This winter, 40 council members and senior staff from the Town of Markham, the most diverse and one of the fastest growing communities in Canada, engaged in sustainability training facilitated by The Natural Step’s John Purkis and Mike Purcell. The Town of Markham is known for their work on sustainability, and staff and councilors continue to explore new ways to further integrate sustainability into their operations, programs, and services, such as our sustainability leadership training.

“This type of education is so necessary; it’s critical for change and understanding the sustainability path,” said a training participant. For many this exposure to the Framework was the first sustainability training ever received. However, with the majority of the town’s most influential decision-makers in attendance, it was clearly demonstrated that sustainability is of great importance in this community. In addition to helping to build a shared understanding and common language around sustainability, participants wanted to learn, firsthand, how The Natural Step Framework could apply directly to their needs.