SUSTAINABILITY: THE NATURAL STEP

Leanne Hedberg Carlson, Viterbo University

OVERVIEW

•What is Sustainability?• The Natural Step Framework• Who else is using The Natural Step?• Resources

What is Sustainability?"Sustainable development is development that

meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to

meet their own needs."

-- Brundtland Report, Our Common Future, 1987 World Commission on Environment and

Development

Natural environment

Economy

Society

An Approach That Acknowledges the Interdependency and Order of the Economy,

Society and the Natural Environment

An Example of The Sustainability Challenge:

High Level of Complexity

Environmental?Economic?

Social?Cultural?

*Resources *Ecosystem services

declining

increasing

*Global population*Demand for: • Resources • Ecosystem services

The Natural Step – the Story• Dr. Karl-Henrik Robert, cancer

doctor• Originated in Sweden, now being

adopted in organizations and municipalities world-wide

• Built scientific consensus on sustainability

• Build on the premise of success – “What actions can we take that are based upon what is already proven to work?”

THE NATURAL STEP – THE STORY Founded in Sweden in 1989 More than 70 municipalities and 60

corporations are now using TNS in Sweden alone.

The Natural Step currently has offices in 12 countries.

HOW WILL TNS BE HELPFUL? TNS is a comprehensive approach shared

by private, public & non-profit sectors. Adopted by the City of La Crosse and the

County of La Crosse in 2006 – creates, expands partnerships.

Community-wide understanding, inspiring vision & compelling action plan

Business in leadership – know expectations and can plan

Engages community support (students, staff, faculty, board of advisors)

Shift from serial single projects to cost-saving, comprehensive sustainability.

WHO USES THE NATURAL STEP?

Swedish Eco-municipalities

Q uickTime™ and aTIFF (U ncompr essed ) de compre sso r

are ne ede d to se e t his p ictu re.

A PARTIAL, GROWING LIST OF TNS ADOPTERS(JUST WITHIN THE US AND CANADA)

A Sustainability Vision for the Automotive Services IndustryAlcoa, CanadaAntigonish Sustainable Development, CanadaAshforth Pacific, Inc., Portland, Oregon, USAAtlantic Canada Sustainability Initiative (ACSI)Axis Performance Advisors, Portland, Oregon, USABathurst Sustainable Development, CanadaBOORA Archietcts, Portland, Oregon, USABrazil ProjectCity of Airdrie, CanadaCity of Madison, WisconsinCity of Santa Monica, California, USACollege Housing Northwest, Portland, Oregon, USACollingwood Region, CanadaCommunity Foundations of CanadaDistrict of North Vancouver, CanadaElectroluxEugene Water and Electric Board, Eugene, Oregon, USAGerding/Edlen

Development Company, LLC, Portland, Oregon, USAGroupe MilletGuidebook on Municipal Sustainability Planning, CanadaHalifax Regional Municipality, CanadaHalifax Shambhala Centre, CanadaHot Lips Pizza, Portland, Oregon, USAHydro Polymers LimitedIKEA

Interface, Atlanta, Georgia, USAJ.M. Bygg Construction, SwedenMorbegno 2020Nike Nike, Inc., Beaverton, Oregon, USANorm Thompson, Portland, Oregon, USANorth American Eco-Muni NetworkOMSI - Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, Portland, Oregon, USAOrganically Grown Company, Eugene, Oregon, USAOtago Polytechnic, New ZealandPanasonicPortfolio 21 Investments, Portland, Oregon, USAPret a Manger, United KingdomRejuvenation, Inc., Portland, Oregon, USAResort Municipality of Whistler, CanadaRielloRio Tinto Alcan, Australia/CanadaSantropol RoulantScandic HotelsScandic Hotels, SwedenSERA Architects, Portland, Oregon, USAShoreBank Pacific, Ilwaco, Washington, USASokol Blosser Winery, Dundee Hills, Oregon, USASouth Africa ProjectSustainable Dublin, IrelandThe Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada

THE NATURAL STEP: CONDITIONS FOR A SUSTAINABLE SOCIETY

concentrations of substances extracted from the earth's crust

concentrations of substances produced by society

degradation by physical means

and, in that society…

people are not subject to conditions that systematically undermine their capacity to meet their needs.

In a sustainable society, nature is not subject to systematically increasing:

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2

3

4

4

3

2

1

THE SYSTEM CONDITIONS RE-FRAMED

Eliminate our community’s contribution to fossil fuel dependence and to wasteful use of scarce metals and minerals;

Eliminate our community’s contribution to dependence on persistent chemicals and wasteful use of synthetic substances;Eliminate our community’s contribution to encroachment upon nature (e.g. land, water, wildlife, forests, soil, ecosystems);

Create conditions that increasingly develop and improve the capacity of people to meet their needs.

Develop policies and practices that ultimately . . .

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2

3

4

TNS RESOURCE FUNNEL

Source: www.naturalstep.org

STRATEGIC PLANNING FRAMEWORK

A = AWARENESS

Develop awareness among all Viterbo community members

(stakeholders) about what sustainability is and why it

matters. This includes education about The Natural

Step.

B = BASELINE Baseline mapping and analysis of the

current reality. What does Viterbo look like today with

respect to the four System Conditions? What are we doing that either supports or

does not support each System Condition

C = CLEAR & COMPELLING VISION

Creating scenarios of how Viterbo might look

in a sustainable society that is meeting the System Conditions

D = DOWN TO ACTION Set priorities for actions and manage them

toward the goal of the Compelling Vision in alignment with the System Conditions

Decide what strategies will be used and which tools and actions we will use to implement the strategies.

Determine which metrics and systems will be used to measure progress, keeping the four System Conditions as a “compass”.

Ask the following 3 questions…

STEP D: 3 QUESTIONS FOR ACTIONS

1. Does this action or investment move us in the right direction with respect to sustainability (i.e. does it move us towards meeting all 4 S.P.’s).

STEP D: 3 QUESTIONS FOR ACTIONS

2. Does this action or investment provide a stepping-stone to future investments - i.e. is it a flexible platform? This speaks to the fact that no single investment will get us to sustainability, just like no single move will get a chess player to checkmate. Knowing this, we want to prioritize those investments that give us the greatest degree of flexibility for future moves, rather than tying up capital in moves or technologies that are dead ends or that are so costly that they make it difficult to invest in improvements later.

STEP D: 3 QUESTIONS FOR ACTIONS

3. Does this action provide an adequate return on investment? This speaks to the idea that it doesn’t do anyone any good if an organization that is trying to become sustainable goes bankrupt. We need to maintain economic sustainability today and through every step of working towards ecological and social sustainability. This speaks to, as a rule of thumb, investing in the “lowest hanging fruit” earliest, those actions that generate a return on investment that can be used to fertilized more difficult moves later. Often, these early moves are efficiency improvements that generate savings - some of which can then be invested in more challenging measures later.

The Natural Step Resources: Books

E-FRAMEWORK GUIDEBOOK

http://www.naturalstep.org.nz/downloads/TNSFrameworkGuidebook.pdf

THE NATURAL STEP WEB RESOURCES:

http://www.naturalstep.org/

http://www.naturalstep.org/en/learning-organization-evaluating-university-canterburys-strategic-transition-toward-sustainability

REFERENCESNattrass, B., Altomare, M., 1999, The Natural Step for Business: Wealth,

Ecology, and the Evolutionary Corporation, New Society Publishers: Canada

Nattrass, B., Altomare, M., 2002, Dancing with the Tiger,New Society Publishers: Canada

Gipps, T., Presentation at Viterbo University on February 4, 2009

http://www.gpiatlantic.org/, January 26, 2009