SERVICE PATH
Our unique suite of advisory, coaching, training, and process facilitation services is delivered by an international network of Associates and advisors – talented and experienced professionals who translate the fundamentals of sustainability into practical steps businesses and communities can take to achieve lasting change.
Our Associates and advisors help their clients make significant progress by integrating sustainability principles into core strategies, decisions, and operations – building shared value through the strength of their expertise, tools, and networks.
Our approach is fun, dynamic, engaging, interactive, and—above all— clients get results.
SOME EXAMPLES
STRATEGIC SUSTAINBILITY PLANNING
Since the late 80’s, The Natural Step has been involved in strategic sustainability planning for businesses, governments and non-profits. Core of our work is The Natural Step’s Framework (FSSD) and we’ve helped thousands of organisations use this Framework to get a full understanding of the system they are depended upon. How to define success in that system? Which strategies help build success? Which actions are needed to execute the strategies and what tools and concepts (Biomimicry, Circular Economy, Living Building Challenge, Integrated Reporting, LEED, etc) inspire and build capacity in the organisation to make change happen? Our videos and case studies will tell you more.
PROCUREMENT SUPPORT
We could ‘green’ procurement in the old fashioned way; adding some sustainability criteria to the products and services we buy and select our suppliers. A relatively new form of procuring services and products is Best Value Procurement. This leads to the annual improvement on sustainability challenges and thus improving sustainability performance all along the way. The Natural Step provides support to organisations who want to either use Best Value Procurement as a new process to improve their sustainability performance or suppliers that want to provide the best sustainability solutions to their clients throughout their contract or Service Level Agreement (SLA). The European project ‘Sustainable Buildings’ is one of the projects where we performed both roles. Learn more.
SUSTAINABLE LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT
The Natural Step’s Sustainability Life Cycle Assessment (SLCA) approach helps organisations define, assess and communicate product sustainability. SLCA can be described as an assessment tool and an accompanying process that gives you a strategic overview of the full scope of social and ecological sustainability at the product level. It results in an analysis – using colours instead of numbers – that allows a company to see the major impacts of today’s product through the whole lifecycle in relation to principle requirements of sustainability. The process then helps you so to create plans for how to successfully bridge the sustainability gap. Learn more
INNOVATION SUPPORT
Hundreds of Nike employees were trained to use The Natural Step Framework, leading to numerous innovative programs to further its sustainability goals. In 2008, Nike partnered with The Natural Step again to help assess and further develop its approach to product innovation by defining a long-term vision for sustainable products. The resulting North Star vision and innovation goals position Nike to become a leader in sustainable product innovation and navigate toward a sustainable future. Learn more.
COMMUNICATING SUSTAINABILITY
How do you reach out to thousands of colleagues spread all over the world and provide them with the right information to inspire them to move from ‘technology push’ to ‘human centred’ innovation? You could come up with a nice app or a intranet site and hope for enough visitors to make the effort worth while. Or you can write an easy to digest booklet that helps colleagues from every perspective (be it R&D, procurement, mergers or sales) to do the right thing. A combined team of The Natural Step Sweden and The Netherlands supported Philips to select the right information and design powerful questions to communicate the story of sustainable innovation. Download the booklet
MEASURING PROGRESS
How would you recognise a sustainable company if you saw one? OR How do you know your efforts and investments really lead to improvement on sustainable impact parameters? The Future-Fit Business Benchmark offers a set of performance criteria that describe a company that is fit for the future: one that will flourish while adding to the wellbeing of society as a whole. This is a collaborative, open source initiative co-developed by The Natural Step Canada, Future Fit Foundation and 3D Investment Foundation. Learn more.