Filed Under Network

TNS Canada: taking systems change to the next level

Scott Perret — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 07:18:06 -0400

Here is a snapshot update of some of the work that's been going on in The Natural Step Canada office lately. It was originally posted as part of the Spring 2013 Stepping Stones Newsletter.

“How can we accelerate the shift towards sustainability and beyond, with much greater impact?” This is the question The Natural Step Canada has been asking itself for the past year. Its exciting answer is a blend of old and new strategies. While continuing to offer deeply impactful and highly customized advisory services for individual organizations (like the development of “sustainability filters” to help teams at an engineering firm apply a sustainability lens to their design work), The Natural Step Canada is also stepping firmly into the arena of change making at higher and higher levels of the social, business and economic systems in which we all operate. Today, they are doing this by working with others to define what sustainable business would look like, impacting young leaders, and hosting conversations and capacity-building for collaboration—the primary skill required for influencing complex systems.

What Would a Sustainable Business Look Like if We Saw One?

In collaboration with a number of partners including B Lab, the MaRS Centre for Impact Investing, Green Living Enterprises, Corporate Knights, Interface, and Bob Willard, The Natural Step Canada is working on a project called “Toward a Gold Standard for Sustainable Business.”

The intention is to create a systemic intervention that helps reorient the way organizations consider their business performance—relative to the desired future state of sustainability, rather than relative to past “unsustainable” performance. Said another way, the true leaders in the sustainable business movement are driving innovation by articulating a sustainable vision for their businesses and monitoring performance relative to that vision—i.e., “how much closer to sustainability are we getting through our innovations and performance improvements?”

The long-term benefit of this approach is to help create more successful businesses, as well as clarity in the marketplace that allows observers to differentiate between businesses that meet rigorous social, environmental, accountability, and transparency standards and those that do not.

The recent emergence of the B Corp movement has created an opportunity to address this issue in a way that wasn’t possible before. We are therefore pleased to report TNS Canada is working with B Lab (the curator of the B Corp movement) to this end.

With this project unfolding over the course of 2013, The Natural Step aims to achieve three outcomes:

A revised B Impact Assessment (the rating system for B Corps) that is reflective of the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development
An increased number of business leaders and other stakeholders voicing support for a new “Gold Standard for Sustainable Businesses.”
Emergence of new collaborative initiatives to advance a “Gold Standard for Sustainable Business.”

A Canadian team is undertaking the first step right now – a review of the B Impact Assessment through the lens of the FSSD. The second phase of the project will involve a series of consultations with a range of stakeholders to test our assumptions and raise awareness about the issues. The third phase will be to convene groups involved in the ranking and rating of sustainable business to share the lessons learned through the collaboration with B Lab and to explore the appetite for broader collaboration toward a Gold Standard for Sustainable Business.

For more information contact Chad Park: cpark(at)naturalstep.ca

Accelerate: Collaborating for Sustainability Conference

Change-makers throughout society are increasingly calling for greater collaboration to solve complex challenges, especially around sustainability issues. But there is precious little expertise in how to convene diverse groups and steward multi-stakeholder change processes. In response, The Natural Step Canada will host “Accelerate: Collaborating for Sustainability”, a two-day national conference in Guelph, Ontario, June 10 and 11, 2013, to convene sustainability practitioners and kindred spirits to learn on the “bleeding edge” together, share successes, and seed potential collaborative initiatives.

The conference will convene over 200 leaders and decision makers from large and small businesses, corporations, higher education, government, non-profits, social enterprises, social venture capital firms, and more in exploring how we can effectively collaborate to create a sustainable future. Click on the conference link to see the amazing line up of speakers and to register.

Booting Up Young Change Makers

To help empower young sustainability leaders, The Natural Step in Canada is running IMPACT Sustainability Champions Training for the second year now, in partnership with The Co-operators. IMPACT Champions is a national action program that provides training, networking and coaching to young change agents in cities across Canada who are keen to develop sustainability projects on their campuses and communities. Students participate in two intense days of sustainability training and are mentored by experts and leaders in the community for the duration of their projects. To date The Natural Step has trained over 200 young leaders in Vancouver, Edmonton, Ottawa, Guelph, Toronto and Montreal. Students have launched hundreds of tangible sustainability projects in their communities.

For more information contact Josh Snider: jsnider(at)naturalstep.ca

Creating Sustainability Lens Tools at ISL Engineering and Land Services

The Natural Step in Canada has been working closely with ISL Engineering and Land Services for several years. ISL is a full-service consulting engineering firm based in Edmonton, Alberta Canada with nine offices around western Canada. ISL has a comprehensive sustainability strategy co-developed by staff and company leaders, the development of which was led by The Natural Step. The strategy is underpinned by the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD) and is guided by six strategic sustainability goals.

One of these goals is around the provision of sustainable design solutions. To help meet this goal, The Natural Step has been collaborating with ISL engineers and designers to develop the tools (“sustainability filters”) and training that will enable them to assess the sustainability performance of various design options for a given project type to ensure that a robust and defensible sustainability perspective informs design choices. It is intended that yearly review of filter output will reveal patterns of practice and highlight opportunities for innovation, in support of ISL’s brand promise, Inspiring Sustainable Thinking.

To learn more about how The Natural Step creates tools to help teams apply a sustainability lens to their work, click here, or contact Sarah Brooks: sbrooks(at)naturalstep.ca.

TNS Italy: innovation, product design and sexy shoes

Scott Perret — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 07:09:48 -0400

Here is a snapshot update of some of the work that's been going on in The Natural Step Italy office lately. It was originally posted as part of the Spring 2013 Stepping Stones Newsletter.

The Natural Step Italy expands its business model, its reach and our imaginations about the possibilities for fresh approaches to change making by creating the first Italian B-Corp…which is also the first B-Corp in the TNS family. Along the way, they develop unique software to facilitate the collaborative analysis and design of future-proof products, and engage 300 downstream suppliers of a luxury brand to co-create a prototype of every world-conscious fashionista’s fantasy: a guilt-free luxury Italian shoe.

Founding The First Italian B-Corp

Nativa, an innovation hub that carries out The Natural Step Italy’s business advisory operations, is the first Benefit Corporation™ in Italy and among the first in the world.

Nativa is a prototypical 21st century company. Its purpose is to evolve business and society such that they create a positive impact on people and planet, growing happiness.

On the one hand, Nativa helps companies incorporate sustainable innovation into their DNA, improve their business results, and create authentic economic value; on the other, it develops new businesses that ‘by design’ regenerate humans and the biosphere.

Nativa fosters a new economic paradigm by blending Evolution Principles into the DNA of existing businesses, to help them innovate towards future proof models, and by creating new start-ups, products, and services which are regenerative by design.

The handprint in our logo represents the potential positive impact of human intent, a planet in balance, and the imperative of a circular economy. The human hand is also the first technology: Nativa harnesses technological acceleration, to design and implement bold solutions to humankind’s grand challenges, and to grasp smart opportunities to satisfy fundamental human needs.

Nativa – Established in 2023 - is founded in the future, as our work is based on a backcasting approach: envisioning a desirable future, in which today’s challenges will be solved, and then implementing the strategic path to connect the present to that future.

OURO™

Nativa has developed a revolutionary software platform, Ouro - based on The Natural Step’s research - to allow for the analysis and design of future-proof products.

Ouro (“gold” in Italian) implements an assessment tool developed by The Natural Step, known as SLCA (Sustainability Life Cycle Assessment) and provides a strategic overview of the full scope of social and ecological sustainability for any given product. The result is an analysis that allows a company to see the major impacts of its products and services today through the whole lifecycle in relation to the principle requirements of sustainability. The platform allows multiple actors across entire supply chains to cooperate and ‘speak the same language’ about future proof products and services, and to create plans for how to successfully bridge the sustainability gap.

Luxury Brand Supply Chain Involvement

There is no sustainable evolution for a company without the involvement of its supply chain. The Natural Step Italy engaged more than 300 suppliers of an Italian luxury shoe company during the past 12 months to help it on its path to sustainability. The process began with a co-creation meeting to foster commitment followed by the organization of open innovation Labs where knowledge and creativity were shared.

The result is a prototype for a top luxury shoe model. Along the way, 168 parameters were analyzed. Within 3 months, with the direct involvement of major suppliers, the innovation process led to the design and manufacturing of a sustainable, 21st century luxury shoe.

For more information on Italian projects, please contact Eric Ezechieli: eric.ezechieli(at)thenaturalstep.org.

Italy

Youth Leaders have IMPACT! right now.

Youth Storyteller — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 09:55:09 -0400

Thank you to Katja Macura, our volunteer storyteller, for capturing this story and photos during the IMPACT! Sustainability Champions Training program in Vancouver.

“…young people aren’t just the leaders of tomorrow, they’re the leaders of today. Their voices matter…the things they do now can have a tremendous impact to change the world, right now.” (Justin Trudeau, Globe and Mail, September 26, 2012)

These words were shared by Josh Snider, Manager of Communications at The Natural Step Canada and one of the facilitators of the IMPACT! Sustainability Champions Training Program held in Vancouver, BC, on September 28-29, 2012. He read them at an evening networking event where eager program participants were able to meet local social entrepreneurs and community leaders. Justin Trudeau’s timely words on youth leadership describe the reason this program is so important, and were exemplified in person by the attendees of this workshop.

The IMPACT! Sustainability Champions Training workshops are put on across Canada by The Co-operators, The Natural Step Canada, and generous local supporters. The training is available to students aged 19-25 years old and is focused on developing individual leadership potential, as well as tangible sustainability projects in the community. Based on the participants I met in Vancouver, the project is meeting its goals. The energetic and thoughtful participation of these youth leaders (and make no mistake, they are all passionate leaders!) culminated in clear next steps for each participant.

Workshop facilitators, Josh Snider, Tamara Connell, and Sarah Brooks guided participants through two days of training that included sustainability education and the importance of a systems-based approach; the potential of co-operative business models; and practical lessons in developing a project that included tips on funding and budgeting, all the way through to engagement and project management. In addition to learning about practical ways to move sustainability projects forward, the participants I talked to really appreciated the opportunity to connect with one another, as well as with experienced change agents and business people.

Collectively, participants reflected on the need to demonstrate individual leadership; ways to engage, connect, and collaborate to create an atmosphere for action; the importance of the human side of sustainability; and their personal ability to make an impact by starting anywhere. As the designated storyteller for this event, I witnessed thoughtful dialogue and spontaneous collaboration between participants. This included everything from sharing resources and ideas, to the potential for cross-campus collaboration for greater project impact. These inspiring leaders were putting their learning into action on the spot.

The end result was best summed up by the participants themselves, who identified the traits of a good change agent: persistence, strategic thinking, dedication, talent, passion, and a commitment to collaboration. These are traits all the Vancouver IMPACT! Champions exhibited in the 2-days I spent with them. It was truly inspiring to meet these youth leaders and I look forward to seeing the positive impacts they will make in our world—starting right now.

Learn more about the IMPACT! Sustainability Champions Training program, including our upcoming sessions across Canada, or contact us at emergingleaders(at)naturalstep.ca or 613.748.3001 x236 to get involved.

Canada

2009 Programs

Chris Lindberg — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 01:49:03 -0400

The Natural Step Canada is a registered charity with a proven track record. We provide education, training, coaching and advice to leaders and decision-makers on how to integrate economic, environmental and social priorities into their decision-making and planning. We help them see the opportunities, we help them take action, and we help them bring about real, long-term change.

Our mission is to connect every leader in Canada with the inspiration and learning they need to make strategic choices for the long-term benefit of our environment, economy and society. To achieve this mission, we are focusing on three main strategies in 2009:

National Outreach and Communications – Building sustainability awareness and commitment through national information campaigns, our newsletter and website, and the development and delivery of case studies, publications, articles, presentations, webinars, podcasts and videos.
Sustainability Toolkit Series – Practical, accessible resources for understanding and applying sustainability at home and in the workplace.

Emerging Leaders – Training, internships and mentoring programs for young sustainability champions.
Online eLearning – Award-winning online courses on sustainability that inspire dialogue and action.
Learning Programs – In-depth training on strategic sustainability and change management for practitioners, professionals, communityleaders and not-for-profits.
Education and Advisory Services – Custom workshops, change-management processes and planning programs that build capacityand catalyze change in organizations.
Sustainable Communities – Special projects and multi-year partnerships withCanadian communities to support integrated community sustainability planning, engagement and implementation.

The Natural Step Network – Activities and events to advance the practice of sustainability by convening leaders, champions and experts from different regions and sectors for peer-to-peer dialogue and learning.

Our capacity to deliver these programs is grounded in our strategic partnerships, strong internal management systems, engaged board of directors and diverse funding base. The Natural Step Canada is ideally positioned to increase our impact and catalyze real change towards a sustainable future.

Canada

A new TNS arises in Israel

Scott Perret — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 07:04:39 -0400

Here is a snapshot update of some of the work that's been going on in The Natural Step Isreal office lately. It was originally posted as part of the Spring 2013 Stepping Stones Newsletter.

After a period of dormancy in Israel, The Natural Step is re-launching with a dynamic, new team that is already building synergies with local design thinkers and Biomimicry practitioners, while making connections with the Israeli construction and high-tech industries. One of two new TNS Affiliate offices (the other is in Finland), we look forward to a rich exchange of learning and practice with our Israeli colleagues, on the road to collective impact.

A New Team: Design Thinking, Biomimicry, Construction and High-Tech

After a period of dormancy in Israel, The Natural Step has just recently re-launched with a dynamic, new team. And although this office is new, its founding members have been applying the FSSD with companies, NGOs and other organizations, as well as in policy papers and academic writing, for several years. (Re)opening TNS Israel allows the new team to converge their efforts and achievements under the TNS brand.

In terms of activities, most recently The Natural Step Israel facilitated a series of successful workshops in the Bezalel Academy of Design. The goal of this collaboration is to begin connecting the worlds of sustainability and design thinking, and from that create one cohesive set of practical tools. Through its links with several local universities, TNS Israel plans to continue this collaboration, as interest in sustainability increases.

Through another ongoing collaboration, this time with Israeli Biomimicry organizations, TNS Israel also delivered a workshop on how the FSSD and Biomimicry work together as part of a first-in-kind Biomimicry course in Israel.

In addition to these educational collaborations, TNS Israel is also exploring relationships and opportunities for impact in various sectors, with a specific focus on the construction and high-tech industries.

For more information please contact Michal Bitterman: michal.bitterman(at)gmail.com

A Strong Foundation for an Exciting Future

Isabella Oriani — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 07:45:28 -0400

At The Natural Step International, we are working hard to craft TNS 2.0 with an inspiring business and organizational strategic direction. We’re very excited as we look forward! At the same time, we celebrate the excellent work TNS offices, associates and partners are already doing around the world. This issue of Stepping Stones is dedicated to all the practitioners doing good work—within TNS and in the broader FSSD community. As we look towards the future, it is good to know we are resting on such a solid and valuable foundation.

Beyond Sustainability

Soon we will announce a subtle but powerful change to the way we talk about our mission. We want to make it clear that “sustainability” in itself is not the endgame. Rather, we think of sustainability as simply forming a set of baseline design constraints that we can all use to create exciting, positive futures together. Getting the design constraints right is of course critical, and this is where the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD, a.k.a. The Natural Step Framework) can help. But the goal is a great world, not a merely sustainable one—that’s something people can get excited about. And when we say it’s something we do together, that’s because we know that in complex systems the kind of shifts we hope to see can only happen through collaboration.

Strategies for Impact

One of our strategies is to foster sustainability mindsets. Another is to provide individual organizations with advisory services to help them craft and implement transformational change strategies that enable them to innovate, succeed, and co-create vibrant futures together. To maximize our impact in these areas, we will be working together with our membership to innovate, re-launch and expand globally our core sustainability literacy and advisory services programs.

We also envision a TNS participating in more initiatives with the potential to shift entire sectors towards using sustainability as a design constraint for achieving success, as we are currently with GISR and B-Labs.

New areas we are exploring include incubating and/or engaging in business ventures that have the FSSD and systems thinking baked into their DNA, as well as nurturing and disseminating innovations that foster sustainability mindsets or provide other solutions to sustainability challenges.

We continue to support the dream we share with many others of a strong FSSD community of change makers self-organizing to connect, share learning, tools and materials, and develop projects together, advancing society toward sustainability and beyond.

What It Will Take

To deliver all this, we aim for a TNS with a global culture embodying cultural and operational diversity, and with a global ´handprint´, through its offices, the work of its associates and its partner initiatives.

We have to work hard to walk our talk, continuously improving and reinforcing the culture and competencies we need in order to collaborate as a global team, to continue to be creative and innovative, deliver top quality services, be impact and evaluation driven, foster local innovation while keeping organizational consistency, and to be in dialogue with other change makers who are developing valuable tools and methodologies across the sustainability and social change fields.

Finally, building our vision of TNS will require investments; and TNSI is opening an intensive fundraising campaign in the weeks to come. As an NGO, we welcome donations. Can you support us directly, or help us in raising the necessary funds? Please contact me at isabella.oriani(at)thenaturalstep.org!

That’s a lot to do…but we embrace the challenge. After all, what is more exciting than building a thriving future together?

Accelerating Change at The Natural Step International

Peter Price-Thomas — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 10:13:33 -0500

‘So what’s been going on at The Natural Step International (TNSI)?’ is a question that is likely on your lips. A great deal, I am pleased to report. As we outlined in the last Stepping Stones we were in the process of transitioning to a more inclusive networked organization. This has not been without its challenges and has taken rather longer than we initially anticipated (hence the sizable gap between issues of Stepping Stones) but as I write today, I am pleased to say that we’ve completed the transition: - we have created a new organization, have a new team and strategy in place, and are actively focused on accelerating change towards sustainability.

So, just what have we done?

Officially de-coupled the Framework from the TNS brand – We have stopped referring to the Framework as the Natural Step Framework. Rather referring to it by its generic name, the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (or FSSD for short). Enabling us to clearly differentiate between the content and the organization and firmly putting the thinking in the public domain.

De-merged TNSI and DNS - We have decoupled TNS International from TNS in Stockholm. TNSI is a new international non-profit organization incorporated in London, England, that is in the process of securing charitable status.

Become more independent - We have changed the governance – disbanding the TNS Council (which consisted of executive directors from country offices), and replacing it with a Board of Directors. We are expanding the board to increase non-TNS membership, including MSLS alumni as well as independent individuals. This structure is not only good for the organization, it is also eminently more fundable.

Created more ways to engage - We have replaced our license agreement with a membership agreement that has new categories for associates and strategic partners. It will no longer be necessary to become a full country office in order to become a member of The Natural Step. Membership will be more flexible, diverse, and not based on exclusive territories.

Developed a New Strategic Direction - We have written an entirely new strategic plan with a new purpose and three core strategies:

Being a catalyst for open-sourcing and widely disseminating the FSSD as well as all related educational tools, materials, case studies, and other resources as widely as possible.
Being an enabling partner and catalyst in the launch of a new global learning community of sustainability leaders and practitioners around the application of the FSSD, in partnership with other like-minded organizations.
Strengthening the profile, capacity and reach of The Natural Step internationally to build leadership capacity and prototype and test innovative systems-changing solutions for a sustainable world.

These strategies are already being put into practice, and Scott Perret and Kelly Baxter will go into them in more detail in following articles.

Enabled New Offices – Switzerland and the Netherlands are now fully-fledged TNS offices. Finland and Israel are about to start the process of becoming TNS offices, and Spain is well on its way, with 3-5 others likely to follow shortly afterwards. New strategic partnerships are also being discussed, including a number of interesting possibilities in the Far East. If you are interested in partnering with the new TNSI in some way please contact April.Knudsen@thenaturalstep.org.

I would like to publically recognize and thank the members of the Founder’s Club and Dow for their financial support that made this transition and re-launch possible. Without them, we would have only achieved a fraction of the accomplishments listed above.

Finally, I just wanted to let you know that, having delivered what I was brought in to achieve, I am stepping down as CEO. The last two years have not been without their challenges, but it has been an enormous honour and pleasure to work with such a great group of people. It is also a joy to handover the organization with it pointed in the right direction, to an extremely talented new team who I know will succeed.

Peter Price-Thomas,
CEO, The Natural Step International

Accomplishments

Chris Lindberg — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 01:05:03 -0400

The foundation for many innovative sustainability programs in North America and around the world is anchored in The Natural Step Framework. Our science-based process has been tested and proven by many forward-thinking organizations over the past two decades. After five years of prototyping and refining our approach in Canada, The Natural Step has become the leading source of expertise and advice in the field of transformational change towards sustainability. To date we have:

Inspired and trained over 20,000 practitioners with our learning programs, workshops and presentations - ranging from award-winning eLearning courses to full-year capacity building programs;
Worked with over 100 different organizations - including municipalities, large and small businesses, NGOs and institutions - to successfully embed sustainability into their planning, decision-making, and actions;
Developed a successful methodology for sustainable community planning and for engaging and connecting community leaders and champions.
Catalyzed real change towards sustainability - on everything from bio-fuels to green buildings - in communities and businesses across Canada.

Here are some highlights of our ground-breaking work:

Resort Municipality of Whistler: The first community in North America to adopt The Natural Step Framework, Whistler’s comprehensive sustainability plan has been recognized worldwide, including the UN’s Livable Communities gold medal for ‘planning for the future’. Whistler has significantly reduced waste and C02, eliminated pesticides, and increased affordable housing and LEED buildings, as well as embedded sustainability into all planning and design of the 2010 Olympics.

Atlantic Canada Sustainability Initiative (ACSI): After a year-long engagement with The Natural Step, ACSI’s 14 member organization are making substantial progress towards sustainability. Just one example is The Halifax Shambhala Centre, which has developed a “Green Purchasing Guide,” reduced the use of disposable kitchenware, switched to local bio-fuel for their heating needs and retrofitted their building to make it more energy and water efficient.

Rio Tinto Alcan: One of the largest aluminum providers in the world, Rio Tinto Alcan worked with The Natural Step to develop a sustainability vision that brought social and environmental concerns into focus for their business. This resulted in the use of sustainability metrics reporting, research and development explicitly using sustainability to guide innovation, and a process for quantifying the business value of sustainability investments.

Toolkits: The Natural Step partnered with the Alberta Real Estate Foundation to develop a Sustainability at Home toolkit for Albertans interested in taking action in the home. Thousands of downloads and several print-runs later, it has been delivered across North America, customized for corporate employees and even translated into Italian.

Canada

An Interview with our Founder on Think Globally Radio

Richard Blume — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 06:55:58 -0400

Brought to you by Think Globally Radio: A unifying framework for social and ecological sustainability: with Professor Karl-Henrik Robèrt, MD, PhD, Founder of The Natural Step.

Recorded in March 2010, you can now listen to our Founder discuss the history, development and future of The Natural Step and the movement uniting around the framework for strategic sustainable development.

Stream online from the episode archive on www.thinkgloballyradio.org.
Download and Listen

Background to the Interview:

Recently elected as one of Sweden’s first two Ashoka Fellows - leading social entrepreneurs with innovative solutions to social problems and the potential to change patterns across society – Karl-Henrik Robèrt is the founder of the international NGO The Natural Step, professor of sustainability at Blekinge Institute of Technology (BTH), Chairman of the international research program Real Change and recipient of the Blue Planet Prize, the ‘Nobel prize’ for ecological sustainability.

In launching The Natural Step, he has facilitated the outgrowth of a unifying framework for strategic sustainable development, and built a global institutional platform that unites with a coalition of universities, companies, industrial groups, municipalities and larger government entities to pioneer new ways to achieve a world that is socially and ecologically sustainable. This movement includes some of the world’s leading institutions, corporations and communities advancing sustainability, including the host ski resort of the Vancouver / Whistler 2010 Winter Olympics.

Think Globally Radio is heard every Sunday evening at 19:00 on THS Radio 95.3 MHz in Stockholm, and on K103.1 in Gothenburg at 16:00. An extensive archive of past programs can be listened to on demand on the completely redesigned www.thinkgloballyradio.org. Podcasts can also be downloaded via iTunes.

Feel free to join the “Think Globally Radio” group on Facebook.

For more information, contact Eric Paglia eric@rocket.fm or Dave Trouba dtrouba@gmail.com.

Please forward this to anyone who might be interested in issues of the environment or sustainability!

ANNOUNCEMENT OF NEW TNSI STRATEGIC DIRECTION & HIRING OF DIRECTOR OF FSSD DIFFUSION & NETWORK RELATIONS

Kelly Hawke Baxter — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 10:03:04 -0400

The Natural Step International (TNSI) has two big pieces of news to share with you!

1. After several years of transition and review, TNSI is pleased to announce the emergence of a new strategic direction and the solid beginnings of a new strategic plan. These answer Göran Carstedt’s question, “What is The Natural Step good for?” and turn our gaze firmly outwards, re-focusing our attention on doing all we can to accelerate change in society towards sustainability. To this end, we plan to focus our efforts in the coming years in three main ways: first, by supporting the broadest possible dissemination of the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD), which is in the public domain and free for all to use; second, by partnering with others to support the co-creation of a vibrant, inclusive, networked community of practice around the FSSD (one that is open to all, and places FSSD practice in service of the world’s need at the center, rather than placing TNS at the center); and third, by growing TNS’s capacity so that we can act as more powerful change agents for the broader good. A living, evolving draft of the strategic plan can be viewed on The Natural Step website.

2. In line with this new direction, we are pleased to announce the hiring of Scott Perret (MSLS 2012) in the newly created role of Director of FSSD Diffusion and Network Relations. We are also actively seeking to fill a role designed to serve the third leg of our strategic plan: helping TNS build capacity internally, become a better, stronger organization, and grow into the future with new affiliates and new offices.

All of this is very new to us, as we begin prototyping and iterating solutions to help move our new agenda forward, and learn to work in new ways. We are currently seeking fresh ideas for business models and revenue sources that can support these operations. As companions in the movement towards a sustainable society and beyond, we welcome your feedback, questions, ideas and help, at any time!

Being there is everything

Simon Harvey — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 14:29:19 -0400

The kiwi may be a flightless and endangered species of bird – so thank goodness for the silver wings of Air New Zealand.

Sitting on the plane from Vancouver back to Auckland has finally allowed some time to reflect on my whistle-stop and highly enjoyable trip to the Land Of The Red Maple Leaf. The busy TNS Canada team in Ottawa extended a very warm welcome to their kiwi visitor, for which I am so grateful. Despite the numerous Skype calls and telephone meetings over recent times, one quickly realises the intimate benefit of meeting in person. It was a real pleasure to meet the TNS Canada team, and to be received so warmly.

The conversations over 3 days were many, and fruitful. From talking about the New Zealand network of associates model, and our use of Otago Polytechnic’s graduate qualifications based on the FSSD; to learning about Sarah Brooks’ exciting work with Pratt & Whitney Aerospace, and John Purkis’ work with local communities. I learnt a lot and feel inspired to progress our work with businesses to draw on TNS Canada’s focus on transition strategies and innovation. I’m sure we’ll be able to learn from the exciting projects that the Canadian team are delivering so successfully.

I was particularly cheered by Sarah Brooks’ comments that business clients were approaching TNS Canada rather than the traditional business and management consultancies because the constraints of the strategic sustainability framework were able to re-inspire and focus companies that had “forgotten how to innovate”. I see that as presenting a strong business case to engage more kiwi companies.

After such a positive experience meeting the Canadian team, it’s frustrating that no-one from TNSNZ is able to attend the Eindhoven event in person. But we’ll certainly be making efforts to have a presence in one form or another. It seems to me that the TNS global network is on the verge of re-emerging. It’s time to bring ourselves together, learn from one another, and share what is working well. I have no doubt that Eindhoven is going to be a great opportunity to build some lasting relationships and bring the TNS network close together.

These are exciting times. I’m encouraged by the possibilities of closer collaboration and sharing knowledge.

Thank you Chad Park and TNS Canada for such a warm welcome. I wish you and your team every success and shall look forward to hearing your new stories of success.

Building Engagement from Within, with Chris Jarvis from Realized Worth (Sustainability Dialogue)

Josh Snider — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 13:28:05 -0500

Start: Feb 18 2011 - 1:00pm

End: Feb 18 2011 - 2:00pm

Timezone: Canada/Eastern

An organization's sustainability journey is propelled by the unwavering commitment and coordinated efforts of its employees. But without the entire team on board, how can meaningful sustainable progress be made? What practices and practical steps can foster employee engagement in the sustainability journey?

In this Sustainability Dialogue, Chris Jarvis, Co-Founder and Owner of Realized Worth, will present insights into how to motivate employees to embrace and champion your organization’s sustainability actions while drawing on his experiences designing and implementing sustainability-inspired employee volunteer programs.

During this Dialogue you will:

Be introduced to the concepts of: '3 Stages of Engagement,' Missional Organizations, and 'Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Motivation.'
Learn how to design a program utilizing the '4 Conditions of Sustainable Participation' that will foster buy-in among your staff.
Have the opportunity to discuss how to implement these practices in your organizations.

Our Sustainability Dialogues are exclusive to Premium Members of The Natural Step Exchange. For information about The Natural Step Exchange and how you or your organization can join, please check out our Membership Package or contact us today!

About Chris Jarvis:

Chris Jarvis is the Co-Founder and Senior Consultant for Realized Worth, a leading employee volunteering and CSR consulting firm. Chris provides training and hands-on involvement in the design and implementation of outstanding and sustainable employee volunteer programs for businesses interested in leveraging their CSR programs and differentiating their corporate culture. Learn more...

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

Change Your Life, and the World - Applications open for MSLS Program

Neil McCallum — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 09:27:07 -0500

Every year since 2005 a town called Karlskrona in Sweden has welcomed a new class of students focused on learning the skills and knowledge to become sustainability leaders and to equip others to become such leaders too. So far over 400 people from over 60 countries have made the journey and whilst there have traveled many other journeys of learning, developing lifelong friendships along the way.

The Masters in Strategic Leadership towards Sustainability was envisioned by Dr. Karl-Henrik Robèrt and Prof. Göran Broman, in part, to solve a global challenge: "The question of reaching sustainability is not about if we will have enough energy, enough food, or other tangible resources - those we have. The question is: will there be enough leaders in time?" The program seeks to overcome this, bringing together the need to understand sustainability from a science based approach, then applying it using the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (aka The Natural Step Framework). To this it fuses key elements of systems thinking, societal leadership, sustainable engineering and strategic planning & management.

Students learn and work in groups, tackling challenges and creating solutions, strengthened by culturally diverse insights and the experiences brought by the talent the program attracts. Abilities to listen, empathise, reflect, collaborate and act are encouraged, enabling students not just to gain knowledge but to be able to apply it in the most effective and inclusive ways possible. The program is unique in its approaches to learning and this is borne out by the testimonials given by global leaders involved in the societal movement towards sustainability.

Speak to any alumni about the program and their eyes light up and they reconnect with the energy of the program and the motivations and passions of the students there. The journey is not just of one of academic learning, it is also a personal journey, where people find their grounding, their place and their direction and on graduation taking with them the tools and skills they need on their own paths ahead. They arrive knowing no-one, they leave knowing a community that is supportive and generous, creative and motivated, caring and driven to co-create a better world. Karlskrona on the face of it could be seen just as a historic and beautiful town, yet it is increasingly becoming known as a place that forms leaders capable of taking on the challenges we face.

Applications are open for the 2013-14 cohort of the MSLS program until January 15th, 2013. If you feel an impulse to lead meaningful change toward a vibrant and sustainable future, and want to be part of a global network of people who share the same vision, this is the program for you.

Please visit the website www.bth.se/msls to see the full program brochure and application procedures. If you are an EU citizen, the Swedish Government fully subsidises your tuition. For students from outside the EU, tuition is 100,000 SEK (just under $15,000) for this 10-month program. Scholarships are available and if you are a fee-paying student, you are welcome to visit www.kitesh.org to find out more about the free services available to assist you in the application and funding process.

Written by: Simon Goldsmith, London, UK, MSLS 2008

City Shifters - How on earth should we begin greening our metropolises?

Anouk Bertner — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 10:23:05 -0400

How on earth should we begin greening our metropolises?
By asking the right questions, says The Natural Step.

Dave Cieslewicz, the Mayor of Madison, state capital of Wisconsin, US, has a favourite ‘nuts and bolts’ story about sustainability. We could start by asking the right questions.

“We have this huge converted factory, where we store all our 240 buses overnight,” he explains. “There’s a small part of the building where we fuel them up – and, for the comfort of our employees, we’d been keeping that warm.”

What the council hadn’t registered was that they were unnecessarily heating the bus storage area as well. So in 2007 they bought a door – which cost $70,000, but would pay for
itself, through energy savings, in two years.

Like many green solutions, the Madison bus garage door seems so obvious – but, according to Cieslewicz, it didn’t come about by chance. “It was such a simple answer,” he says. “But you don’t get the right answers unless you ask the right questions.”

What got Madison asking those questions in the first place was its engagement with The Natural Step (TNS) in a radical ‘change process’ to guide it towards the goal of ‘sustainability’ – and help it become one of the first Eco-Municipalities in North America.

TNS’s ‘municipal sustainability planning’ is different from your average city-level strategic plan, explains John Purkis of TNS Canada, in that it doesn’t only involve municipal officials. > download the article below to learn more.

This feature was written by Green Futures - a partntner of The Natural Step. Sign up for free online updates from Green Futures.

Green Futures is the leading source of information, opinion and debate on progress towards sustainable development. It is published online and in print for senior decision makers in business, the public sector, environmental organisations and the media. In Green Futures, positive visions of a low-carbon, opportunity-rich future sit alongside a practical 'can-do' approach that is grounded in today's business reality.

Community Based Social Marketing with Dr. Doug McKenzie-Mohr (Webinar)

Franco Varriano — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 09:43:04 -0400

Start: Sep 24 2010 - 1:00pm

End: Sep 24 2010 - 2:30pm

Timezone: Etc/GMT-4

Media advertising can be effective in creating public awareness and understanding of issues related to sustainability, but are limited in their ability to foster behaviour change. In this webinar, Dr. Doug McKenzie-Mohr will explore how community-based social marketing, an approach to promoting behavioural change at the community level, can foster action-oriented, community-led outcomes, and how it is being applied throughout the world to foster sustainable behaviour. He will introduce the five steps of commu¬nity-based social marketing: selecting behaviours, identifying barriers & benefits, developing strategies, conducting a pilot, and broad scale implementation.

Dr. Doug McKenzie-Mohr, is the Founder of community-based social marketing and author of the best-selling book Fostering Sustainable Behaviour.

Peer-to-Peer Sustainability Champions Dialogues

This event is part of The Natural Step Exchange’s Peer-to-Peer Sustainability Dialogue series—exclusive dialogues with leading guest sustainability experts on topics chosen by members of The Natural Step Exchange.

Cost:

EXCLUSIVE to Premium Members of The Natural Step Exchange (Join the Exchange now)

Canada

FREE Mixer Co-hosted by B Lab and The Natural Step Canada at Patagonia (Toronto, ON)

Josh Snider — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 19:30:24 -0400

Start: Mar 21 2012 - 6:30pm

End: Mar 21 2012 - 9:00pm

Timezone: Canada/Eastern

Please join B Lab at MaRS and The Natural Step Canada for a FREE networking mixer in Toronto.

The event will be held at fellow B Corp, Patagonia's Toronto retail location, a beautifully restored historic building.

Come meet some of our Canadian Founding B Corps and learn more about the work of The Natural Step Canada.

Join us for some light snacks and great conversation with like-minded companies committed to using the power of business for the benefit of others. This will be the perfect place to network with other local values-based businesses and join the discussion of what sustainable capitalism looks like.

DATE/TIME: Wednesday, March 21, 2012, 6:30-9:00pm (EDT)
LOCATION: Patagonia, 500 King Street West, Toronto, ON (map)
RSVP: Attendance is FREE, but please RSVP by registering online

We look forward to seeing you there!

About B Lab at MaRS

MaRS Centre for Impact investing is a national hub designed to increase the awareness and effectiveness of social finance to catalyze new capital, talent, and initiatives dedicated to tackling social and environmental problems in Canada. MaRS houses the Canadian B Lab hub. B Lab certifies B Corporations - enabling consumers to tell the difference between "good companies" and just good marketing. Learn more: www.bcorporation.net.

About The Natural Step Canada

The Natural Step Canada is a dynamic non-profit organization with over a decade of experience helping organizations and individuals understand and make meaningful progress toward sustainability. Learn more: www.thenaturalstep.org/canada.

Canada

FSSD Community Launch Team Update (April 4, 2013)

Scott Perret — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 10:24:00 -0400

Wondering what ever happened to the launch of the global FSSD Community? (The FSSD is also known as The Natural Step Framework).

Here's a video update!

The first half (4 min) is the general update. The second half goes into the 8 tasks the Launch Team is working on now.

Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, USA

Chas Martin — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 18:31:30 -0500

"Empowered by Christ's love, Gloria Dei reaches out as an inclusive, welcoming church through worship and social action." Its membership of approximately 310 exhibit diversity in age, gender, race, sexual orientation and economic background, and are served by one full-time pastor and eight part-time staff. In addition to welcoming all people in weekly worship and participation, Gloria Dei is committed to reaching out in service to its Central Hillside neighborhood and beyond. It is a founding congregation of several service organizations in Duluth.

Gloria Dei is an active member congregation of the Northeastern Minnesota Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). This synod includes 147 congregations and covers 13 counties in the Arrowhead region of Minnesota. Gloria Dei is known for its commitment to social justice and has been instrumental in introducing resolutions for shaping wider church policy and practice at its synod assembly. In 2008, Gloria Dei submitted a resolution calling congregations of the synod to grow faithfully and intentionally in the care of creation as individuals and congregations, and calling for the formation of a synod-wide Creation Care Team. Pastor Carlson defines "creation care" as "practices of individuals and faith communities that model a just relationship with the earth, its creatures and ecosystems, and all people. Such practices may be informed by science but grow out of a faith community's scriptures and are emphasized as part of its worship, reflecting its understanding of God's relationship to the world as, for example in Christianity, an ongoing relationship of creating, redeeming, and sustaining the world."

In January 2008, Gloria Dei adopted a resolution to accept responsibility as stewards of the earth and pledged to grow faithfully and intentionally in this responsibility as individuals and as a congregation. The Green Team was designated to oversee and facilitate the carrying out of this pledge, working with partnering committees for its fulfillment, and setting goals in these areas:

Worship in ways that celebrate and foster care of creation.
Educate adults and children in ecological issues and practices.
Green the buildings and grounds of our facilities.
Promote earth-friendly lifestyle of members at home and work.
Encourage community involvement in caring for the environment.

Download the full case study below.

GONGOS: Greening Ottawa NGO's

Jennifer Reid — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 15:51:20 -0400

On June 18th, 2009 participants from 25 Ottawa-based NGOs attended the second workshop of GONGOS: Greening Ottawa NGOs. This workshop focused on developing a sustainability vision and conducting a baseline sustainability assessment for their organizations. The 2009 cohort of organizations includes the Canadian Red Cross Society, the United Way, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, the Ottawa Folk Festival, Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corporation, and Independent Living Canada. This gathering of diverse NGOs in one place provided participants with the unique opportunity for both enhanced networking and partnership building and collaborative learning. Bill Rostek, Procurement Director for Canadian Red Cross Society shared that the Red Cross "values the interaction with the other not-for-profit organizations that are participating”. TNS Advisor Chad Park said this sentiment has been communicated to him by many of the participants and believes that this contributed to the incredible energy that was felt in the room during the workshops: “Many participants have told us that this is the first time they have been in the same room with such a wide variety of NGOs, sharing experiences and insights together.” Diane Champagne, Executive Assistant to the National Director for Independent Living Canada acknowledged that “after each [workshop] I walk away with better ideas on how to improve the greening activities in our office.” Furthermore she states that her organization has “incorporated the sustainability concepts and greening ideas learned from the program and hope to set a precedent for all 27 Independent Living Centres throughout the Country”.

With financial support from the Ontario Trillium Foundation and in partnership with Ottawa’s EnviroCentre, TNS helped launch this two-year initiative in early 2009. The aim of the program is to assist NGOs in assessing and improving their practices and programs from a sustainability perspective, including “greening” their organizational practices. The program helps NGOs access sustainability training and creates a local network of NGOs engaged in sustainability planning with a common language and approach. Each year 25 local NGOs will participate in a series of four workshops, structured around the key elements of The Natural Step Framework. Participating organizations represent a wide variety of sectors, including health, social, housing, arts, and environmental organizations.

Sessions three and four, which are scheduled to occur in October and November will focus on action planning and implementation. Organizers and participants alike are ready to continue on the sustainability journey. If you belong to an Ottawa-based not-for-profit organization that may be interested in participating in the 2010 series please contact Dana Silk of the EnviroCentre (dana.silk@ottawa.ca) or Alexandre Magnin (amagnin@naturalstep.ca) for more information. We will be holding a informational wine and cheese on January 25th 5-7pm if you are interested in participating. Interested NGOs in other communities should also contact Alexandre Magnin, as adapted versions of the program are being considered in other cities across Canada.

Canada

Green Living ECR Awards: Congratulations to the Winners!

Neil McCallum — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 13:06:47 -0400

The Natural Step Canada is proud to be a partner of the Green Living Awards for Excellence in Corporate Responsibility. We were involved in developing the criteria for the award and judging this year’s nominees. It was a pleasure for our team to recently attend the first-ever Awards for Excellence Gala, where corporate Canadians who are transforming business practices and creating social and environmental change were honoured.

***

Socially responsible companies shine at the inaugural Green Living’s Excellence in Corporate Responsibility Awards

"Outstanding,” “innovative” and “ambitious” — these are some of the words expert judges used to describe the winners of the first-ever Excellence in Corporate Responsibility (ECR) Awards by Green Living Enterprises. More than 20 organizations and individuals received much-deserved peer and public recognition at a special awards ceremony at Toronto’s TIFF Bell Lightbox, October 26th, for their hard work creating and committing to sustainable and ethical business practices.

An energetic room full of 130 thought leaders and change makers hooted and cheered on winners from a wide array of companies, including (to name but a few): Cenovus Energy Inc., Cascades, LoyaltyOne Inc., Canadian Tire Corporation, Steam Whistle Brewing, Lanefab Design/Build, The Greater Toronto CivicAction Alliance, and TD Bank Financial Group. For details on the winners and how to apply for next year’s awards, go to http://greenlivingenterprises.ca/ecr-awards.

“These trailblazers have set an example of how businesses can and should operate sustainably in every dimension — socially, environmentally and culturally,” says Laurie Simmonds, the President of Green Living Enterprises. “Recognizing corporate and individual leadership at the ECR Awards is critical to establishing much needed corporate responsibility benchmarks and inspiration.”

Inspiration could have been a theme at the ceremony, which highlighted achievements ranging from a leader who transformed a Canadian oil company’s approach to corporate social responsibility to a director of business development who initiated an e-boutique providing innovative recycled products. Judging was based on leadership and innovation, performance and results, as well as process, and entries were scored from 1 to 100 over a multitude of key areas in corporate responsibility.

Audiences rose to their feet in a standing ovation for the night’s Outstanding Achievement Award recipient, the late Ray Anderson, CEO of Interface, Inc. His daughter, Mary Anne Lanier, told the awestruck audience how proud she was of her dad, when in 1994 he decided to make corporate responsibility a core business value, after becoming aware of the decline of the biosphere and how his company was a major contributor. “Ray said that making CSR part of the core business objective became part of his own success, and without it, he wouldn’t have felt that he was a success, said Lanier.”

Anderson’s example proves it is never too late to make change: after experiencing a mid-career epiphany, he dedicated himself to Mission Zero — his company’s promise to eliminate any negative impact it may have on the environment by the year 2020. By the time of his death, Anderson had brought his company more than halfway towards its goal, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 35 percent, fossil fuel consumption by 60 percent (favouring renewable forms of energy), waste to landfill by over 80 percent, and water use by 82 percent. During that same period, Interface avoided over $450 million in costs, increased sales by 63 percent and more than doubled their earnings. Anderson was a role model, inspiration and mentor to many.

The awards honour every level of influence within small, medium and large corporations across Canada and across a wide range of industries, from resources to technology to sustainable housing and much more.

The ECR Awards program was developed by industry experts with deep knowledge of corporate responsibility within Canada, including Laurie Simmonds of Green Living Enterprises, Valérie Bécaert of CIRAIG, Toby Heaps of Corporate Knights, Bob Mann of Jantzi-Sustainalytics, Chad Park of The Natural Step Canada, Marlo Raynolds of the Pembina Institute, sustainability consultant Lorraine Smith, and author and sustainability expert Bob Willard.

The expert panel of judges included: Bob Willard, a leading expert, consultant and author in corporate sustainability strategies; Kelly Baxter, Executive Director of The Natural Step Canada, a consultancy that trains sustainability practitioners; Valérie Bécaert, Executive Director of CIRAIG, the Interuniversity Research Centre for the Life Cycle of Products, Processes and Services; Heather Lang, Director of Research at Jantzi-Sustainalytics; and Matt McCulloch, Director of Consulting Services at the Pembina Institute.

View Green Living ECR Awards photo gallery»

For details on the winners and how to apply for next year’s Green Living ECR Awards, go to http://greenlivingenterprises.ca/ecr-awards.

Canada

Greening Ottawa's NGOs (GONGO): The final session

Franco Varriano — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 11:55:25 -0400

The morning of Thursday October 7th, I had the pleasure of gathering together a group of Ottawa area NGO representatives to share their sustainability stories. Presentations highlighted achievements both professional and personal, from achieving Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold status on an office renovation to organizing a sustainability-minded wedding.

The atmosphere was warm and supportive, with sounds of applause and laughter spilling out into the hallway. I felt a strong sense of celebration of achievement, and was encouraged by the shared commitment to the sustainability journey.

Over lunch, plans were hatched to continue monthly meetings amongst the group, and to invite others to join the conversation. I’m convinced that these opportunities for sustainability champions to support and learn from one another; to share successes and invite new ideas and perspectives on our challenges; are a crucial ingredient to scaling up our sustainability work. Congratulations to all of the GONGOs participants - I look forward to continuing the journey!

- Karen Miller, Junior Advisor

This workshop marks the final in the Greening Ottawa area NGOs (GONGOs) program, which has been running for two years in the National Capital Region. This program has offered capacity building and networking opportunities for NGOs in the region, to accelerate progress towards sustainability. The GONGOs program has been delivered through a partnership between Envirocentre and The Natural Step Canada, and has been generously funded by the Trillium Foundation.

Canada

Imagination Designs Europe – FSSD Informs Eindhoven’s Bid to be the Cultural Capital of Europe for 2018

Freek van der Pluijm — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 08:02:31 -0500

I am pleased to share that on October 25, The Flexible Platform (the Dutch representative of TNS) viewed the presentation of the Eindhoven 2018 Bidbook for the Cultural Capital of Europe - "Imagination Designs Europe". The Flexible Platform was able to contribute to the development of this bid, and we are very proud to have the following statement included in the project description:

“Work in the Proeftuin projects will be done in accordance with the sustainability principles of the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development, an open source, scientifically robust, and widely disseminated framework co-developed by an international NGO called The Natural Step. It is the backbone of the approach to sustainability adopted by multinationals such as Philips, Nike and Dow Chemical. Eindhoven City Council as well as the city’s five housing corporations and the companies involved in the Strijp-S redevelopment have also adopted the Framework.”

The Proeftuin projects are “special meeting places where co-creation occurs and experimentation takes place with art and culture as both a resource - a raw material - as well as a produce - an outcome; the work will be accomplished by businesses, cultural institutions, artists, scientists, residents, government and knowledge institutions.”

What is a European Capital of Culture?

The purpose of the European Capital of Culture is to promote the European cultural heritage in all its richness and diversity, so that European citizens can get to know and understand each other better and become aware of the larger community to which they belong.

The European Capital of Culture phenomenon was introduced by Mélina Mercouri, an actress, singer, writer and the first female Minister of Culture in Greece. She used her energy, persuasiveness and perseverance to convince people of the added value of art and culture for society. In 1985, Athens was chosen as the first European Capital of Culture, which proved to be a great success. Since then, one or two European cities are highlighted every year.

In 2018, the Netherlands and Malta will put forward the two European Capitals of Culture. The city that wins each title will organise a whole year of festivities and celebrations for visitors from every European country. Eindhoven is a candidate and developed its bid in collaboration with Breda, Helmond, ’s-Hertogenbosch, Tilburg and the Province of North-Brabant.

The bid presentation took place during Dutch Design Week, which was opened by the Major of Eindhoven. This project is quite personal to me, because I believe in the promise of 2018 Eindhoven – as cultural capital for the future, rather than about the past, and because The Flexible Platform has been able to contribute to the development, and will be involved in the execution, of this project.

I feel very honoured that we are part of this endeavour and full of anticipation about what is to unfold.

With inspiration,

Freek

In Finland, fresh skills and fresh collaborations

Scott Perret — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 07:03:24 -0400

Here is a snapshot update of some of the work that's been going on in The Natural Step Finland office lately. It was originally posted as part of the Spring 2013 Stepping Stones Newsletter.

The Natural Step is now active in Finland, where our new affiliate office proposes a suite of capacity-building offers to companies, communities and individuals interested in building sustainable, resilient futures. Services include strategic sustainable development, ecological footprinting, service design for sustainability and resilience, training, facilitation, research and experimentation.

Celia Peterson and Outi Ugas have joined Natural Interest Oy, based in Helsinki, as the founding enterprise for The Natural Step and FSSD diffusion in Finland.

Natural Interest works to help build sustainable and resilient companies, communities and individuals. By integrating sustainability and a systems approach, they co-design innovative and resilient services that benefit people and the planet.

How? Natural Interest has a firm grounding and national recognition in ecological footprinting, based on long-term co-operation with Best Foot Forward. By bringing in a Natural Step approach, they are broadening the portfolio to include service design for sustainability and resilience; training and facilitation; research and experimentation. This is where they expect to find the most leverage for systemic change towards sustainability in the Finnish context... all based on the FSSD.

The Vision: A healthy network of sustainable, resilient enterprises creating value for one another.

The Mission: By integrating service design and entrepreneurship, we facilitate strategic sustainable development based on the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development.

The Foundations: Truth. Trust. Transparency.

What’s next?

As springtime comes to Finland, Outi and Celia are sowing the seeds for a sustainable, resilient and profitable future. Things are still incubating, soon ready to hatch. Keywords: resilience, entrepreneurship, service design. Join them!

For more information please contact Celia Petersen celia(at)naturalinterest.fi.

Introducing……..The Flexible Platform

Berend Aanraad — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 17:06:18 -0500

No, we’re not talking about the prioritizing questions from the D-step in backcasting, but the name of one of the new offices of The Natural Step and to be more specific; the one in The Netherlands. It was exactly three years ago that Freek van der Pluijm (MSLS’08) and I first met in the City of Eindhoven during the opening of one of my new projects to build the business case for sustainability. We immediately started sharing our passion for this wonderful Framework from Sweden and discussing what the future could hold, if a whole country (The Netherlands is about 1/230th the size of the US, with 17 million inhabitants) would adopt a unifying framework for sustainability? How could we be more strategic about strategic sustainable development in The Netherlands. After teaming up a couple of times with Jonas Oldmark (TNS Sweden) and Karl-Henrik Robert to find some funding opportunities for the Real Change program (forerunner of the Alliance for Strategic Sustainable Development) in The Netherlands, Freek and I decided to go ahead and start up a Dutch NGO called The Flexible Platform.

Our vision? A sustainable world – one in which our communities, businesses and institutions thrive within our natural limits. Our mission? To build the capacity of enough leaders to be effective change agents in advancing equilibrium change for a sustainable world. To reach this tipping point, we need an unprecedented shift in the way we collectively think and act, with all sectors of society aligned toward a common purpose and understanding of what sustainability means. Through inspiration and awareness, capacity building and networking, we actively and directly assist leaders in organizations across all sectors of our society to change their planning, decision-making and operations to be aligned with sustainability principles. As each organization transforms, it acts as a role model for others in its field, demonstrating that change is indeed possible.

After being in ‘business’ for exactly two years, we have created a nice track record and have created an unstoppable (olive) ‘oil slick’ in the region of Eindhoven, where our office is based. Helping the City of Eindhoven find their way toward becoming a fully sustainable city, by building capacity amongst their staff and helping them to design the best policies and redesign processes that shape the cities operations; all informed by a nice set of principles that hold the future for our planet. Philips asked for our help in redefining their innovation process and thinking of new strategies around fulfilling basic human needs. A nice result from this engagement is a booklet on Sustainable Innovation at Philips written by Dr. Dorothea Seebode, helping their people ask powerful questions and get an overview of what sustainability means (download booklet here).

As a result of our engagement with the City of Eindhoven, new municipalities and multinationals have adopted the principles and now use ‘backcasting’ to create a compelling vision and build road maps to get them there. Five housing companies and our involvement in writing the Framework into the BidBook for Eindhoven’s ‘Cultural Capital of Europe’-candidacy, are making this ‘oil slick’ even more fluid but also asks for increased capacity.

Going from unofficial to official TNS office this month we have the opportunity to contribute to the new strategic direction of The Natural Step and leverage the use of the Framework within The Netherlands and attract more practitioners that can support us in making our mission become reality. We will all take the next steps during a 3-day global gathering of TNS offices in November in Eindhoven and we are very honored the network has chosen this location to re-energize, have fun and build wonderful collaborations between offices and individuals to reach that much needed tipping point in society.

Yours,

Berend Aanraad
Co-founder/Director
The Flexible Platform

Introduction to Strategic Sustainable Development, Distance Course, Sweden

Anouk Bertner — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 15:26:07 -0400

Greetings from Karlskrona, Sweden!

We are glad to announce the next offering of our Master's level distance course, Introduction to Strategic Sustainable Development!

This year, we have switched to a new and improved online webinar system (Adobe Connect), which makes it easier for students from around the world to follow the course and interact with other sustainability leaders.

Master’s level: Introduction to Strategic Sustainable Development (7.5 ECTS credits) No tuition fees! Likely for the last edition, this course is free of charge during Fall 2010.

Online applications open July 30th – August 14th and the course runs from late September to the end of December 2010. The course is part-time with an estimated workload of approximately 8-10 hours a week including readings, lectures, assignments.

>Learn more here

Since the course requires that you send in original transcripts and proof of English ability to BTH, please begin preparing these now!

(Please beware that many Universities may take a long summer break, so if you want to apply prepare your documents in advance!)

Important: since tuition fees are coming to Sweden from 2011 for non EU students, this may be the last edition of the course free of tuitions fees! Especially if you are outside the EU, this may be the last chance to get this University level distance course free of charge!

Testimonials:

“First congratulations. This was the best thing I've done in twenty five years. I view the FSSD as one of the phenomenal "just-in-time" socio-intellectual innovations that may tip the scale towards sustainability success. Truly a remarkable phenomenon, product, and process”

Consultant - USA

“I could not believe how relevant and appropriate this course was to me! Thanks, I certainly am recommending it to others!”

Entrepreneur - Hong Kong

Interested in a full degree? Please visit our website

Master’s in Strategic Leadership towards Sustainability - www.bth.se/msls :: One-Year on campus

Master’s in Sustainable Product-Service System Innovation www.bth.se/mspi :: Two-Year on campus

Applications are closed for these two masters programmes, but we encourage you to consider an application for the Fall 2011 class!

For more information on all of our courses, please see www.bth.se/sustainability

Best regards,

The MI2407 team

Join The Natural Step Canada For Some 'Sustainabili-TEA'! (Ottawa, ON)

Erika Aruja — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 14:13:36 -0400

Start: Oct 16 2011 - 2:30pm

End: Oct 16 2011 - 3:30pm

Timezone: Canada/Eastern

You are invited to be inspired at The Natural Step Canada’s Sustainabili-TEA.

Enjoy a fall afternoon in our Nation’s Capital by sampling a variety of organic teas and scones, and meeting Ottawa residents who care about the future. We will tell stories of how The Natural Step is helping young people transform into emerging leaders, and leading organizations across Canada to become sustainability champions.

At the end of the afternoon, we will ask you to consider making a donation to support our work.

Who: You, fellow Ottawa area residents, and The Natural Step Canada.
What: Tea and scones, networking and storytelling.
When: Sunday, October 16 2:30 - 3:30 p.m.
Where: Ottawa City Hall, Jean Pigott Place, 110 Laurier Avenue West Ottawa, Ontario K1P 1J1
Parking: Ottawa City Hall Garage (access from Laurier or Elgin) for $1.00/hr, or free parking on side streets where available.
Why: To enjoy an afternoon while supporting a good cause, and raise support for The Natural Step Canada through ideas and donations, and to mingle with others interested in sustainability.

If you plan to attend please RSVP to Erika Aruja at earuja(at)naturalstep.ca or 613.748.3001 x. 236 and if you have any questions, please contact Erika.

I will not be able to attend, but would like to donate!

Special thanks to our Ottawa Sustainabiliti-tea sponsors DavidsTea and FairTrade Canada.

Canada

Join us! Open House events at The Natural Step Canada

Erika Aruja — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 12:02:12 -0400

Do you want to learn more about The Natural Step? Do you want to hear how The Natural Step Canada is achieving transformational change across Canada?

The Natural Step Canada is hosting a series of open houses at our new Ottawa office to illustrate how we are helping businesses, communities, and future leaders address the challenge of implementing sustainability. These events will also provide you with an opportunity to network with like-minded people and to hear from our hard-working, passionate team, who will share program stories and inspire you to get involved.

We encourage you to join us on one of these dates for refreshments and discussion, and bring out anyone you know who may be interested in learning more about sustainability and The Natural Step.

DATES:
TIME: 5:30-6:30pm, with a brief presentation at 6pm, and we encourage you to stick around later to continue chatting with our team and networking with other guests
LOCATION: The Natural Step Canada office, 4 Florence Street, Suite 203, Ottawa, ON (map; on the following bus routes: 1, 4, 7, 14, 153, and close to 2)
Wine, cheese, and light refreshments will be served.

If you are ready to be inspired, please RSVP to Erika Aruja at 613.748.3001 x236 or earuja@naturalstep.ca, and please indicate which date you’d like to attend. Guests are warmly welcome, so please spread the word!

If you have any questions, please be in touch.

Canada

Learning to Co-Innovate Sustainable Products and Services: applications open for MSPI program

Neil McCallum — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 16:35:54 -0500

Written by: Tony Thompson, Program Coordinator, Blekinge Institute of Technology

Production and consumption are big topics in the sustainability community. At the same time, globalization is changing many things, including how industry works. Industry needs to be competitive in a rapidly changing environment, and this is often aided by strong working relationships with partners and customers. Production and consumption patterns play a big role in the sustainability challenges our society faces. At Blekinge Institute of Technology we believe that the co-development of products and services, with a focus on the function that users need, will lead to solutions that are more competitive while also being more sustainable. And we are working hard to prepare the next generation of product-service system innovators through a new master’s program called MSPI: Sustainable Product-Service System Innovation.

Future innovators – we call them MSPIs – work with industrial partners to develop the next generation of products and services – from exploring ways to make aircraft more sustainable, to performing world-leading research on car-sharing programs, to using biomimicry to address water accessibility in a Delhi slum. Coming from backgrounds in various engineering, design, or industrial economy fields, the MSPIs form a bridge between traditional mechanical engineers and sustainability leaders.

The MSPI program was started to meet the needs of ten industrial partners who saw a need to prepare future employees with skills at the intersection of service development, product development, and sustainability. Our first round of graduates is now well on their way: developing car-sharing programs, teaching, pursuing PhD’s, and working with these industrial partners.

And now, the search is underway for a new cohort of future innovators. So if you or someone you know might be interested in being part of the next generation of MSPIs, please visit the website www.mspi.se to see the full program brochure and application procedures or watch a short video (top right) about the program. If you are an EU citizen, the Swedish Government fully subsidizes your tuition. For students from outside the EU, tuition is 100,000 SEK (just under $15,000) for this 10-month program. Scholarships are available and if you are a fee-paying student, you are welcome to visit www.kitesh.org to find out more about the free services available to assist you in the application and funding process.

Contacts:
Prof. Tobias Larsson         Tony Thompson
Program Director              Program Coordinator
tobias.larsson(at)bth.se    anthony.thompson(at)bth.se

Level 2 Sustainability Course: Deep Dive into Application and Practice

Josh Snider — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:00:01 -0500

A Transformative Approach to Innovation, Strategy, and Results

Sustainability has the potential to drive innovation and value creation for businesses and communities around the world. The Natural Step Canada’s Level 2 Sustainability Course: Deep Dive into Application and Practice is designed for sustainability professionals and those looking to enable sustainability-related change processes. In this course you will practice using tools and processes to:

Assess the value of sustainability for your organization
Address objections and build buy-in among your colleagues
Integrate sustainability into your organizational culture
Evaluate and integrate feedback on your organization’s own sustainability programs and efforts
Expand your network of peers in the sustainability field

Read a first-hand account of last year’s inaugural Level 2 Sustainability Course from participant Jennifer Hedayat.

2012 sessions: Level 2 Sustainability Course


Whistler, British Columbia	July 11-13, 2012	SOLD OUT!

Should I take this course?

This course is for people who have responsibility for change processes in their business, community, or organization and want to expand their capacity to lead this, as well as people who would like to take a leadership role in sustainable change within their organization. Past participants have included:

Sustainability coordinators and managers
Corporate VPs and Directors of Sustainability
People responsible for product and service innovation in their organization
Marketing, communications, and branding people looking to better understand and communicate the sustainability imperative
Poets and artists interested in the impact of sustainability to their work and communication
Community activists
Futurist and systems thinkers ("future proofing")
Biologists and ecologists looking to apply fundamental principles of sustainability to their ecosystem work
Graduate students focusing on sustainability

What are the pre-requisites?

To participate in the Level 2 Sustainability Course, you must have completed one or more of the following:

The Natural Step Canada's Level 1 Sustainability Course: Foundations in Strategy
The Natural Step Canada's Integrated Community Sustainability Planning Course
Masters in Strategic Leadership Toward Sustainability Program at Blekinge Institute of Technology
Significant engagement with The Natural Step as a client (to be assessed by The Natural Step Canada’s sustainability advisors)
Relevant education and/or experience (to be assessed by The Natural Step Canada’s sustainability advisors)

How much does it cost?

Early bird price: $1,500 CDN + tax
Regular price: $1,800 CDN + tax
Members of The Natural Step Exchange: 15% discount
Groups of 3 or more: 10% discount
Cancellation policy

What will I get?

This course combines online learning sessions and an in-person workshop. Specifically, it includes:

Online Seminar #1: Online learning and coaching webinar facilitated by our experienced sustainability advisors
3-day in-person workshop: Facilitated according to the best practices of participatory, adult learning (includes lunch, refreshments, and all course materials)
Online Seminar #2: Online learning and coaching webinar facilitated by our experienced sustainability advisors
Personalized feedback and coaching from our sustainability advisors on homework assignments
A certificate of completion from The Natural Step Canada
A voucher for $150 off a membership in The Natural Step Exchange, our exclusive network of sustainability professionals from across Canada

What will I learn?

Building on The Natural Step Canada’s Level 1 Sustainability Course, these 3 days will focus on the application of sustainability processes and will leverage the expertise of your fellow participants and facilitators. You will practice real time development of sustainability strategy, present your results for feedback and refinement, and leave with experiences to underpin a successful sustainability change process in your organization.

You will be exposed to world-class facilitators who are internationally-recognized sustainability practitioners.

Each day you will interact closely with your peers, discussing and presenting your ideas and challenges back to the group. There will also be ample opportunities to network throughout the course.

In this course, you will:

Conduct a Sustainability Value Assessment of your business, community, or organization
Strategize how to mobilize colleagues, address objections, and get buy-in to advance sustainability in your business, community, or organization
Practice an elevator pitch to make the case for sustainability
Explore the ecological and social science basis of The Natural Step Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development
Reframe your organization’s purpose in terms of meeting basic human needs
Practice techniques for facilitating a sustainability change process
Design and receive feedback on a sustainability program for your business, community, or organization

Sustainability Week in Whistler

want more? From July 9-13, 2012, immerse yourself in sustainability learning in one of Canada’s most stunning and innovative communities. A must-attend experience for sustainability practitioners!

July 9: Lay a solid foundation during our Level 1 Sustainability Course
July 10: Experience sustainability first-hand through guided site tours provided by our partners at Centre for Sustainability Whistler showcasing some of Whistler’s greatest sustainability achievements
July 11-13: Take your learning to the next level during our Level 2 Sustainability Course
Why not stay for the weekend, too?

Learn more about Sustainability Week in Whistler.

Filed Under Network

TNS Canada: taking systems change to the next level

TNS Italy: innovation, product design and sexy shoes

Youth Leaders have IMPACT! right now.

2009 Programs

A new TNS arises in Israel

A Strong Foundation for an Exciting Future

Accelerating Change at The Natural Step International

Accomplishments

An Interview with our Founder on Think Globally Radio

ANNOUNCEMENT OF NEW TNSI STRATEGIC DIRECTION & HIRING OF DIRECTOR OF FSSD DIFFUSION & NETWORK RELATIONS

Being there is everything

Building Engagement from Within, with Chris Jarvis from Realized Worth (Sustainability Dialogue)

Building Toward Sustainability, Literally

Change Your Life, and the World - Applications open for MSLS Program

City Shifters - How on earth should we begin greening our metropolises?

Community Based Social Marketing with Dr. Doug McKenzie-Mohr (Webinar)

FREE Mixer Co-hosted by B Lab and The Natural Step Canada at Patagonia (Toronto, ON)

FSSD Community Launch Team Update (April 4, 2013)

Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, USA

GONGOS: Greening Ottawa NGO's

Green Living ECR Awards: Congratulations to the Winners!

Greening Ottawa's NGOs (GONGO): The final session

Imagination Designs Europe – FSSD Informs Eindhoven’s Bid to be the Cultural Capital of Europe for 2018

In Finland, fresh skills and fresh collaborations

Introducing……..The Flexible Platform

Introduction to Strategic Sustainable Development, Distance Course, Sweden

Join The Natural Step Canada For Some 'Sustainabili-TEA'! (Ottawa, ON)

Join us! Open House events at The Natural Step Canada

Learning to Co-Innovate Sustainable Products and Services: applications open for MSPI program

Level 2 Sustainability Course: Deep Dive into Application and Practice

A Transformative Approach to Innovation, Strategy, and Results

2012 sessions: Level 2 Sustainability Course

Learn more...

Should I take this course?

What are the pre-requisites?

How much does it cost?

What will I get?

What will I learn?

Sustainability Week in Whistler

Other questions?