the natural step framework
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The Natural Step Framework. Presentation to ISU Extension Community and Economic Development State In-service December 11, 2008. Jerry Hembd State Specialist Community and Economic Development University of Wisconsin-Extension Associate Professor of Economics - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
The Natural Step Framework
Presentation to ISU Extension Community and Economic DevelopmentState In-service
December 11, 2008
Jerry Hembd
State SpecialistCommunity and Economic Development
University of Wisconsin-Extension
Associate Professor of EconomicsDepartment of Business and Economics
University of Wisconsin-Superior
2008 The Natural Step
The Natural Step is an international non-profit research, education and advisory organization that uses a science-based, systems framework to help organizations, individuals and communities take meaningful steps toward sustainability.
The Natural Step: What Is It?
The Natural Step Framework
1. A shared science- and systems-based definition for sustainability
2. A decision-making framework and process to help organizations and communities plan for sustainability
3. A compass to help us know if we’re moving in the right direction
Source material from TNS Canada
Who Uses It?
Swedish Eco-municipalities
City of Madision, WI
Source material from TNS Canada
Dr. Karl-Henrik Robèrt
Find fundamental principles of indisputable relevance, and thereafter ask the advice of others on how to apply them.
Why are we talking about sustainability
?
Source material from TNS Canada
Only One Planet
Our Planet Is in Trouble
Source material from TNS Canada
Growing Awareness
What is Sustainability?
“Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
~ The Brundtland Report
“It contains two key concepts: the concept of “needs,” in particular the essential needs of the world’s poor, to which overriding priority should be given; and the idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization on the environment’s ability to meet present and future needs.”
~ The Brundtland Report
environmenteconomy
society
Dimensions of Sustainability
Society
Economy Environment
Source material from TNS Canada
Conventional Thinking
Traditionally, we try to understand complex systems by reducing the whole and studying the individual parts.
This is called reductionist thinking.
Source material from TNS Canada
Systems Thinking
But…
We know that the properties of systems depend on the relationships between the parts as much as the parts themselves.
When you dissect the system, you destroy the pattern of relationships.
Source material from TNS Canada
We mustWe must
look atlook at
the whole ...the whole ...
… … and notand not
get stuckget stuck
on detailson details
Systems Thinking
Source material from TNS Canada
Understanding the Sustainability Challenge
The Funnel as a Metaphor
Resource Funnel
Resource Availability and Ecosystem Ability to Provide Vital Services Raw materials, ecosystem services,
declining integrity and capacity of natural systems
SustainabilityMargin for
Action
Societal Demand for Resources
Growth in population, resource requirements as affluence increases, increased demands as technology spreads
Source: Nattrass, Brian, and Altomare, Mary. The Natural Step for Business. New Society Publishers, 1999.
Supporting
• Nutrient cycling
• Soil formation
• Primary production
Provisioning
• Food
• Freshwater
• Wood and fibre
• Fuel
Regulating
• Climate regulation
• Flood regulation
• Disease regulation
• Water purification
Cultural
• Aesthetics
• Spiritual
• Educational
• Recreational
Ecosystem Services
Source: Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. 2005. Washington, DC: Island Press.
The Sustainability Challenge
Source material from TNS Canada
A Systems Perspective
The Earth as a system
What can we agree on?
Closed System with respect to matter
Slow geological cycles - materials from the Earth’s crust
Open System with respect to energy
Sustainability is about the ability of
our own human society to continue
indefinitely within these natural cycles
“Photosynthesis pays the bills”
1) Nothing disappears2) Everything disperses
Source material from TNS Canada
How we influence cycles
Introduce persistent compounds foreign to nature
2
Physically inhibit ability of nature to run cycles
3
Relatively large flows of materials from the Earth’s crust
1
Barriers to people meeting their basic needs
4
Source material from TNS Canada
Ways we are un-sustainable
we dig stuff (like heavy metals and fossil fuels) out of the Earth’s crust and allow it to build up faster than nature can cope with it
we create man-made compounds and chemicals (like pesticides and fire retardants in carpets, etc.) and allow them to build up faster than nature can cope with them
we continuously damage natural systems and the free services they provide (including climate regulation and water filtration) by physical means (for example, overharvesting and paving wetlands)
And . . .
we live in and create societies in which many people cannot meet their basic needs (for example, to find affordable housing)
43
2
1
Basic Conditions for Sustainability
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
1
FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN NEEDS
AffectionProtection
Understanding
Participation
Subsistence
Freedom
Identity Idleness
Creation
Global Human Needs
Source material from TNS Canada
“Knowing where we want to go will help us get there”
Backcasting from Principles and the
ABCD Methodology
Backcasting
...looking ’back’ to the present and designing strategic, step-wise actions...current
reality
time
Backcasting from Sustainability Principles
...looking ’back’ to the present and designing strategic, step-wise solutions...current
reality
time
Generic Planning Framework
“D” Step
Right direction?
Flexible Platform?
Return on investment?
time
ABCD
Awareness
Baseline
Creative Solutions
Decide on Priorities
Present
Future
Does it move us in the right direction?
Is it a flexible platform?
Is it a good return on investment?
Review - Key Concepts
The Funnel
Backcasting and ABCD Model
Principles of Sustainability
ISO14001Triple bottom line
Sustainable growth
Carbon Neutrality
Cleaner Production
Life Cycle
AnalysisZero
Emissions
Renewable Energy
Zero Waste
Ecological Footprinting
Sustainabilit
y analysis
Biomimicry
Hannover Principles
CS
R
NaturalCapitalism
Smart Growth EcoefficiencyAgenda
21
Other Tools and Concepts
Melb
ourne
Princip
les
Challenge of Alignment
Many individuals in an organization
(and organizations within a community) with energy
and enthusiasm
Challenge of Alignment
Shared sense of purpose, shared vision acts as a compass
Challenge of Alignment
Aligned and moving in the same direction
A Growing Movement
Community stories
An eco-municipality aspires to develop an ecologically, economically, and socially healthy community for the long term, using The Natural Step Framework for sustainability as a guide, and a democratic, highly participative development process as the method.
Swedish Eco-municipalities
What’s Happening in Wisconsin?What’s Happening in Wisconsin?
City of Washburn
City of Ashland
City of Madison
City of Bayfield
Town of Bayfield
Douglas County
Johnson Creek
City of Marshfield
City of Manitowoc
City of Neenah
City of Menasha
Town of Cottage Grove
La Crosse
La Crosse County
City Beloit
City of Baraboo
City of Sheboygan
Dunn County
Village of Spring Green
Town of La Pointe
Duluth, MN
Challenges for transition
• We need more accurate models, metaphors, and measures to describe the human enterprise relative to the biosphere.
• It will require a marked improvement and creativity in the arts of citizenship and governance.
• The public’s discretion will need to be informed through greatly improved education.
• It will require learning how to recognize and solve divergent problems, which is to say a higher level of spiritual awareness.Source: David Orr. The Last Refuge: Patriotism, Politics, and the Environment in an Age of Terror. Washington, DC: Island Press, 2004.
Thank You