative Education and Careers Services at the University of Waterloo at rwvander@uwaterloo.ca

 For the original post and to leave Bob a comment, please click here.

“People buy from people they trust.” That was a slogan we used in sales training at IBM. We used it to reinforce the human element of a customer-supplier transaction. No trust, no sale. There’s a similar dynamic in the relationship between employees and their companies.

This year The Natural Step NZ is hosting a free mini-summit with a series of punchy TED-style presentations from leaders in the business, government and tertiary education sectors.  The event takes place at the Auckland Viaduct's Floating Pavillion venue on 29th November 2010, 2pm - 5pm with drinks and networking to follow.  TNS NZ's Executive Director Simon Harvey is excited about the calibre of presenters the event has attracted and warmly encourages anyone with a working interest in sustainable practice to come along.

Presentations include: