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

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

Last week I had the great pleasure to join about 50 people with Morguard Investments in a multi-day strategic planning workshop in the Greater Toronto Area.  They are a real estate management and development company who is looking at sustainability as a way to create competitive advantage and differentiate.  We were invited in by Neil Pegram, a graduate from the Master’s in Strategic Leadership towards Sustainability program in Sweden, who co-designed and co-facilitated the session with me.  

Today is Blog Action Day for climate change and what better reminder to all of us to take action than this morning’s article in the Globe and Mail telling us that rapidly melting Arctic ice will have “devastating effects on the planet.”  Researchers say that in 20 years, summer ice will have all but disappeared. What this means for the planet is that the melting permafrost on the continental shelf will release methane gas, further accelerating global warming, and the newly open water will have an impact on global weather patterns and ocean habitat.

For those of us in the field of social change and innovation, a key factor in the success of any initiative, is the ability to scale up impact. After six years of testing and prototyping our approach in Canada with over 200 communities, businesses, universities and non-profit groups we are ready to share our learning and approach with others. We are expanding our reach from working just with organizations, to working with individuals as well. We are thrilled to announce the launch of a new series of courses and learning programs for individual change agents and leaders who are committed to implementing sustainable solutions in their communities and businesses. Check out our Sustainability for Leaders workshops in six major Canadian cities.