Filed Under Business

A burger worth choosing?

Neil McCallum — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 17:01:07 -0400

Illustration text: At Max Burgers you can see exactly how much carbon impact your meal has all the way from the farmers land to the guests hand directly on the menu. This has resulted in a 15 percent increase in sales of carbon efficient alternatives.

“Enabling consumers to make sustainable choices and advance responsible behaviour individually and collectively” is according to a fresh UN report something that supports a future worth choosing. In a restaurant such as Max burgers, a partner of The Natural Step, it comes down quite literally to menu options. That’s not enough however.

At Max we know that we, along with our entire industry and society as a whole, are unsustainable. But we are also, as anyone else could be, a change agent for a better future. And here clear results do matter. Since 2005 we have been recognised as the healthiest in the industry in Sweden where we have our operations. In 2008 we became the first in the world to put climate on the menu. But to further assist our guests we decided to carbon offset all of our products through reforestation in Africa through Plan Vivo certificates. Of course we are also simultaneously working at reducing the impact of our products.

That means we did back in 2005 and 2008 what Tarja Halonen and Jacob Zuma, in the above mentioned UN Report, now wants us to do more of now - to empower people to make sustainable Choices. The say:

“Every day, millions of choices are made by individuals businesses and governments. Our common future lies in all those choices. Because of the array of overlapping challenges the world faces, it is more urgent than ever that we take action to embrace the principles of the sustainable development agenda. It is time that genuine global action is taken to enable people, markets and governments to make sustainable choices.”

What we have done is just one step forward. We need much more action from the food industry and we want to support a progressive agenda in Rio +20. That’s why we are here. At this conference we want to learn and to inspire, but more importantly, we want to find sustainability leaders from other parts of the planet, with whom we can form strategic alliances for global food security. So please, don’t hesitate to contact me to share ideas on how to do that.

At this conference I will participates in two sessions:

1. Monday 26th, Presentation on how to strategically move towards sustainability, during the Bridges to the Future session. I will share our journey towards sustainability and the experiences that have strengthened customer loyalty, created a change for consumer behavior and also provide inspiration others to follow in our footstep.

(At 2 pm, Room 14)

2. Wednesday 28th, We will host an exclusive breakfast roundtable discussion on global food security together with Stockholm Environment Institute and The Natural Step.

We are honoured to be called upon as a good example at this conference and hope that other companies will see the benefits of doing well by doing good. But I am also looking forward to learn more about other good business and science examples that could help further improve our work with sustainability. We know that Max still have a long way to go to able to call ourselves a sustainable company, but that is our mission.

Max is a family owned business which means that we are not driven by quarterly capitalism and this may just be the reason why our perspective on sustainable driven business fits in at a conference that focuses on the bigger picture. We are confident that businesses and individuals need to be able to make more active choices that put less pressure on the planet as well as the people living on it. At Max we are world leading, but has just got started.

Written by: Pär Larshans, Chief Sustainability Officer at Max Burgers

Cell: +46 (0)70 206 1669

E-mail: Par.Larshans@max.se

Beyond the Bailout Why Sustainability is Even More Relevant in an Economic Crisis

Chas Martin — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 22:05:56 -0400

Start: Oct 21 2008 - 12:30am

Timezone: Etc/GMT

Doubletree Hotel & Executive Meeting Center ♦ 1000 NE Multnomah, Portland
Registration 7:10 - 7:30 am, Program 7:30 - 9:00 am

In the midst of economic turmoil, where do sustainability efforts come in and why are they necessary?
How can a systems approach be applied to both a healthy economy and a healthy environment?
In uncertain times, many organizations will focus on protecting their core. How will this create opportunities for those who maintain their vision for long term sustainability to gain competitive advantage?

Please join us as three of our region’s economic experts discuss the current economic climate and how it relates to environmental sustainability.
Featuring:

Dr Mary C. King, Professor of Economics, Sustainability
Certificate Program Professor: Portland State University
Setting the stage: An overview of the economic system and the current crisis

Carsten Henningsen: Chairman: Portfolio 21
Making it through the funnel (How do we avoid hitting the economic and ecological resources wall)

David Williams, CEO: ShoreBank Pacific
When financial decisions fail the community: A look at the relationship between Wall Street and Main Street

REGISTRATION: Space is limited! Download the event brochure for registration by mail or fax and return to The Natural Step Network by Thursday, October 16th.
To ensure your place, prior registration is required. Online registration is also available at Brown Paper Tickets. For further information contact the Network at (503) 241-1140 or events@ortns.org. Fax: (503) 546-6825.

Congratulations to the Landmark Group of Builders!

Neil McCallum — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 10:00:55 -0500

Congratulations to the Landmark Group of Builders for winning the Award for Corporate Environmental Excellence at the 11th annual GLOBE-Net Awards for Environmental Excellence! To read more about how The Natural Step has helped Landmark embed sustainability into every aspect of the company please visit www.naturalstep.ca/landmark-group-of-builders.

***

GLOBE Foundation Presents Canadian Environmental Leaders With Prestigious Globe Awards

VANCOUVER, B.C.- Following an exciting day and inspiring presentation by Paul Hawken, famed environmentalist and renowned author, the GLOBE Foundation has announced today the winners of the 11th annual GLOBE Awards for Environmental Excellence during the An Inspired Future Closing Luncheon at the Sheraton Centre Toronto.

The awards are presented annually to Canadian companies that excel in sustainable business practices and progressive development in technology and services.

This year saw winners in six award categories: Corporate Environmental Excellence, Excellence in Emerging Technology, Technology Innovation & Application, Excellence in Urban Sustainability, Best Green Consumer Product, and the Next Gen Entrepreneur Award.

The Award for Corporate Environmental Excellence was presented to the Landmark Group. Landmark's vision is "to be a major North American housing solutions provider recognized for sustainability and for leading a revolution to industrialize home construction".

For 35 years the Landmark Group has grown to be one of Alberta's largest builders and developers having crafted over 11,000 homes. Landmark's legacy began with an entrepreneurial commitment to build better homes for families at the best price possible.

The industry has evolved dramatically in three decades, and Landmark Group of Builders has often been at the forefront of its most significant innovations. Finalists in this category included Teknion and PepsiCo Foods Canada.

Read more...http://bit.ly/12pRmxQ

Source: GOLBE-Net

Does Canada Need a Sustainability Literacy Month or a Decade? A Look Back at 2012 and ahead at 2013

Chad Park — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 12:30:32 -0500

Did you know that November is financial literacy month? My trusted friend Wikipedia tells me that financial literacy is “the ability to understand finance.” More specifically, it refers to the set of skills and knowledge that allows an individual to make informed and effective decisions through their understanding of finances. Clearly, this is an important capacity to cultivate.

I think we need a sustainability literacy month – or perhaps more realistically a sustainability literacy decade. As hard as it is for those of us who work in this field to believe, many more people need to realize the seriousness of the sustainability crisis we face, the integrated nature of our social, environmental and economic challenges, and the fundamentals of sustainability science. Sustainability professionals still operate in a relatively small bubble of like-minded individuals and/or face major challenges in engaging their colleagues, customers, employees, investors and others who are often not as sustainability literate.

I’ve come to realize that this is The Natural Step’s core capability. Through our learning programs and within our advisory service engagements, we have proven over the years to be extremely effective at helping individuals with diverse worldviews to see the sustainability challenge differently and to understand its relevance to them. Suanne DeBoer, the past GM of DeBoer’s Furniture, expressed her experience of this just this week in an article she wrote for the Sustainability Learning Centre’s newsletter about The Natural Step’s Sustainability 101 eLearning course.

It has been a terrific year for our sustainability learning programs at The Natural Step Canada. Together with our partners at The Co-operators and supported by dozens of other partners in five cities across Canada, we’ve established a fantastic youth sustainability leadership program, IMPACT! Sustainability Champions, which is making an enormous difference in the lives of the 150 young people who have participated to date and the dozens of mentors and community partners who are supporting them. Two successful MBA Sustainability Leadership Bootcamps have had a profound effect on 70 young and mid-career professionals who are now better equipped to play a sustainability leadership role wherever their careers take them. We have run sustainability leadership courses in cities across Canada, and helped raise sustainability literacy levels for hundreds of individuals through training components in our various advisory engagements with businesses and municipal governments. Leaders in two of our best partner companies, The Landmark Group of Builders and The Co-operators, were even recognized for their sustainability leadership at the Clean 50 awards this year. Those two individuals, Barbara and Reza, are terrific examples of what it means to build sustainability literacy. Five years ago, neither of them would have considered themselves a sustainability leader. Barbara had risen up the ranks of a large insurance company and was a specialist in the insurance business. Reza was a home-builder, having built one of the most successful home building companies in Alberta. And yet, each of them in their own way has become highly “sustainability literate” to the point that this insurance expert and home builder are now being recognized as sustainability leaders. Reflecting back to the definition of financial literacy above, Barbara and Reza have developed “a set of skills and knowledge that allows them to make informed and effective decisions through their understanding of… sustainability.” We need many more like them.

So, what is even more important than what The Natural Step has accomplished in sustainability literacy in 2012 is where we plan to go next. We believe that raising the level of sustainability literacy in Canada is both vitally important and an area where The Natural Step can provide issue leadership and build partnerships and coalitions. In doing so, we will put our learning programs and core capability toward the service of a bigger collective mandate. In practical terms, this means that we will seek partnerships that will create opportunities to build sustainability literacy in strategic domains, such as professional associations, corporate boards, and certain high-profile public contexts. We will also be guided by the collective impact philosophy in how we evolve the model for delivering our courses; for example, by creating real opportunity for regional and local NGOs to benefit by offering the courses in their communities. Further details on all of this will be provided in our next newsletter in early 2013.

Since this is our final newsletter of the year, I close my message the same way we do every year – with a humble request for your support. The Natural Step Canada is a charitable not-for-profit organization that accomplishes its goals in part through the financial contributions of many individuals who care about its mission and support its programs. If you believe in the importance of raising sustainability literacy rates in Canada and in The Natural Step’s capacity to play a leadership role in doing so, please consider making a year-end donation to us. Thank you to those of you who have given in the past and who give regularly. Your support makes a big difference for a small organization with big goals.

Canada

Max Hamburgers from Sweden Revolutionize Fast Food Industry: New Case Study Released

Franco Varriano — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 10:03:40 -0400

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.

In 2007, Pär Larshans, then Director of Human Resources at Max Hamburger Restaurants, was asked to investigate what other fast food chains were doing about climate change. He discovered that there wasn’t much to discover and Max saw an opportunity to break ahead of the pack. Sustainable leadership could clearly distinguish Max from its formidable competitors such as McDonalds and Burger King and allow them to use their business to make a positive impact on the planet.

Partnering with The Natural Step, Max looked deeper into the sustainability challenges of their business. This was the beginning of an exciting and ongoing journey exploring the possibility of sustainable fast food. Today, Mr. Larshans’ title is Sustainability Director, all Max’s restaurants are wind powered, their menu is carbon labeled, Max basks in worldwide media exposure and continues to make significant strides towards sustainability.

In response, they decided to become part of the solution. As a result, in 2008 Max became the first restaurant chain in the world to analyze their food’s climate impact all the way from the farmers land to the guest’s hand. They also carbon labeled their menus so that customers could choose climate smart alternatives. Not satisfied with merely implementing energy efficiency programs in all its buildings and fully transferring over to wind powered energy, Max has made voluntary carbon offsets throughout its supply chain, from farmer to customer, supporting reforestation projects in Uganda and Mozambique. Max supports offsetting projects that strengthen local agro-forestry, entrepreneurship and ecosystem services. This work is internationally recognized and globally progressive. At the same time, Max is more profitable than ever. A Swedish independent survey reported an increase in customer loyalty by 27 % for Max between 2007 and 2009 mostly due to their sustainability efforts. This was the highest increase of 20 of the most well-known Swedish brands.

To learn more, please read the case study by clicking here.

Canada

The Biggest Mistake Sustainability Champions Make

Pong Leung — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 09:44:55 -0400

Recently, I spoke on an online dialogue about corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Canada and had an audience member asked me about how business’ CSR investments will be affected by the economic downturn. This great question is one that numerous professionals are concerned with as they move into budget season.

Some recent studies, such as GreenBiz’s State of Green Business Report, show an increased investment in business sustainability initiatives over the past couple of years, in spite of the economic downturn. This flies in the face of conventional (old) thinking that sustainability / CSR initiatives get cut when budgets are tight. However, at the same time, I have talked to some professionals leading sustainability efforts who have seen their available resources decline; so why are there different stories here?

Well, I feel that this relates to the biggest mistake sustainability champions make when trying to gain traction for sustainability in their organizations: they do not position sustainability as an enabling strategy to achieve business priorities. Instead, sustainability is positioned as separate from business success, so it is not surprising that these sustainability initiatives get cut when it comes time to look at the budget. Conversely, the organizations that position sustainability as an enabler of business priorities often see their budgets increase.

What can a sustainability champion do then? Well, first, try to understand the current priorities for the business or department and identify how sustainability can be an enabler:

If winning the war for talent is important, explain how graduates are increasingly using a business’ CSR performance to determine where to work
If cutting costs are important, explain how businesses have saved billions in energy efficiency measures
If brand and reputation are important, explain the increasing expectation of customers and investors for social and ecological performance
...and so on.

One great resource that can help you with this is a set of slides offered by sustainability guru Bob Willard, which are rich with statistics to help build the business case for sustainability.

Once you know the priorities, identify an initiative that can lead to positive social and ecological impacts as well address an important business issue. You don’t even need to call it a sustainability initiative; in fact, perhaps it is better if you don’t. Call it an “efficiency initiative,” “market study,” “leadership training,” “stakeholder mapping,” or whatever makes the most sense in your context. If you need to, position these initiatives as pilots to learn from and only scale them up if they are successful.

If you position sustainability as an enabling strategy you will help people understand how it translates into business value and demonstrate that it’s not just a “nice to do, tree-huggy thing.” It will also help you build credibility as someone who cares about the business.

Canada

The world sustainability leader in the fast food industry Max Burgers share their story at Planet Under Pressure

Neil McCallum — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 18:17:22 -0400

One may ask how it is possible to open a chain of Burger restaurants that outperforms the international fast food giants. Max Burgers not only made McDonald’s close down restaurants in the northern towns of Sweden but they also try to seed a revolution for a sustainable fast food industry. Max Burgers are the first chain of restaurants in the world to provide carbon labeling for all its meals and fully offset the environmental impact of its operation by planting trees in Africa. The Max reforestation program is the largest in the entire Plan-Vivo certification system. The goal is to make the whole operation fossil fuel-free and to become a fully sustainable enterprise in a sustainable society. They can however, not reach their goal without help from their industry colleagues.

Max participates in two sessions:

1. Monday 26th, Pär Larshans, Chief Sustainability Officer at Max Burgers, will provide a thought-provoking and inspiring presentation on how to strategically move towards sustainability, during the Bridges to the Future session.

(At 2 pm, Room 14)

2. Wednesday 28th, Max Burgers host an exclusive breakfast roundtable discussion on global food security together with Forum For the Future, Stockholm Environment Institute and The Natural Step.

"We need much more action from the food industry and we want to support a progressive agenda in Rio +20. That’s why we are here. At this conference we want to learn and to inspire, but more importantly, we want to find sustainability leaders from other parts of the planet, with whom we can form strategic alliances for global food security", says Pär Larshans, Chief Sustainability Officer at Max Burgers.

Starting in May 2008, Max has labeled all products with their respective climate impact - allowing and empowering their guests to take the climate impact into consideration when placing their orders. Since 2008, Max has made carbon offsets for its total climate impact - from the farmers land to the guest’s hand.

"This initiative offers power to our customers as it gives them the opportunity to choose meals not only from taste or health but also from climate impact. And by carbon offsetting through tree plantation, we will constantly be reminded of the costs of our carbon footprints and thus continue to work towards zero climate impact", says Pär Larshans, Chief Sustainability Officer at Max Burgers.

Apart from putting climate on the menu Max have also taken other concrete measures to become environmentally and socially sustainable, such as:

All restaurants are powered by 100% wind energy.
All frying oil used is converted into biodiesel.
Since 2005, Max products have been recognised as the healthiest in the industry.
No to GMOs and trans fats.
All fish is sourced from responsibly managed fisheries (MSC-certified).
All restaurants have more than two staff members with a disability.
An extensive internal leadership program which includes sections on sustainability and diversity.
Partnerships with research and industry to promote sustainable beef production and science based methods for social sustainability.
Significantly increased recycling rates.
Removed unnecessary packaging as well as all toys for kids requiring batteries.
Introduction of organic coffee and milk.

Short facts

Sustainability has proven to be one of Max’s most profitable initiatives ever. It has, in fact, proven to be more profitable than opening up new restaurants.
Approx. 3 000 employees
88 restaurants in Sweden, all owned by the founding family
Most satisfied customers in the business, nine years in a row
Most preferred hamburgers in Sweden

For more information on the workshop please visit: www.planetunderpressure2012.net

"What do we do on Monday Morning?": Target setting and action planning for sustainability

Sarah Brooks — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 10:30:33 -0400

There’s a time in every organization’s sustainability planning when the rubber (er, bike tire?!) needs to hit the road. It’s critical to have a strategic plan in place, and in our experience, the best plans reflect an understanding of sustainability principles and are developed through the process of backcasting from success principles. However, the best laid plans can come to naught if they aren’t acted upon. Recently, we were with The Landmark Group of Builders to help them actualize a one-year action plan that moves them systematically toward achieving their long term sustainability goals.

Landmark is a great partner. Their sustainability work is almost unparalleled in the Alberta home builder industry. They have sustainability goals, an understanding of their key challenges, have implemented many actions on the ground and have recently released their first sustainability report. But, as with all organizations, the journey to sustainability is ongoing. Where Landmark is going right now is really exciting.

Recently we worked on setting 5-, 3- and 1-year milestones for each of Landmark’s sustainability goals to leverage their assets and address their current challenges. Action planning flowed from that – what are the first-year projects that need to be completed to help hit the 1-year targets? Which actions are flexible platforms for future initiatives? Which actions will provide the necessary return on investment to seed future moves? What partners need to be engaged? What resourcing is necessary? Who will own each project charter that delineates the plan for each project, which enables the first year-target to be hit, and what budget is necessary to enable this? Answering these questions allows action planning to feed into fulfillment of strategy and to become embedded in business planning. It’s a way to make sustainability part of the DNA of the organization and it also eases the “What do we do on Monday morning?” question.

Keep your eye on the Landmark Group of Builders. They have a goal to ‘revolutionize the industry’ and with a viable, strategic action plan in place, I think they will.

If you are interested in learning more about our Service Path for Sustainable Business and how we can help your business develop a bold sustainability vision, strategy, and action plan, please contact us or join our next FREE Introduction to Strategic Sustainability for Business in Canada webinar.

Canada

4 Reasons our Current Business Model is Unsustainable - A weekly blog by sustainability expert Bob Willard

Marieke — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 13:11:23 -0400

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

Sooner or later, there is a tough message that sustainability champions need to deliver to harried business leaders—the business game they are playing can’t continue. It’s been fun, but if they keep playing the game the way they are, everyone will lose. The rules need to be updated— quickly. That contention is probably not the best conversation-opener with a senior business leader. But, at some point along the line, sustainability champions should be ready to gently help them see that their current model of doing business is not sustainable.

In my July 27, 2010, blog , I described the 5-stage journey that a business follows as it moves from being an unsustainable enterprise in Stages 1, 2 and 3, to being a sustainable enterprise in Stages 4 or 5 (see the above slide). Labeling companies in the first three stages as “unsustainable” deserves further explanation, especially for Stage 3 companies. We will use the 3-nested-dependencies model of sustainability, described in my July 20 blog , to show four reasons why today’s take-make-waste model of commerce is unsustainable.

1. Nature is depleted

Today’s business model encourages companies to relentlessly deplete our natural capital, which companies and communities require for their food, water, energy, and materials. Today’s business rules contribute directly or indirectly to systematic over-extraction and degradation of nature by physical means, such as deforestation, over-harvesting of fish stocks, and depletion of farm lands. Nature cannot regenerate itself fast enough to recover from this abuse. This corporate behavior is unsustainable economically and environmentally.

2. Excessive waste accumulates from the things we dig up

Extractive companies like mining and oil-and-gas companies notoriously leave “tailings” and other waste behind. Business schools use case studies from around the world that highlight the destructive effects of mining and drilling operations on the environment and communities. Refineries and smelters create more air, water and soil pollution. When we use / burn these natural resources for fuel, further waste is produced. So, most companies contribute—directly or indirectly through their supply chains—to the systematic increase in concentrations of waste from substances extracted from the earth’s crust. This is especially alarming when the concentrations of heavy metals, fossil fuels and byproducts get too high. These days, companies can acquire permits to pollute so that their actions comply with regulations (Stage 2). But, these legal actions are still not sustainable. Sooner or later, we are in danger of drowning in our own waste, poisoning ourselves to death, and upsetting long-standing, essential natural equilibriums, like our climate.

3. We create excessive waste from things we make

Similarly, the current rules of the business game allow companies to pollute the air, water, and soil as they make things. Through the production and use of chemicals and toxic synthetics, companies directly or indirectly contribute to the relentless increase in concentrations of hazardous and non-hazardous waste. Today, there are over 70,000 chemicals, dioxins, and PCBs. A century ago, this wasn’t a problem because we didn’t have these man-made pollutants. Now, there are thousands of these health threats. We need to change the rules that allow companies and consumers to externalize the environmental and social costs of this pollution. Such excessive and dangerous polluting is simply unsustainable.

4. Peoples’ needs are prevented from being met

Many business models today contribute—directly or indirectly—to abuses of political or economic power, resulting in unmet human needs for clean air, potable water, nutritious food, adequate shelter, and quality of life. According to Metrics 2.0, the richest 1% owned 40% of global assets in the year 2000, and the richest 10% accounted for 85% of the world’s total assets. In contrast, the bottom 50% of the world’s adult population owned barely 1% of the total global wealth. This chasm has grown in the last ten years and is continuing to widen. Such disparities create social unrest and violent desperation as basic living needs become harder and harder to meet. Something’s got to give. The business models that encourage over-consumption by the haves at the expense of the have-nots is unsustainable.

To recap, today’s take-make-waste business model is no longer feasible. It violates all four of The Natural Step’s systems conditions for a sustainable society.

The old business model was created during the Industrial Revolution. As described by William McDonough and Michael Braungart in their 2002 book, Cradle to Cradle, companies with this system of production are designed to do the following:

“Put billions of pounds of toxic material into the air, water, and soil every year.
“Produce some materials so dangerous that they will require constant vigilance by future generations.
“Result in a gigantic amount of waste.
“Put valuable materials in holes all over the planet where they can never be retrieved.
“Require thousands of complex regulations—not to keep people and natural systems safe, but rather to keep them from being poisoned too quickly.
“Measure productivity by how few people are working.
“Create prosperity by digging up or cutting down natural resources and then burying or burning them.
“Erode the diversity of species and cultural practices.”

Those practices and consequences are what companies were designed to do for the last 150 years. Perhaps, for a minority, that business model worked fine at first, but it’s no longer sustainable. The Earth’s ecosystem is in crisis. It threatens 100% of us. Over-consumption and poor management have resulted in unsustainable use of natural and social capital. Climate change will add further pressure on the natural systems—upon which all of our social systems and economies depend. Our time is limited to prevent a global “tipping point” that could impact all of humankind, including future generations, adversely and permanently.

Stage 3.0 companies slow down their degradation by releasing fewer pounds of toxic wastes into the air, soil, and water every year and producing smaller amounts of useless waste. Stage 3.0 companies are better—“less bad”—than Stage 1 and 2 companies; but, they are still locked in an unsustainable economic paradigm that causes too much collateral damage in the environmental and social spheres. We need a more responsible game plan.

Next week, we will propose a more sustainable business model.

Canada

A Sustainability Vision for the Automotive Services Industry

Chas Martin — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 23:03:22 -0400

Using The Natural Step Framework to Develop a Plan Toward Sustainability for Automotive Mechanical and Collision Repair Shops
Prepared for the Oregon DEQ

Project Overview

Automobiles have a significant impact on the environment. With the growing concern over global warming, the focus on this environmental impact will only get stronger.

In 1997 Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) began development of the Automotive Eco-Logical Business Program to encourage automobile services and collision repair shops to take extra voluntary steps in protecting the environment. There was a desire in 2000 to expand this program beyond Portland and to investigate the feasibility of enhancing the program by adding a perspective of environmental sustainability based on the Natural Step framework.

Participants from fifteen automotive shops and service organizations were invited to meet in a series of six two-hour meetings in Wilsonville to create a vision of what a fully sustainable automotive service operation might look like if it met the four system conditions of The Natural Step.

With interest in environmental sustainability growing faster in Oregon than most parts of the United States, Oregon has an opportunity to be a model and play a leadership role in the movement toward sustainability.

Download complete Project Summary:

A video by Dr. Karl-Henrik Robèrt – The Big Picture and the Role of Business

Josefin Nyström — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 10:04:21 -0500

In this video, created in cooperation with our friends at DeLaval, Dr. Karl-Henrik Robèrt, Founder of The Natural Step, touches upon the challenges we as humanity face today and the role businesses can play. To enable seeing the big picture of the sustainability challenge and turning this into opportunities. He gives examples and methods of how this journey is possible and encourages all to start designing the future by identifying boundary conditions for a sustainable future.

The Big Picture and the Role of Business With Dr. Karl-Henrik Robèrt: long version	The Big Picture and the Role of Business With Dr. Karl-Henrik Robèrt: short version

Adding Sustainable Value - Auckland business programme - DISCOUNTS APPLY

Simon Harvey — Wed, 02 May 2012 04:22:50 -0400

Start: May 28 2012 - 9:00am

End: Nov 14 2012 - 4:30am

Timezone: Etc/GMT-4

Looking for a business course that delivers opportunities to grab new market share AND enables you to deal with sustainability?

Think that off-site, professionally facilitated strategy sessions are currently out of reach?

Enjoy learning with your business peers, to share their experience and get their input on your ideas?

Then this is for you.

Discounted places available for qualifying businesses.

Check out the programme below for further details.

New Zealand

Adding Sustainable Value - business courses with 70% scholarship funding available!

Simon Harvey — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 06:09:34 -0400

DOWNLOAD THE BROCHURE

One size does not fit all when it comes to business improvement and sustainability strategy. We believe that businesses can achieve better sustainability performance improvements when they really understand the full range of issues involved, and have a simple, smart framework that develops a tailored response to their particular business situation. When people are competent to take action, change happens and it sticks. So we go beyond a focus on waste and energy to help businesses examine and understand all the opportunities.

Last year TNS NZ teamed up with Otago Polytechnic to develop a business training and improvement programme that combined sustainability education, fit for the future business planning, and an NZQA qualification. The result is the Adding Sustainable Value business improvement programme which has been running in the Manawatu and Waikato regions. This year we’re launching the programme in Auckland.

The ASV programme enables businesses to understand the full range of their impacts and make strategic choices about where the best and most effective gains are to be found. With action competence, business owners and managers can figure out what a sustainable trajectory means for the development of their core business model; rather than simply making the existing model more efficient – and that is the spark for innovation and competitive advantage.

This short video show participating businesses from the initial pilot ASV programme in the Manawatu talking about the benefits of the programme.

The Auckland programme includes 10 scholarship places that fund 70% of the programme fees for qualifying businesses. Registrations are now open for the programme which starts on 7th May 2012. The programme will run from May to November with 4 workshopss, one-on-one coaching sessions, and take-home tasks after each workshop that add real value.

To register follow this link and fill in the online form. Places are limited and registrations close on 21st May 2012.

During the 8 month programme participating businesses will analyse their operations and business model to develop a long-term strategic plan that integrates sustainable practices into core business as a value adding strategy. They will also develop an action plan to implement the strategy and develop a business case for a special project of their choosing. One person from each business will also enrol for the NZQA Certificate in Sustainable Practice qualification from Otago Polytechnic – adding real value in terms of staff development.

For further information contact Simon Harvey on 021 808 300 or look at the brochure here.

New Zealand

Advanced Specialty Certificate in Sustainable Business Leadership at British Columbia Institute of Technology

Neil McCallum — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 10:45:48 -0400

The Natural Step Canada Principal Advisor Pong Leung will be teaching an upcoming course called Sustainable Organizational Change and Leadership this fall at the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) as part of the Sustainable Business Leadership (SBL) program. The goal of the program is to develop sustainable business leaders, providing them with the technical and scientific skills, and the business management training, who can effectively promote sustainable business approaches within organizations. As organizations continue to shift to a more balanced approach of the triple bottom-line (people, planet, profit), the knowledge of these sustainability programs will continue to be in high demand.

The course starts in September and is a great continued education opportunity for students graduating with a diploma from BCIT. Students with diplomas from other post-secondary institutions are also welcome to apply.

For more information about the program visit Sustainable Business Leadership Program at BCIT. There will also be an information session with more details about the SBL program coming up on June 15.

Canada

Announcement: International Wineries Sustainability Benchmarking Project launches

Richard Blume — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 10:24:44 -0400

Calling all winemakers and wineries! We're pleased to announce the launch of the International Wineries Sustainability Benchmarking Project, and we invite you to participate.

The project aims to compare 15 wineries per country with each other and with global best practice. Each participating winery will receive a baseline measurement with regard to their sustainability performance, the ability to compare with peers and world class levels of sustainability, and identify areas of strength and weakness as well as capacity for early improvement.

Wineries will be represented by both the largest in country as well as mid/medium size community wineries, drawn from the target regions:

Europe - France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain, UK
Americas - Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, USA
Australasia - Australia, New Zealand
Africa - South Africa

The initiative is being led by the PROBE Network and uses a proven method - the PROBE for Sustainable Business benchmarking tool developed with the aid of The Natural Step. Advisors from The Natural Step will be involved in carrying out the assessments and are available to provide further support.

What is the value to a winery?

Savings in operations cost – recent studies show PROBE provides up to a 5:1 return on investment and average savings of $30,000 a year in medium size manufacturers
A smarter and broader application of sustainability in the business beyond a simple “carbon reduction” focus that’s backed by the TNS methodology.
On-going support to achieve their goals the facilitator people can be with them for the whole journey
The ability to use the 3-tier scalable PROBE for Sustainable Business to map the winery’s performance against their supply chain and smarter, achievable targets for improvement
International Best Practice Transfer enabling recipients to identify specific areas for improvement and the potential to collaborate (with other wineries in the regional project) and reduce costs in exporting
Increase in sustainability credentials potentially opening new brand/marketing opportunities and reducing in country carbon/other government tariffs
Identifying reductions of scarce and/or harmful substances to reduce safety, liability and regulatory oversight issues
Easily translating the heretofore complex language of sustainability into a coherent business process and performance framework

The PROBE Benchmarking Methodology

The PROBE (PROmoting Business Excellence) methodology has a long history of providing organisations, governments, change agents, academia and many other institutions with a proven framework for business improvements.

The benchmark is based upon a set of questionnaires that ask factual data questions; and questions about the company’s practice and performance covering all aspects of the winery’s sustainability. Questionnaires are sent out prior to the benchmark and a selected team complete them, at an agreed date the facilitator will conduct the benchmark which will last approximately 5-6 hours.

The benchmark will position the winery against its peer groups and against world class levels of sustainability. It will also identify area of strength and weakness and the winery’s actual capacity for early improvement. All of this information will be encapsulated in a client confidential tailored report.

All benchmarks are client confidential and data will only be used in non-identifiable and aggregated manner, this data will be used in an overarching industry report which will be jointly authored by TNS and The PROBE Network LLP.

Contact us

Interested to participate, learn more or be part of sponsoring the study?

You can make contact with accredited Advisors at The Natural Step here: http://www.thenaturalstep.org/probe

Alternatively, you can reach the lead contact for the study here:

Gerry Oates
PROBE Network LLP
6th Floor, Building 8, Exchange Quay, Salford,
M5 3EJ. United Kingdom
Tel No. +44 (0)161 932 1196. Fax No. +44 (0)161 932 1100
Mobile +44 7921 387214
www.probe-network.com

Sweden

Applications Open - Leading Change for a Sustainable Chemical Industry 2012

Richard Blume — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 08:13:18 -0500

Blekinge Institute of Technology (BTH) and The Natural Step (TNS) are once again running a unique 10-month customized industry course for business leaders and working professionals in the chemical sector and related value chains.

Commencing April 2012 and now entering its third year, the Leading Change for a Sustainable Chemical Industry course combines theory with implementation of projects in the participating organizations or with customers and suppliers. The schedule and course content is specifically designed for professionals working in the industry to apply sustainability concepts in their day to day work.

Past participants have come from a range of leading companies in various parts of the chemical sector such as Beckers, Dow, Omya, Chemson, BASF, Hydro Polymers, Akzo Nobel, Tarkett and Baerlocher. In the 2012 course we will be seeking to encourage participation and collaboration from companies tackling sustainability at various positions in a value chain.

Help us spread the word!

Schedule: The next course will run from April to December 2012. Course participants should allow 8-10 days for webinars with experts and three industry workshops in Europe, plus time for project work with coaching from a Sustainability Advisor.

Apply: Register interest at www.thenaturalstep.org/lcsci or by contacting Richard Blume at The Natural Step (richard.blume@thenaturalstep.org, +46 768 32196). The deadline for application is 24 February 2012.

Learn more: visit the course website at www.bth.se/lcsci.

Sweden

Applying The Natural Step Framework

Chas Martin — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 19:53:50 -0400

Ashforth Pacific, Inc., Portland, Oregon, USA

Chas Martin — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 14:07:31 -0400

A Natural Step Network Case Study

Overview
Ashforth Pacific, Inc. (API), is an investor, owner, and operator providing third-party property management, construction, and parking management services in West-Coast markets. An affiliate of The Ashforth Company, a Connecticut-based firm, API was established in Portland, Oregon, in 1995 and currently has 55 employees. The Ashforth Company presently owns and manages upwards of 15 million square feet of office space, of which 1.5 million square feet is in Portland. In May 1999, API launched an environmental initiative based on its newly created environmental statement and the four system conditions of The Natural Step.

Background
The Ashforth Company was founded as a family owned real estate company in New York in 1896. Throughout the next century, it expanded its services and coverage areas. The creation of the API office extended The Ashforth Company’s services beyond the Northeast to include the rapidly growing Northwest real estate market.

The company strives to bring social and economic benefits to the communities in which it operates. The opening page of its centennial celebration book states, “We owe it to our ancestors to preserve entire the rights they have delivered to us; we owe it to our posterity not to suffer their dearest inheritance to be destroyed.”

Ashforth is dedicated to serving its customers by adhering to its four operating principles: Commitment—to create enduring business relationships that will enhance the value of the company, Quality— to be dedicated to providing the highest level of service with speed and professionalism, People—to foster teamwork, personal growth, creativity and leadership and to encourage respect for the individual, communication, optimism, and a sense of humor, and Practices—to act with integrity and fairness to customers, employees, and community.

Introduction to The Natural Step: the Passion of a CEO
Hank Ashforth, CEO of API and the great-grandson of The Ashforth Company’s founder, learned about The Natural Step (TNS) through his involvement with the environmental community in Portland. Convinced that the business community must be part of the solution of pressing environmental issues, he attended an Oregon Natural Step Network breakfast meeting and quickly saw a good match between API’s principles and the framework TNS provided. In March 1999, he invited Duke Castle to give a briefing for members of the API executive team in charge of property management, construction, leasing, and finance.

The executive team met with Castle again to conduct a visioning exercise and brainstorm potential ideas. The team came up with a list of “low hanging fruit” and sent several employees to the National TNS conference in Portland in April 1999. Its purpose was to gain insight on ways to implement TNS framework, recruit a summer intern to focus on environmental issues, and train employees.

Launching the Environmental Initiative
In May 1999, the executive team hired Wendy Faubert as an intern and worked with her on a strategy for implementing an environmental initiative. They developed an approach that was both top-down and grassroots oriented. This strategy was designed to take advantage of the strong support of the executive team, the small and personal nature of the company, and the existing interest and passion of some employees.

The primary function of the grassroots approach was to develop awareness and interest among office employees in a fun and non-threatening manner. Meanwhile, the top-down strategy involved the executive team formulating an environmental policy statement and the formation of two sustainability teams. The teams’ mandate was to focus on ways that office operations and building-management practices could support the environmental initiative. The two groups, OSCAR (Office, Sustainability, Conservation, and Recycling) and BEAT (Buildings Environmental Action Team), would each be staffed by six employees handpicked by the CEO.

In July 1999, API officially launched its Environmental Initiative at an all-hands meeting—a debriefing meeting attended by all members of the office. The initiative was based on the company’s new environmental statement, “We will be stewards of our environment by taking responsible actions within our business and our communities,” and the four system conditions of The Natural Step. During the meeting, Duke Castle presented TNS framework, Hank Ashforth spoke, and a brainstorming activity allowed employees to write down their ideas for practices that could be implemented within the company.

By the fall it was apparent the Faubert was needed fulltime, and she accepted the job of sustainability coordinator.

Building Employee Support for the Environmental Initiative
From the beginning, building employee interest, awareness, and support for the Environmental Initiative was a top priority. The initial strategy was to keep the activities voluntary and fun. Several different methods were used to educate employees about sustainability and concepts surrounding TNS framework.

A brown bag lunch series served as the primary means of engaging employees. Employees learned about other environmentally conscious businesses organizations such as The Collins Companies, the Sustainable Chef’s Collaborative, Nike, PGE, The Rebuilding Center, and Carsharing Portland.

Other education methods included field trips and a bulletin board displaying relevant articles and information on sustainability and TNS framework. Office games and activities for each system condition kept the initiative and the concept of environmental responsibility in front of employees in a fun and interactive way. One popular activity was the “cookies-for-trash-cans” trade where employees voluntarily gave up their individual trash can and agreed to throw away all of their garbage in a central area. This activity was easy for employees to participate in, succeeded in raising employee awareness about what they were throwing away, and saved API 9,000 plastic trash can liners a year.

Finally, each API office employee attended a two-and-one-half-hour TNS framework training. The sustainability coordinator, office manager, and assistant controller conducted the training in groups of six to ten people during August and September 2000. All office employees attended the training as well as several outside vendors and other organizations interested in The Natural Step. The training focused on understanding the four system conditions through a combination of games, videos, visual aids, and discussions exploring how our actions and purchases affect the environment. The employees also completed a questionnaire that polled their perceptions related to the initiative and their interest in participating in other environmental events.

Results, Results, Results
API’s Environmental Initiative is a vision shared by the entire company, but it is rooted in producing results, results that can be measured and managed. Hank Ashforth has emphasized quantifiable results, believing that “if we know where we are, it is easier to go where we want to.”

Energy. Many of API’s initial projects focused on energy conservation measures. Between 1997 and 2001, the company reduced energy consumption by 18% through lighting and heating/cooling changes in the four commercial properties it owns, saving $654,000 over five years. T-8 lights, compact fluorescents, and LED lights replaced less efficient products; and automatic controls sweep all lights off during evenings and weekends. Thermostats were adjusted by two degrees. As a conservation incentive, sub-meters were installed so that tenants pay for any extra use of electricity above a standard amount. In addition, API has invested 6% of total electricity usage in wind power through Pacific Power’s Blue Sky program. The company is one of Pacific Power’s largest supporters of Blue Sky.

Water. API reduced water consumption in its portfolio properties by 6% by not using air conditioning after hours and not watering lawn areas, saving $43,000 annually. To handle storm water on site, the Liberty Center Parking Garage was retro-fitted with bioswales that filter the runoff and allow it to seep into the ground.

Waste. Through electronic communication and double-sided copying, API reduced paper purchases by 39% between 1998 and 2001. As a further commitment to saving trees, the company switched to 100% post-consumer recycled copy paper and 100% (40% post-consumer) recycled, chlorine-free toilet paper, saving over $15,000 annually. In 1999, when PacifiCorp’s office space was renovated, API’s construction arm made an extraordinary effort to recycle not only metal and wood, but also ceiling tile, window glass, drywall, and carpet. The company is now working to expand recycling options available to tenants to include batteries and packing peanuts and to create a better mechanism for tracking waste and recycling outputs. The centralized trash collection system for the office is on its way to becoming standard operating procedure for all tenant spaces.

Toxics. The company worked with ABM Janitorial Services (ABM) to switch to non-toxic cleaning products in the maintenance of its buildings. First testing the citrus-based Bi-O-Kleen on an outside curtain wall and finding it effective, ABM found it could replace over 20 standard cleaners, from scouring powder to carpet spotter, degreaser to disinfectant, with the same solution in different concentrations. As a result, 25 hazardous chemicals have been eliminated. ABM now promotes Bi-O-Kleen with its other commercial clients.

To reduce landscaping impacts, chemical herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizers are now prohibited in API’s maintenance specifications. Gasoline-powered maintenance equipment has been replaced by propane, electric, or manual equipment wherever possible, and the most polluting two-stroke engines are no longer allowed. Leaf blowers, because of their air and noise pollution, are allowed only at the height of fall season.

Transportation. Not only does API provide free transit passes to all employees, but it also actively supports alternative transportation throughout the Lloyd District. For example, it played an instrumental role in the expansion of Tri-Met’s Fareless Square to the District. That means that workers can travel from downtown to the Lloyd District free of charge. For those who don’t drive to work, API has loaned two parking spaces and purchased a membership in Flexcar, a service that makes a car available when needed during the workday. To encourage bicycle commuting, it provides 34 bicycle lockers in addition to racks and included showers in its newest building. To further encourage employees to use alternatives to single-occupant auto commutes, it offers a special benefit on a trial basis. Those who use alternative transportation 80 percent of the time each month get a half-day of personal time.

Green building. When API remodeled its office space, it installed Interface carpet tiles, allowing worn tiles in high-traffic areas to be sent back to the company without replacing the entire carpet. Low VOC paints were specified for the walls. Environ Biocomposite, a particle board manufactured from agricultural wastes, was chosen for desk surfaces.

Operating from the belief that people want to do their best, API has been pleased by employee ideas that have been generated through the Environmental Initiative. In fact, many of the projects API has worked on or is currently working on came from employees’ suggestions. A sampling of other employee ideas include double-siding fax cover sheets; using glasses, plates and silverware in the office instead of disposables; using envelopes provided by vendors in their invoices instead of API envelopes; and standardizing office supplies with choices based on TNS principles along with efficiency and cost.

Lessons Learned
• Invest time in training workers so they are knowledgeable and excited about the company’s new direction.
• Take small steps. The challenges, changes, and ideas can be overwhelming at times. Look for the easy things to do first, as accomplishments breed success.
• Encourage workers to come up with ideas to support the initiative.
• Set up a structure to make employees’ ideas a reality.
• Communicate environmental goals and policies to vendors to help expand your company’s impact.

API feels that the most important element in launching an initiative is enlisting the support of people working in the company. As Wendy Faubert, API’s first sustainability coordinator put it, “I strongly believe that having taken the time to get people on board, to make it fun, to increase the energy around the initiative before we start [more] projects. . . is going to pay dividends in the long run.” According to the office manager and assistant controller, benefits of involving employees in the Environmental Initiative include improving the cohesiveness of the company, challenging employees to think of new ways to improve existing processes, and better communications among departments.

Challenges
API spent the first 18 months of its environmental initiative pursuing “low-hanging fruit,” primarily in the property management division. The projects were fairly easy to accomplish because they did not radically change business operations (e.g., shifting to a more environmentally friendly cleaner) and demonstrated short-term economic justification (e.g., the energy savings). The company’s next challenge will be changes that alter fundamental practices and are harder to justify economically. Greener construction, for example, often requires a large investment in materials and, initially, more employee involvement and time. In the “time-is-money” world of construction, such challenges can seem daunting. However, API is quick to point out that while construction will be more challenging, there is ample opportunity for significant environmental benefits.

Beginning September 2001, API was selected as property manager for the Vollum Natural Capital Center, a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) gold-rated green building located in Portland’s Pearl District. Involvement with this high-profile project has raised the bar for API to continue to develop innovative and environmentally friendly approaches to property management.

In 2002 API accepted a new challenge—participation in a pilot project of the U.S. Green Building Council to test its new LEED-EB (Existing Buildings) rating system. To date, the Council’s LEED certification system for green buildings has applied largely to new construction. Over the course of the coming year, Ashforth Pacific staff will document Liberty Center’s performance and policies in the areas of cleaning and maintenance, indoor air quality, energy efficiency, recycling and facilities, and landscape maintenance. Where necessary, building systems may be upgraded to bring the building into compliance with LEED criteria.

The Future
The company is now developing a more in-depth approach to sustainability involving all office staff. Smaller teams will focus on revising specific areas of corporate and building operations and working to balance sustainability goals with the needs of tenants, profit expectations, and the constraints of the company’s existing buildings. Each group will conduct a thorough analysis of its area of operations, identify and implement necessary improvements, and track indicators that will help the company measure environmental performance. The four system conditions of the Natural Step will serve as a compass for these groups as they redefine organizational processes and operations.

Many organizations and individuals have contributed knowledge and inspiration to the company’s sustainability efforts. As the work of the Environmental Initiative further unfolds, API will strive to share information and lessons learned with clients, suppliers, and the community at large. While recognizing that much work lies ahead in the company’s quest for
sustainability, Ashforth Pacific intends to continue stepping forward to increase service to clients while improving the environmental and economic bottom line.

Sources
1. Interview with Wendy Faubert, Sustainability Coordinator, Ashforth Pacific, Inc., December 15, 2000
2. Master Recycler News, October 2000, “Profile: Sustainability in Real Estate Management,” Mendola, Kathleen Finn
3. The BEAT Bulletin, November 2000, March 2000, October 1999

This case study was prepared in April 2001 by Vanessa Margolis for The Natural Step Network and updated in October 2002 by the Network.

Axis Performance Advisors, Portland, Oregon, USA

Chas Martin — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 14:42:36 -0400

A Natural Step Network Case Study

Background
Axis Performance Advisors was started in 1990 by Marsha Willard and Darcy Hitchcock as an organizational management consulting firm, specializing ins self-directed work teams. As of today, November 2003, about 53 percent of Axis' work is directly related to sustainability.

Inspiration
In addition to its consulting work, Axis would, on occasion, host one-day think-tank meetings. In 1996, having heard about the concept of sustainability, it hosted a meeting on the subject. At that meeting Hitchcock had an “aha” experience when she realized that Axis was showing companies how to be more efficient and effective in depleting the planet’s resources. She decided that she and Willard had to do “something.” Shortly thereafter Hitchcock was introduced to The Natural Step (TNS) at a Business for Social Responsibility meeting. She says she felt a great relief, because TNS offered the “something” that Axis should do. In 1998 she went to the TNS conference in Chicago and began doing volunteer work for the Oregon Natural Step Network as a speaker and as a contributing writer for the Tool kit.

Action
Upon learning about TNS, Axis first examined the impacts of its own business on the environment. Hitchcock and Willard quickly realized that as a service business, their greatest impact was through their consulting services and the influence they had on their clients. Since they had experience in organizational change, they could help companies become more sustainable.

Axis also examined its internal practices against the four systems conditions. It determined that its greatest impact was greenhouse emissions from energy use, especially transportation, but it was able to take action to reduce its impacts in all four system conditions.

System Condition One (Taking Substances from the Earth's Crust)

Willard and Hitchcock measured their greenhouse gas impact and purchased carbon offsets to be climate neutral with a cost of approximately $20 per year per person (see Appendix 1 for measurements, including tracking alternative transportation).
Hitchcock moved her home office from Vancouver, Washington to Portland, Oregon to reduce travel.
Both Hitchcock and Willard use bicycles and public transportation whenever possible, resulting in 43% of business travel through alternative transportation (up from 0% before 2000)
Hitchcock and Willard both work from their homes, they purchased Green Power for both work and personal consumption.
Hitchcock purchased a Toyota Prius for business and personal use.
Axis purchased Energy Star rated computers (MAC G3s and monitors) and chose not to buy a copying machine.

System Condition Two (Use of Synthetic Substances)

Switched overhead transparency markers to ones that wash off with water instead of isopropyl alcohol.
Decided not to purchase certain products (e.g., glues) that had volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

System Condition Three (Preservation of Natural Resources)

Committed to buying recycled content paper, using 100% post-consumer recycled paper for company stationary.
When copier broke, did not purchase new one. This reduced the number of copies Axis makes.
Transitioned services like its newsletter and Team Booster product to an electronic service to save paper.
Axis does small print runs of the Sustainability SeriesTM booklets so as not to build up a large inventory, which might need to be scrapped later.
Axis has also chosen ShoreBank Pacific for their banking services.

System Condition Four (Meeting Human Needs)

Offered no- or low-cost services for targeted non-profits which would otherwise not be able to afford consulting services and which had a mission related to sustainability (Housing our Families, Planned Parenthood, Oregon Environmental Council, OMSI).
Provided pro bono facilitation services for the Oregon Natural Step Network’s Climate Change Peer Learning Group.

Results
Axis’s expenditures have mainly been in time, although it has paid for some training as well. It characterizes the time and training as R&D because Axis’ goal has been to transform the business to sustainability consulting.

That said, just operating its business more sustainably has saved Axis money over all. It has spent less money on parking fees, equipment not purchased, and printing and postage and has less wear and tear on its vehicles. The combined effect of its transportation efforts resulted in an annual reduction of 4,000 pounds of CO2 emissions. Axis has also learned that measurement does change behavior. It helps inform decisions and makes an immediate impact.

Challenges
One irony is that the more successful Axis becomes the more Hitchcock and Willard have to travel, which will actually increase their environmental impacts. They will address these impacts through the use of offsets.

Because sustainability is the focus of Axis’s business, the biggest challenge is creating a market to sustain all those who want to work in this field. It appears that sustainability is still at the early adopter phase in most sectors so the list of potential customers is limited. Also in tough economic times, people tend to pull back from exploring new options (even if they could save time or money) because they are already feeling stressed and stretched. That said, the challenge for consultants is always: to provide value to customers.

This case study was prepared by Regina Hauser for the Oregon Natural Step Network. For more information contact Darcy Hitchcock (503) 288-7704, darcy@axisperformance.com, or Marsha Willard (503) 284-9132, marsha@axisperformance.com, or visit the Axis Performance Advisors’ Web site, www.pacifier.com/~axis.

Appendix 1

Benefits for business

simonharvey — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 22:09:31 -0400

Reaping the rewards

The Natural Step provides professional and customized education, training and advisory services to leading companies committed to real change. By integrating sustainability and systems-thinking into hearts and minds of employees, and into the core strategies and operations of businesses, we are helping them create innovative, sustainable solutions that are profitable and long-lasting.

Companies committed to a sustainable vision enjoy a number of clear commercial benefits including:

Product and Service Innovation - Sustainability principles and strategies inject revolutionary thinking into new product and services, opening up new markets, increasing customers, and reducing risk throughout the lifetime of products.

Competitive Advantage - Visionary organisations use sustainability to adapt to competitive pressures through innovative, flexible and adaptable products and processes, with an enhanced ability to quickly respond to change.

Customer and Employee Loyalty and Trust - Enhanced brand equity and reputation accompanies sustainable business practices which attracts customers and top-flight employees.

Increased Shareholder Value -Research shows that companies pursuing sustainable business strategies have significantly greater shareholder value than their peers.

License to operate – Organisations that can genuinely and effectively engage communities to deliver ‘triple bottom line’ benefits are much more likely to achieve success in their ventures.

Cost savings - Redesigning energy, material flows and impacts in the direction of sustainability can significantly reduce operational costs while increasing access to capital by lowering risks.

Risk reduction - bringing your organisation closer towards environmental and social sustainability reduces risk whilst ensuring economic competitiveness and profitability.

For more information, and to discuss how we can help your business, contact us at tnsnz@thenaturalstep.org.

New Zealand

Bob Willard on the Movement Toward Sustainable Capital Markets

Neil McCallum — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 11:20:09 -0400

The Natural Step is collaborating with many different actors working to embed sustainability into the heart of the capital markets (lending and investing), and into the heart of what it means to be a successful business. Working masterfully behind the scenes at the center of all these efforts is author, thought leader and Natural Step board member Bob Willard. His latest article 2015 Will Bring “Sweeping Changes” to Capital Markets tells us in simple, clear language how close we are to sweeping change toward sustainability in the capital markets, and why.

BOORA Archietcts, Portland, Oregon, USA

Chas Martin — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 16:47:08 -0400

A Natural Step Network Case Study

TNS gave us a banner to march behind. It enhanced the spirit that was already here and gave us order and direction. —Eric Miller, BOORA employee Overview BOORA Architects provides architecture, planning, and interior design services to clients throughout the United States and abroad. With one office in Portland, Oregon, BOORA currently has 85 employees and annual gross revenues in excess of $13 million. The firm’s projects include schools, theaters, museums, libraries, office buildings, and recreation facilities.

· LEED implementation: Assisting in the registration and certification of BOORA projects. Currently, four of BOORA’s buildings are LEEDä registered.

· Products library classification: “Greening” BOORA’s interiors and products library so that teams can use the best and most responsible materials available; developing product classifications which describe what makes various products green; and developing a classification form that product representatives can use to provide detailed information
about their product’s sustainability features.

Lessons Learned and Challenges Ahead
· Provide leadership from the top. BOORA management communicated to the staff its commitment to the firm’s sustainability efforts through specific goals and objectives
outlined in the annual business plans.

· Commit to education and training. Strongly encouraging all staff to attend a half-day TNS training session at an early date gave everyone the same knowledge base and vocabulary.

· Take calculated risks. Believing that too much analysis can cause paralysis, BOORA did not get bogged down with elaborate cost-benefit examination or require concrete evidence of assured success before moving forward. It continues to implement ideas that intuitively seem like the “right thing to do.”

· Little successes add up. Having some tangible achievements, especially if they are recognized publicly, inspires staff to take them to the next level. BOORA has received a PGE EarthSmart Innovator Award for the design of George Fox University’s Stevens Center, and two BOORA-designed buildings were selected for the Ten Plus Northwest exhibition organized by Portland’s Office of Sustainable Development, showcasing the
latest and best in sustainable practices and technologies in the Pacific Northwest.

· Share the responsibility. BOORA created a Sustainability Coordinator position, but the position was eventually eliminated. Because the TNS framework touches every aspect of
BOORA’s practice, from architecture and interiors to specifications, marketing, and technology, the responsibility for integrating TNS was too large and undefined for one individual.

· Find quantifiable industry standards . In the United States, The LEEDä rating system of the U.S. Green Building Council is the standard for assessing sustainability in commercial and institutional buildings. Many local governments, higher education institutions, architects, and engineers are already using this standard to assess the “shades of green” of their construction and renovation projects.

BOORA’s efforts over the past several years have focused on “building” a green BOORA—its people, place, and practice. The biggest challenge BOORA will face in the future will be “marketing” green BOORA. This shift from a more “internalized” focus to an “externalized” approach will advance the practice and business of sustainable design and build BOORA’s
reputation for knowing how to do this work.

Developing marketing communications materials that reflect BOORA’s accomplishments and perspectives, presenting seminars on sustainable design, and promoting recent innovative sustainable design approaches and technical systems in trade newspapers and journals all contribute to BOORA’s reputation as one of the most knowledgeable in this specialty. Resources need to be allocated toward these efforts so they don’t take a back seat when other “billable” efforts are pressing.

Learning to become effective advocates of sustainable design will result in better buildings, more satisfied clients, and a strong referral base for future work. Clients may be wary of the benefits of sustainable design, either because they don't understand it, they think it's too expensive, and/or they don't want to take a risk on unproven technology and equipment. Design professionals need to better learn the language of the building owner, facility manager, and CFO in terms owners can understand--first-cost savings, return on investment, and enhanced productivity--to effectively champion the benefits and value of sustainable design.

This case study was prepared by Mary Van Domelen and Julie Wallis of BOORA for the The Natural Step Network.

Brown Bag Leadership Lunch Series - Declaring Your Intention

Chas Martin — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 18:42:10 -0400

Start: Dec 12 2008 - 12:00pm

Timezone: Etc/GMT

Bring your lunch and join us for a series of engaging dialogues, facilitated by LionHeart Consulting, providing practical tools and insights into the real leadership that is required to implement sustainability.

While it is ideal to attend the entire series, each session will be interesting and informative as a stand alone experience.

December 12 (tentative): Declaring Your Intention – great words are at the source of great accomplishments. When you know the deepest wisdom in your heart is guiding your actions, you are no longer afraid to speak powerfully for a bold future.

These brown bag sessions are free. We will meet in the US Bank Room at the Central Library, 810 SW 10 th Ave , Portland, Oregon. We will begin at noon and end promptly at 1pm.

Building CSR Commitment Through Stakeholder Engagement Panels (Webinar)

Neil McCallum — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 09:31:09 -0400

Start: Sep 22 2011 - 1:00pm

End: Sep 22 2011 - 2:00pm

Timezone: Canada/Eastern

External CSR Advisory Council or Stakeholder Engagement Panel can be a vital business strategy component. These groups can help companies identify new opportunities, promote innovation, and mitigate risks. Join CBSR for a look at some leading practises in optimizing your use of Stakeholder Engagement Panels.

Participants will:

Hear how Stakeholder Engagement Panels can further a company's CSR commitment
Learn about the type and functions of Stakeholder Engagement Panels
Understand the benefits and challenges of Stakeholder Engagement Panels for project planning and operations
Gain some strategies companies have used to build trust and foster better relationships with their stakeholders
Learn what to include when determining terms of reference and the logistics to manage an Stakeholder Engagement Panel

Who should attend this webinar?

CSR practioners
Communications Managers
Stakeholder Relations Directors

Speakers:

Marie Jurcevic, CSR Advisor, CBSR
Chad Park, Director Programs and Strategies, The Natural Step
Jayne Russell, CRMP, Manager, Public Relations, The Co-operators Group

This webinar is free for CBSR members. Non members may join for $75.

Registration Closes: Sep 22, 2011 01:15 PM

Canada

Building Toward Sustainability, Literally

Jennifer Reid — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 15:18:53 -0400

The Landmark Group of Builders is a residential construction company further comprised of seven individual companies with offices in Edmonton, Red Deer, and Calgary. In the fall of 2008, in collaboration with The Natural Step, Landmark embarked on a journey to identify their key sustainability challenges, key innovation goals to overcome those challenges, and to develop a road map for embedding sustainability into their business. TNS advisor Sarah Brooks commends Landmark for “taking a long term perspective in their strategic planning for sustainability.” She points out that by “benchmarking progress from full sustainability rather than compliance regulations, [The Landmark Group] are taking an approach that is rigorous enough to answer the question “how will we know when we’ve arrived there [at sustainability]?””

To date, TNS has been involved in facilitating the Awareness, Baseline, and Visioning phases of TNS ABCD process. This has been accomplished through a series of workshops and webinars held with various members of senior management and members of Landmark’s Green Team. With support from TNS advisors, Landmark Group of Builders has prepared a baseline analysis of their company. This baseline analysis, along with a governance report drafted by TNS representatives, provided a means for the critical review of the company’s business practices which is integral for strategic planning. In preparation for sustainable action, a draft of a sustainability vision has been created by the company’s internal “Green Team”.

This partnership with TNS is only one of many initiatives making Landmark a strong corporate leader in Alberta. Dave Nasseri, the director and coordinator of the “Landmark Sustainability Initiative”, along with a group of dedicated visionaries, have a number of systems and assets in place from which to build. These programs, such as Landmark’s culture of learning, have greatly contributed to the progress made with TNS.

“Landmark is setting a solid foundation to move towards sustainability in a robust, efficient, and comprehensive way while staying viable in the market”, commented Sarah Brooks; “This is a foundation that will help to shed light on the sustainability journey and provide ‘proof of possibility’ for other construction companies interested in taking a similar path.”

Canada

Building with Bricks - The Co-operators recognized for leadership in sustainability

Marieke — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 15:52:39 -0400

Congratulations to our corporate partners, The Co-operators, who have just been ranked number two among the 50 Best Corporate Citizens in Canada by Corporate Knights!

This is the result of several years of hard work on the sustainability front, led by Barb Turley-McIntyre, Director of Corporate Citizenship.

The Co-operators has been working with The Natural Step since 2006 and has made great leaps towards sustainability ever since. They want to act as a catalyst for a sustainable society and one of their efforts towards this goal is the Impact conference, bringing together youth from across the country to talk about sustainability.

Click on the video below to hear The Co-operators CEO Kathy Bardswick talk about their sustainability accomplishments and challenges.

Source: Corporate Knights

Canada

Bullfrog Power sustainability training: What motivates you to work for sustainability?

Kara Stonehouse — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 09:53:19 -0400

As an Intern at The Natural Step Canada, I was thrilled to get the learning opportunity to attend the Bullfrog Power sustainability training. I really appreciate the dedication we have to learning and mentorship at The Natural Step. On the train ride to Toronoto, I read “The 5th Discipline” by Peter Senge and he says a commitment to learning is a leverage point for organizational success. So it all makes sense!

The workshop for Bullfrog was the first time we offered the sustainability learning course to an organization team all together. This was a great fit for our mission of helping organizations transition to sustainable operations and governance. When the whole team understands sustainability together, it’s easier to move forward.

I really enjoyed the workshop for two main reasons. For one, I got to see a master at work. Chad Park, the workshop facilitator from The Natural Step, was very attuned to the group, confident in his delivery and made just the right changes on the fly to make the workshop poignant for the group. For example, He noticed the group was comfortable in the open area, finishing their breakfast in the beautiful Brassaii restaurant, so he started the first learning activity there rather than at the tables and chairs in the meeting room. It was perfect because the first activity was to talk to the people around you to and discuss “What motivates you to work for sustainability?”

The second reason I really enjoyed the workshop was because of the answers to that first question. I was really impressed with the caliber of the team at Bullfrog power. They each had their own perspective to why sustainability is important from business, social good and environmental reasons.

We challenged them to really look at their value creation for their clients from a sustainability planning perspective and asked them to evaluate how a company would judge their service offering in light of three prioritizing questions:

Does this move us in the right direction, towards our goal?
Is this flexible platform moving forward in terms of technology and financial investment? Can we build on it in the future to reach our goal?
Does this initiative offer a return on investment that works for our business? This can include the social return on reputation and brand value as well as a financial return. It can also include your investment of time and the value you get back from it.

I definitely saw some (low energy consumption) light bulbs springing on over people’s heads as we looked at their offering from a fresh perspective. There were “Ah ha!” Moments as well as “Aw, that’s a downer!” realizations as we challenged assumptions about sustainability. We also shared laughs of understanding and learning. I got to facilitate one of the activities and I was the graphic scribe for others. I learned about the whole process and saw how good a learning course can be! The Bullfrog employees got a lot out of the training and now they are more unified in their understanding and values around sustainability. Watch for the Bullfrog as we leap into the sustainable future!

To learn more about how The Natural Step can help equip your team with the knowledge, skills, and tools to embed sustainability throughout your organization, visit one-day strategic sustainability training.

Canada

Business as Usual With a Coat of Green Paint?

Youth Storyteller — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 11:48:42 -0400

Last week The Natural Step Network-USA and Illahee hosted Boston College sociology professor and author Juliet Schor, who spoke about her most recent book Plenitude: The New Economics of True Wealth. Schor has examined the intersection of our economic and social systems for many years. In Plenitude, she addresses the question many of us asked in the aftermath of the 2008 financial meltdown: where do we go from here? Schor’s answer is her theory of “plenitude,” which goes hand-in-hand with a recent talk by Canadian scientist and professor Bill Rees, as well as the underlying principles of The Natural Step Framework:

…the individual principles of plenitude: work and spend less, create and connect more. In turn they yield ecological benefits- emit and degrade less- and human ones- enjoy and thrive more.

Not only has our culture of consumerism been challenged, but also our definition of wealth. What is needed for a sustainable future is a complete re-structuring of both our economic system as well as our way of thinking. The U.S. business-as-usual approach does not recognize, nor give any weight to, the social wealth that can result from realizing that we really can “get more for less.” Schor explains: “if we can admit that full-time jobs need not require so many hours, it’ll be possible to slow down ecological degradation, address unemployment, and make time for family and community.”

We have either forgotten or no longer realize that what is good for the environment is also good for people. In addressing the 4th system condition that must be met to achieve true sustainability, choosing to be sustainable does not mean we have to sacrifice our quality of life. It simply means we need to change what we consider our “needs” and stop buying in (literally) to the “more is better” lifestyle.

New technology and higher energy prices alone cannot solve our problems; what is needed is a collective effort and change of interest to become more in-tune with natural systems. Bill Rees, originator of the ecological footprint, describes the dilemma of our current situation in his speech “Is humanity inherently unsustainable?” on April 15:

Unsustainability…is the modern mind interacting with Nature. It's the way we think, in terms of the beliefs, values, and assumptions under which we operate…Our economies, are so far removed from the way in which natural systems function, that there is no way that you can compatibly integrate the two.

Rees gives the following example: if a developing country with a population similar to China’s reaches a level of consumption equivalent to that of the U.S., that single country will exceed the Earth’s total ecological output available. His solution? Not only Americans, but all of “the rich countries have to slow down” and change our habits of excessive consumption, which he calls “contraction and convergence.” Much like the Natural Step sustainability principles emphasize, we must find ways to become more efficient and effective, in addition to reducing both what we take from the earth as well as what we make. By not only changing our needs to require fewer natural resources and reduce disruption of natural system cycles, we can “create the ecological space necessary for [populations of other countries] who deserve to grow” and live at a “decent standard.” As Schor says, “business-as-usual with a coat of green paint is not enough.”

Access Bill Rees’ speech transcript and audio.

By Brooke Beadle, Intern, The Natural Step US

Calgary Level One Pilot Takes Off

Sarah Brooks — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:04:56 -0500

www.flickr.com

Last week, I, along with my colleague Pong Leung, had the privilege of joining 24 people in Calgary, Alberta, to spend two days unpacking and playing with application of The Natural Step Framework.This was the first of our Level 1 Learning Programs and as such, really the pilot of our pilot program.

Participants came from a range of backgrounds both public and private and included people experienced in using the Framework and also some that were brand new to it. There were participants who had excellent working knowledge of building and delivering sustainability initiatives, but who were not familiar with the Framework, and there were those that were new to sustainability in general. We had representatives from municipalities, small business and large corporations... Fertile ground in which to play! Click here to see the photos.

As facilitators, the challenge was to make the content relevant for a diverse audience, something that is always interesting, both as facilitator and participant-observer. What was clear, however, particularly once we dove into application of the content, was that the generic nature of the Framework – its ‘scalability’ over place and space appropriate to context – really shone. We had an opportunity to explore how the sustainability challenge and concurrent opportunities may impact organizations – everything from an energy company, to a café, to a small municipality. We explored how to use fundamental principles of sustainability to create innovation goals (a desired future) for an organization or community; confirm these goals against key sustainability challenges (identified through analysis by the sustainability principles); and how to translate that into day-to-day actions over the short- and medium- term so that the goals become operational in practice. The goal of the workshop was to add value to the great work that participants are already doing or considering doing, and to provide tools, techniques, lessons learned and advice to enable use of the Framework in their own context.

There was some excellent output from the session, and we are looking forward to seeing how participants put the Framework to use for themselves and the organizations that they represent. We’re also anticipating our upcoming sessions in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and Ottawa. Stay tuned!

Canada

Canadian Business for Social Responsibility - CSR Reflections: Best of 2011 and What to Expect in 2012? (Webinar)

Neil McCallum — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 15:02:21 -0500

Start: Nov 17 2011 - 1:00pm

End: Nov 17 2011 - 2:00pm

Timezone: Canada/Eastern

The Natural Step Canada is proud to support the Canadian Business for Social Responsibility (CBSR) and their upcoming webinar on CSR reflections.

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Plan to join this webinar to hear Toby Webb, Founder and Chairman of Ethical Corporation, share his perspectives on the best practices and highlights of CSR in 2011 as well as his thoughts on the CSR Trends to watch for in 2012.

Ethical Corporation has been providing business intelligence on sustainability since 2001. Through online and print publications, leading-edge research and world-recognized events, Ethical Corporation delivers timely and valuable insights into how large companies are responding to the sustainable business agenda.

Toby brings a global perspective on a wide range of CSR issues, delivered in his own unique style. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn and interact with a leading international CSR expert.

Canada