In the News

The town of Canmore is continuing on the road to sustainability after adopting The Natural Step Framework in 2008. Canmore was the second Canadian community to implement The Natural Step’s community-wide engagement program. Read more about their journey in the case study here. 

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By Hamish Maclean, The Canmore Leader. August 18, 2010.

Special events in Canmore will be moving towards zero waste.

By Alyssa Burnham, The High River Times. August 10, 2010.

High River is in the process of exploring how it might move toward increased sustainability as a municipality.

Congratulations to our corporate partners, The Co-operators, who have just been ranked number two among the 50 Best Corporate Citizens in Canada by Corporate Knights!

 Edmonton must not wait for other orders of government to take action on environmental initiatives. Taking a harder line on urban sprawl, limiting growth, enforcing greater density rules, and using taxes to become a sustainable city were among the suggestions in a debate on the City of Edmonton’s new environmental plan.

MEDIA RELEASE
The recently published Hawaii Sustainability Primer cuts through the confusion surrounding the term “sustainability” and offers a practical framework for organizations looking for help with environmental, social, and financial sustainability needs.

This 25-page, full-color guidebook is easy to read and includes success stories and visions that feature Hamakua Springs Country Farm, Kanu o ka Aina New Century Public Charter School, Volcano Island Honey Company, Hawaii Preparatory Academy’s Energy Lab, and Hawaii County and State.

The downloadable primer was developed by The Natural Step Canada and edited for Hawaii Island by The County of Hawaii and TheKohala Center. It defines sustainability; discusses the indigenous wisdom of the Hawaiian ahupuaa system; describes the root causes of unsustainability; outlines principles for a sustainable society; and focuses on how to plan, make decisions, and take action for sustainability.

 Environmental professionals are in development in Canada and around the globe

When the municipality of Whistler wanted to prepare itself for the 2010 Winter Olympics, officials turned to Kelly Hawke Baxter to help them develop a sustainability plan, Whistler 2020, to transform every aspect of how the town approached its development. Baxter is the executive director of The Natural Step Canada, a non-governmental organization that educates and instructs individuals in private industry and the public sector how integrate to environmental considerations into their operations.

A dog knows by nature not to pee where she sleeps, but humans are not as smart when it comes to taking care of the place where we rest. In our headlong rush to industrial civilization, we have lost many of the natural instincts that kept our species a balanced part of the ecosystem. As we approach the 40th anniversary of the first Earth Day, confusion, arguments, and the comfort of the status quo prevent us from acting together more boldly. By showing the path to sustainability, can four little rules save the planet--and humanity?

March 23, 2010, Calgary – ECO Canada’s annual Environmental Employer of the Year Awards recognises companies in the environment industry for their commitment and dedication to human resource (HR) excellence. These awards are unique in that winning organizations are selected based on the evaluation and feedback of their employees—a true testament to a company’s efforts in aligning HR practices to support and strengthen workplace culture.

The Town of Canmore’s training video for new staff to introduce them to the concepts of sustainability and the Natural Step program is available on YouTube. The 20-minute long video, which shows how the municipality has taken steps to increase its
sustainability, is available for anyone to check out on the Natural Step’s YouTube channel. Sally Caudill, environmental care coordinator for the Town, said last week the Natural Step orientation video is shown to all new employees after they are taken for a tour of the community and treated to a coffee in a stainless steel re-useable mug.

By Lisa van de Ven, National Post           March 12, 2010

New light bulbs -- check. Recycling sorted -- check. Energy-efficient appliances -- got them, too.

It's no secret that green living has taken on momentum and that Canadians are starting to make environmentally driven choices around their homes. They're doing so in overwhelming numbers: A recent survey by Bosch Home Appliances showed that 95% of Canadians have done something to try to live in a more eco-friendly way, including switching light bulbs and purchasing Earth-friendly household products. But many aren't satisfied with stopping there: The survey reports 75% admitted that while they're greener than five years ago, they still have a ways to go.

We have to learn to live on our planet, and that's a job that involves educators, says DAVID LOADER.
 

By SUZANNE ELSTON, Special to QMI Agency

February 20, 2010-This year will be remembered for bringing the eyes of the world to Whistler, B.C., but for local residents, 2020 has a much greater significance and focus. Whistler2020 is the name of the town’s long-term community sustainability plan.Traditional urban planning tends to focus more on isolated pieces of the planning puzzle, rather than on interconnected systems. What the town needed was an integrated approach that would address social, economic and environmental challenges...

Have you ever needed to get above the daily routine of life to gain a better perspective on your world? Sometimes we need to step out of the ordinary to be able to see the extraordinary.

DE NOTRE ENVOYÉ SPÉCIAL

Les jeux olympiques d’hiver à Whistler `se veulent les plus verts de l`histoire.  Une posture politiquement correcte, mais qui répond à une demarche entamée d

Vancouver, B.C. :: November 4, 2009

Sustainability is confusing and can be totally overwhelming, especially when it comes to making daily decisions in your busy home. The Natural Step, the David Suzuki Foundation and the Light House Sustainable Building Centre have created a toolkit, Sustainability at Home, to make those decisions easier.  Come and celebrate the launch of this toolkit and welcome the Light House Sustainable Building Centre to their new home at 2060 Pine Street on Saturday, November 7th.  Welcome address at 11am. 

By Kelly Hawke Baxter and Chad Park

From Alternatives Magazine: Environment Ideas + Action | Full story here.

More than a set of scientifically based conditions for a sustainable society, the Natural Step Framework has been the foundation for hundreds of innovative sustainability programs around the world. After five years of applying its community-based approach in Canada, The Natural Step’s executive director Kelly Hawke Baxter and principal advisor Chad Park say the organization has learned a great deal about community sustainability. Here are seven hints to help your community move toward a more sustainable future.

Advancing Business Sustainability through Collaboration: 
CBSR and The Natural Step Canada Partner

Toronto, Vancouver & Ottawa, ON – August 5, 2009:  Canadian Business for Social Responsibility (CBSR) and The Natural Step Canada announce a new collaboration to further the strategic impact of both organizations. The groups both promote responsible business practices, which encompass social, environmental and economic considerations.

Sweden’s policies: a menu for Canada’s low-carbon diet?
by Melissa Shin

Corporate Knights explores Sweden's solutions for a changing world and compares their policies, actions and attitudes to those currently found in Canada.  Shin interviewed Natural Step Founder, Karl-Henrik Robert while in Stockholm.

A recent article by Thomas Friedman in the International Herald Tribune reminds us of the tremendous challenge and opportunity represented by our current economic situation.

“What if the crisis of 2008 represents something much more fundamental than a deep recession?” Friedman asks. “What if it’s telling us that the whole growth model we created over the last 50 years is simply unsustainable economically and ecologically and that 2008 was when we hit the wall – when Mother Nature and the market both said ‘No more.’”

In early January 2009, decision makers and sustainability champions convened in Markham, Ontario to hear Whistler, BC Mayor Ken Melamed share his lessons learned on the road to community sustainability and discuss Whistler’s plans to host the most sustainable Olympics in history.

The City of Airdrie, Alberta, recently completed a community-wide visioning process as part of its municipal sustainability plann

From February 3-13, 2009, I participated in the Hållbarhet Australia Learning Journey, along with 25 other sustainability practitioners who share a common Masters in Strategic Leadership towards Sustainability (MSLS) from the Blekinge Institute of Technology, Sweden. It was an absolutely extraordinary experience that clearly highlighted the invaluable roll a strong network can play in the personal and collective impact of sustainability change agents.

In February 2009, an inaugural gathering of emerging sustainability practitioners from around the world took place in Australia.

The Natural Step and the Whistler Centre for Sustainability will be offering two workshops between the Annual General Meetings of the Canadian Associatio

We regret to inform you that we are postponing the events planned to mark the launch of the TNS Network, Working Toward a Sustainable Future, in Whistler June 4 and 5th.

Corporate Knights Magazine unveiled the third-annual Corporate Knights Most Sustainable Cities in Canada list today.

climateandinsurance.org took five minutes to interview Barbara Turley-McIntyre, Director, Sustainability and Corporate Citizenship, The Co-operators Gro

by Kelly Hawke Baxter and Mike Purcell

Sustainability is the greatest challenge of our time. Human activity is now putting such a strain on social and ecological systems that the ability to sustain future generations can no longer be taken for granted. Sustainable literally means lasting, or standing the test of time. Sustainability means making sure that we live within the ability of the planet to support us so that future generations have the same opportunities as we do.