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GreenBiz.com: Making Sustainability Everyone's Job

Submitted by The Natural Ste... on October 26, 2011 - 10:39am

Fresh off the recent announcement of being ranked as the #1 Corporate Citizen by Corporate Knights, long time partner of The Natural Step Canada, The Cooperators, is once again making headlines for their sustainability efforts. An article in GreenBiz.com highlights how The Cooperators are succeeding in embedding sustainability throughout their organization. Please visit The Co-operators case study to read more about how The Natural Step helped The Co-operators integrate a sustainability plan.

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Youth Sustainability Conference Makes IMPACT!

Submitted by The Natural Ste... on October 24, 2011 - 11:03am

The Co-operators and partners envision the future with future leaders

The Co-operators is fuelling the push to a more sustainable future by engaging the passion of a collective group of Canadian youth through its program, IMPACT! The Co-operators Youth Program for Sustainability Leadership.

In partnership with the Natural Step Canada, the David Suzuki Foundation, and several other organizations and Canadian universities and colleges, The Co-operators hosted its second gathering of the some of the country’s brightest young minds Sept. 15-18 in Guelph.

Une formation en développement durable comme à la maison

Submitted by The Natural Ste... on October 24, 2011 - 9:02am

La semaine dernière, ma collègue Anouk et moi avons animé le 3ème cours de niveau 1 (développement durable pour les leaders) en deux ans à Montréal. Nous avons eu la chance de passer deux jours avec un groupe de professionnels soucieux de développer leurs compétences en développement durable. Parmi eux, des consultants, des employés de Hydro Québec, SNC Lavalin O&M ainsi que des représentants de collectivités québécoises telles que la Ville de Longueuil et la MRC Pontiac.

Navigating the Best Practice Jungle - When best practice isn’t the best strategy

Submitted by Sarah Brooks on October 18, 2011 - 9:30am

In the 1980s, the Brundtland Commission sent the idea of sustainable development ricocheting through the annals of history and organizations around the world. Since then, there has been an astonishing amount of work completed by organizations in the public and private sector alike, each endeavouring in different ways to work such that they do not “…compromise the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” 

CREB.com - Sustainable Neighbourhoods: Event to discuss Alberta's thoughts on sustainable living

Submitted by The Natural Ste... on October 18, 2011 - 9:20am

The Natural Step Canada teamed up with the Alberta Real Estate Foundation (AREF) to launch a forum to engage Albertan's in a discussion around what makes a sustainable neighbourhood? The initiative was recently featured in an article from CREB.com. 

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What makes a sustainable neighbourhood?

That will be the main question on the table at the Re-Imagining our Neighbourhoods forum taking place at the Calgary Telus Convention Centre Telus 111 room Oct.19.

Tough questions, tougher answers: Exploring the role of materials stewardship in sustainable built environments

Submitted by Sarah Brooks on October 11, 2011 - 1:42pm

What do two green building experts, a carpet manufacturer, and The Natural Step have in common? This was a question that a recent panel addressed at this year’s US Green Building Council’s GreenBbuild International Conference and Expo.

Are there any sustainable materials? Exploring the role of materials stewardship in sustainable built environments was a lively panel discussion featuring Lindsay James of InterfaceFLOR, Gail Vittori of the Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems, Jennifer Atlee of BuildingGreen,  and myself—Sarah Brooks of The Natural Step Canada. Together, we led a dialogue that aimed to break down traditional boundaries, challenge each others’ assumptions, and— in doing so—surface new solutions and new questions to evolve the conversation.

Pilot of Community Sustainability Planning Course an Overwhelming Success

Submitted by The Natural Ste... on October 11, 2011 - 12:00am

The first edition of The Natural Step Canada’s Community Sustainability Planning course has now come to a successful close. Throughout the five-month program, 23 participants from across Canada and one from the Unites States participated in a series of  online seminars and in-person workshops to receive in- depth training in the development of integrated community sustainability plans (ICSPs) grounded in the backcasting approach of The Natural Step Framework.

The course recently culminated with a final session in Toronto, where participants presented their final team projects: ICSP process plans for communities where they live or work, from High River, Alberta to Halton Hills, Oakville, and Ajax, Ontario to Lockeport and Richmond County, Nova Scotia.

The Natural Step is Lead Advisor on Corporate Knight's Third Annual Sustainable City Ranking

Submitted by The Natural Ste... on October 11, 2011 - 12:00am

Corporate Knights Magazine unveiled the third-annual Corporate Knights Most Sustainable Cities in Canada list today. The comprehensive ranking identifies Canadian cities whose practices leave the smallest environmental footprint possible and contribute to healthy, thriving populations. Corporate Knights examined 17 cities, including Canada’s top ten cities by population and the largest city in each province and territory*.

In order to strengthen its ranking system, Corporate Knights invited The Natural Step Canada (TNS) to be lead advisor on its national advisory board, which also included Greening Greater Toronto (GGT) and Smart Growth BC (SGBC). The advisory board helped Corporate Knights to identify areas where it could make its methodology more robust by suggesting new and improved metrics that better encompass a city’s strengths and weaknesses.

Working with Emerging Leaders at the University of Western Ontario

Submitted by The Natural Ste... on October 9, 2011 - 12:00am

The Natural Step partnered with the University of Western Ontario’s Masters in Environment and Sustainability program to provide sustainability training to students in preparation for their spring 2009 consulting course. The TNS training and coaching allowed students to develop expertise on sustainability planning and the TNS Framework and gave them real-life experience in acting as a sustainability change agent within an organization.

The 26 students worked in small teams with clients that included the university itself, the city, a neighbouring First Nation community, multi-stakeholder regional watershed groups in Canada and Kenya, a local community organization, and local businesses. During the six-week project, students analyzed and documented clients’ current practices and presented recommendations for them to become more sustainable using The Natural Step Framework.

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

Submitted by The Natural Ste... on October 6, 2011 - 9:53am

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

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