It’s been quite a couple of weeks for the sustainability movement in Canada, since Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver’s comments about “environmental and other radical groups” and their opposition to the Northern Gateway pipeline project.

The unfortunate result of the government and media’s framing of the pipeline issue is that we are presented with a false choice: save the economy or save the environment. It is an age-old myth that many people have been working hard for years to overcome by promoting the idea of sustainable development. We should not have to choose between jobs and the environment. As a native Albertan with many personal and professional connections to the energy industry, an academic background in commerce from the University of Alberta, and now a role leading what some might call an “environmental NGO” based in Ottawa, you would think by this framing that I would be very conflicted: Am I on the side of the economy or the side of the environment? But I am not conflicted.

 We at the Natural Step think it's important to empower leaders of the future, to unite and engage through the framework for Strategic Sustainable Development. One way of doing this is through the courses we host all around the world, below is Anna Bengtssons own experience, Anna particitpated in a recent Level 1 course hosted in Stockholm

La fin de semaine dernière, mon collègue Alexandre Magnin et moi avons animé un atelier pour la démarche de plan intégré pour la durabilité de la collectivité de Rivière-du-Loup. Cet atelier avait pour but principal de former des ciotyens bénévoles à la démarche Natural Step de sorte qu'ils puissent se l'approprier et l'appliquer lors des années à venir. Nous y avons rencontré des citoyens engagés et motivés à préparer leur collectivité dans la transition vers la durabilité, ce qui est une priorité comme l'indique la plaque dans la salle du conseil municipal (photo ci-contre).

Nous avons entamé l’atelier du vendredi soir par un rapide tour de table permettant à chacun d’échanger avec un partenaire sur ses motivations à participer à la démarche,

Sweden is a country known for its clean and green policies and practice, but behind the action it is people who make the difference. That’s why this week’s publication by MiljöAktuellt of the top 100 individuals in the country voted as having the most ‘environmental influence’ is so interesting.

The list gives an insight into who makes Sweden’s sustainability movement tick. While most Swedes wouldn’t dream of it being any other way, what’s most refreshing to see is the breadth of coverage in terms of issues being addressed and the representation of different ages groups and sections of Swedish society - NGO’s, researchers, thinkers, photographers, inventors, consultants, commentators, business leaders and politicians are all represented.

Reflecting on 2011, we at The Natural Step Canada are struck by the year's events that illustrate the global sustainability challenge and the growing sentiment that systemic change is required. To name but a few…

The Arab Spring saw revolution and widespread protest across the Middle East in an effort to combat dictatorship, concentration of wealth and power in few hands, corruption, human rights violations, economic decline, unemployment, and rising food prices.

The United States experienced a record of more than $12 billion of weather disaster-related damage, showing the real and immediate costs of extreme weather related to our changing global climate.

The earthquake, tsunami, and resulting nuclear meltdown in Japan prompted worldwide debate about whether nuclear power should be part of our energy mix in a sustainable future.

And, of course, the Occupy Movement demonstrated a democratic awakening that addresses corporate greed, a growing disparity of wealth, inadequate financial regulation, and corporate influence on politics.

The circumstances that preceded each of these events may seem disparate, but the responses show a growing awareness that a systemic approach will be required to achieve the desired social changes. For example, to develop solutions to the climate change issue, democracy, human rights, and energy issues will all be implicated. In other words, everything is interrelated.

The following editorial by Chad Park, Executive Director of The Natural Step Canada, appeared in the Corporate Citizens Mediaplanet Special Report in the National Post on December 28, 2011.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is outdated and counterproductive to successful enterprise and the global sustainability imperative.

CSR encourages us to incorporate environmental and social considerations into a business-as-usual scenario. This is the triple-bottom-line approach and is often depicted with three overlapping circles representing economy, society, and environment.

This is a flawed paradigm.

Blekinge Institute of Technology (BTH) and The Natural Step (TNS) are once again running a unique 10-month customized industry course for business leaders and working professionals in the chemical sector and related value chains.

Commencing April 2012 and now entering its third year, the Leading Change for a Sustainable Chemical Industry course combines theory with implementation of projects in the participating organizations or with customers and suppliers. The schedule and course content is specifically designed for professionals working in the industry to apply sustainability concepts in their day to day work.

One of Alberta’s largest builders and its quest for a greener world

In early 2009, Bijan Mannani was talking about work with his son, a Grade 3 student with a keen awareness of the physical environment around him. Bijan was working in Alberta’s oil and gas sector at the time and the controversial energy found in the northern oils sands was topical news.

His son posed the question around the dinner table: “Don’t you know that you are damaging the environment with the work that you are doing?” Bijan recalls.

At that moment, Bijan understood a change in his life was necessary and today he’s talking environmental sustainability as the chief operating officer of one of Alberta’s largest builders.

Re-imagining our Neighbourhoods: A vision for the future of Alberta

Ottawa and Calgary, November 30, 2011—Neighbourhoods are the building blocks of society. They are the places we call home, where we live, work, and play. But what are the characteristics of a livable, vibrant, sustainable neighbourhood? A free new report released today by The Natural Step Canada and the Alberta Real Estate Foundation (AREF), Re-imagining our Neighbourhoods: A vision for the future of Alberta, begins to answer exactly that question.

A contribution to AREF’s 20th Anniversary Thought Leadership series, the report builds on The Natural Step Canada’s experience working with dozens of communities across the country to accelerate change toward sustainability over more than a decade.

Over the past few months, The Natural Step Canada engaged people in a dialogue about what sustainability means at the neighbourhood level. The new report provides a summary of ideas gathered from Albertans through a survey and an online forum, as well as from experts from across Canada through interviews.

RBC Business Insights recently featured the founder of The Natural Step Dr. Karl-Henrik Robert in a series of videos around sustainable business including defining sustainability and sustainability is a lifetime opportunity.