Submitted by Shane Yates 02.03.2010

On February 24th and 25th, The Natural Step came to Halifax for their Level 1 course: Sustainability for Leaders.  Arriving at the Dalhousie Student Union Building, I did not know what to expect from this one of a kind experience.  Having been assigned the position of youth storyteller for Halifax, I brought along a camcorder, digital camera, and notebook thinking this would be enough to capture what the workshop truly represented.  It turned out the workshop itself was only the tip of the iceberg of a much larger movement. 

The workshop brought together 15 people from a variety of sectors who had the desire and drive to enhance their abilities to effectively instruct others about the need for a sustainable culture and to identify where sustainability should be implemented.   Having completed an online course, the participants already had a strong understanding of sustainable culture, but they wanted a proven method to encourage others to adopt the concept of sustainability into their mindset.  There were participants from London, Ontario, Corner Brook, Newfoundland, and of course, Halifax, Nova Scotia among others.  These men and women worked for a variety of companies including universities, municipalities, engineering firms, hospitals and oil and gas companies.  To break the ice and learn about each other’s sustainable initiatives, everyone was to first ask themselves the question, “What is your greatest challenge and greatest opportunity in your role as a sustainability leader?” and then discuss their answer with a neighbour.  Although the opportunities varied from person to person as everyone had their own respective position, the majority of the challenges fell within being able to persuade and influence others to adopt sustainability into their everyday practices.  In response to this consensus, the facilitators, John Purkis and Mike Purcell illustrated that the Natural Step Framework will provide tools to better one’s approach to influencing others.

After a brief presentation about what The Natural Step was and what it aims to accomplish, the facilitators went on to explain the concept of sustainability and its application.  This was accomplished through the use of a funnel metaphor, the concept of backcasting, sustainability principles, and anABCD planning methodology.  These four tools would be used as the backbone in implementing The Natural Step framework.  Through numerous activities, the participants were given ample opportunity to exercise these tools not only in case studies, but in their own respective working environment.  In reference to the latter, for the second day each participant was required to perform a presentation illustrating The Natural Step’s framework and how it can benefit a specific audience.   The audience could be anything from their work, to their community, or even their own family.  Participants enjoyed the chance to practice their pitch to adopt The Natural Step Framework and greatly benefitted from the feedback received from other participants.  During many one on one interviews with the participants, they referenced the presentations as the highlight of the course as it gave them a chance to learn about their strengths and weakness in implementing the Natural Step Framework.

To provide real life examples of how the Natural Step can successfully be put into practice, the Natural Step invited two guest speakers from local companies.  Richard MacLellan from the Halifax’s Sustainable Environment Management Office came in to talk about the challenges in getting a municipality on board with sustainable development and how the Natural Step Framework played a pivotal part in its execution while Richard Peisinger from the Halifax Shambala Center came in to talk about the center’s involvement with the Atlantic Canada Sustainability Initiative and how the center itself uses the Natural Step to coordinate their endeavours in a sustainable manner.  As a token of their appreciation, they were both given credits for Kiva.org to lend money for a sustainable project in a developing country.  

On the night of the 24th, many of the class participants got together for dinner and watch the Canada vs. Russia hockey game.  Wanting to encourage a sustainable lifestyle, the group decided to dine at The Wooden Monkey, a restaurant known for their organic, localized menu.  Through providing this workshop, the Natural Step has provided not only the tools for these emerging leaders to effectively influence others, they have also given them the means to make lasting ties and friendships and influence each other.  Although exhausted by the end of the two day workshop, everyone felt that the workshop experience was very valuable in enhancing their knowledge of sustainability and its execution.  Having felt a strong sense of accomplishment, all were ready to use the tools gained in this workshop for their own projects.  Many knew that implementing sustainability will be hard work, but this course provided a framework proven to make the transition easier.