Dominik Kurek, reporter for The Oakville Beaver, attended Dr. Karl-Henrik Robèrt's talk at Sheridan College on Monday October 18, 2010. Thank you to Dominik Kurek and The Oakville Beaver for this article.

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The path to global sustainability is like a funnel, said Dr. Karl-Henrik Robèrt, founder of The Natural Step. That is because the deeper down the path of destruction we go, the narrower the funnel will become where it is more difficult for us to save the planet and eventually it will become impossible.

Robèrt was speaking before a gathering of more than 200 people at Sheridan College and many more watching live via web streaming Monday afternoon. Though he’s educated in medicine, he’s become a global leader on the issue of sustainability. The event was also Sheridan’s sustainability initiative kick off.

Despite the funnel continuously narrowing, there is still time to act. However the path to sustainability is a global issue that is best approached by everyone, he said.

Robèrt said everyone must be on board in working towards a sustainable future. He likened the issue to that of a medical team treating a cancer patient. He said the person — in his example a woman — needs a pathologist to provide an exact diagnosis, a radiologist to administer a treatment, a nurse, a surgeon, a physiotherapist and a social worker to mobilize a support group.

“Not one of those professional groups can cure her alone. We need each other,” he said.

He said it is the same thing with the imaginary funnel and that everyone needs to be involved.

He said even gas companies, which are seen as pollution causers, must be on board, because it is they who have the structure to deliver energy, clean or otherwise. Also he mentioned that by excluding certain groups, one is making enemies of them. “We are threatening each other by saying what you do is bad, what you do is good,” he said.

He calls sustainability a dynamic challenge meaning that things are getting worse and worse and the status quo cannot continue.

He added the farther down the funnel we go, the more expensive it will become to repair the damage done. Robèrt said everyone will be affected, including economically from the poor to the rich.

The longer we wait to act, the greater the costs will become for us to survive, he said.

He said the world is losing forests and eco systems that are keeping us alive.

“Everyone is aware of it, so why don’t we act more viciously, do something about this threatening funnel?”

In order to get out of the funnel, he said a strategy must be created. Robèrt provided his Natural Step organization’s strategy as an example, but said there are others as well that are effective.

It is an ABCD strategy that can be done by something such as an organization.

“A” refers to awareness and visioning, which identifies sustainability in an organization’s whole-system and envisions what sustainability will look like.

“B” is for baseline mapping, which examines the organization’s activities that go against sustainability principles.

“C” stands for creative solutions, which is the brainstorming of potential solutions to the issues identified during the baseline mapping process.

And lastly “D” is for decide on priorities, during which process the organization will prioritize the list from the above process that it can act on.

Robèrt said it doesn’t matter what course of action groups or organizations take towards sustainability as long as they follow the robust principles outlines in the strategy. For example, he said places with lots of sun can benefit from solar photovoltaic technologies more and windy places can benefit more from wind turbine technologies.

Robèrt said educational institutions, such as Sheridan College, must be humble in their beginnings towards sustainable efforts. He said when a college or university does something pro-active towards sustainability, it will gain reputation, not the other way around. Once the reputation grows, the partners will come on board and the money with them, which will lead to further advancements, resulting in greater reputation and the cycle will go on.

Robèrt said a school must educate its students so they continue those principles when they graduate. He said sustainability can be included in existing programs, without changing the curriculum, but by introducing those sustainability principles into the teaching method.

Robèrt has worked with international corporations such as Ikea and McDonald’s to help them pioneer sustainable solutions. He won the Green Cross Award for international leadership and the Blue Planet Prize, which is considered as the Nobel Prize of ecological sustainability.

Sheridan is currently working on a sustainability strategic plan that will involve various initiatives around the many pockets of the institution.